Lord of Blade and Bone (Waking Hearts #2)
Erica Ivy Rodgers
Peachtree Teen
Published November 11, 2025
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About Lord of Blade and Bone
A harrowing companion to the romantic fantasy adventure, Lady of Steel and Straw
The kingdom of Niveaux’s most vulnerable are being hanged—their bones mercilessly collected for an arsenal of wraiths. With young Prince Artus locked away and the Order of the Guardians driven from the capital, Cardinal Lorraine the Pure fixes her gaze on conquering bordering nations. To succeed, she’ll have to convince Captain Luc de Montaigne to embrace the power he’s been running from his entire life.
But even in chains, Luc yearns for the light of Lady Charlotte Sand. Proclaimed an outlaw, Charlotte and her lavender scarecrow Guardian, Worth, are staging rebellion with the underground network, the Broken Bird. Three new Guardians have also woken to aid their cause, but someone in their ranks is not who they seem. And with corruption spreading, the Guardians’ hearts are weakening. Can Charlotte trust Luc to abandon his former master and secure peace for the kingdom? Or will the darkness haunting Charlotte’s Guardian destroy any chance for reconciliation?
An exhilarating second installment in the Waking Hearts duology, this YA fantasy was inspired by The Three Musketeers and offers a beguiling dose of dark magic.
My Review
This book was at the top of my list of most-anticipated books coming out this year. I loved Lady of Steel and Straw. I don’t think I spotted the similarities to The Three Musketeers in that first book, but I definitely loved the whole magic system based on guardians with magical hearts that woke when placed inside a scarecrow body laced with herbs.
Lord of Blade and Bone started off a little rough for me, if I’m honest. It’s been a year since I’d read the first book, so I remembered the broad strokes but no details about the political scene or minor characters. The opening scene doesn’t include anyone I remembered from the last book. It sets up the action in this book nicely. Once I finished the book, I went back and reread that first chapter. It made a lot more sense.
There’s not a lot of recap in the opening chapters of this book, despite the fact that it’s almost 500 pages. While I love that I got to read the whole story at once, I wonder if the book would have been better as two novels so there was a little more time to catch up forgetful readers or introduce characters more slowly.
Because there are a LOT of characters, which is something I generally struggle with anyhow. It would have been cool to see a list of all the guardians and their herb-infused abilities somewhere, too.
Though the book started off a little rough, once I remembered who everyone was and what was happening, I didn’t want to stop reading. Charlotte and Luc’s slow burn romance is so sweet. Micah and Viggo are adorable, too.
The book has a lot of political intrigue and wrestling over whether magic abilities are good or evil. There’s a character recovering from addiction. It’s got a lot of intriguing elements.
Conclusion
Lord of Blade and Bone is packed with political intrigue and reads more like an adult fantasy that’s light on romance. If you liked King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo, definitely check out this duology. Be sure to start with Lady of Steel and Straw.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 15 up.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat frequently.
Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. References to sex.
Spiritual Content
Wielders use forbidden power to disturb dead spirits, raising them as wraiths who inspire fear, pain, and torment in others. Very rarely, when someone dies, they become a Guardian, or an immortal warrior bonded to a person who will fight someone wielding the dead or settle disturbed spirits as part of the Order of old gods.
Under the cardinal’s rule as regent, the people worship a new duo called the Silent Gods, and the old ways are forbidden.
One theme that emerges in the story explores whether the magical ability to wield wraiths is itself evil or whether it’s a neutral ability that can be used for good or bad.
Violent Content
Situations of peril. Battle scenes. References to torture. References to the murder of civilians. Some brief descriptions of execution.
Drug Content
One character is recovering from a chemical addiction. A few references to alcohol served at social events or adults drinking socially.
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