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Frail Human Heart
(The Name of the Blade #3)
by
In the thrilling final installment of Zoë Marriott’s epic, Japanese-inspired urban fantasy trilogy, Mio has succeeded in banishing the Goddess of Death’s plague-spreading monsters – by making the most terrible sacrifice. Now Mio's love Shinobu is lost forever, the Goddess is rising from the underworld, and hell is literally breaking loose in London.
To save the city from th ...more
To save the city from th ...more
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Hardcover, 368 pages
Published
November 8th 2016
by Candlewick Press
(first published June 18th 2015)
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Start your review of Frail Human Heart (The Name of the Blade, #3)

A perfect ending for this trilogy.
I promise to write reviews for Darkness Hidden and Frail Mortal Heart tomorrow!

I was vested in this novel and I hadn’t even read the first two books in the series! The author pushed me headfirst into this story as she briefly summarized the first two novels in this series before taking off on Frail Human Heart. There were also bits and pieces throughout the novel where the author reflected back to the first two novels in this series so I felt connected and comfortable as I read. I felt the urgency and the intensity that this novel was intended to project in this novel. Des
...more

It's no secret that I love Zoe Marriott's writing, I've been a fan of hers ever since I picked up Shadows on the Moon (which is still my favourite of her books and one I would HIGHLY recommend if you haven't already read it!) and her Name of the Blade trilogy has been outstanding. I'm always a little wary of trilogies because more often than not at least one of the books ends up being a disappointment but I knew that wouldn't be the case here and I'm happy to report that Frail Human Heart ends t
...more

Frail Human Heart is EVERYTHING!!!
Writing, world-building and the emotions! Don’t get me started on the turmoil this book put me through. I mean it was wonderful but I feel like Walker Books should provide a survival kit with the last instalment of the trilogy.
I’m not sure what else I can say about Zoë Marriott writing at this point, or the amazing stories she creates that I haven’t already said in previous reviews. The Name of The Blade Trilogy was truly perfect for me. Which is spectacular giv ...more
Writing, world-building and the emotions! Don’t get me started on the turmoil this book put me through. I mean it was wonderful but I feel like Walker Books should provide a survival kit with the last instalment of the trilogy.
I’m not sure what else I can say about Zoë Marriott writing at this point, or the amazing stories she creates that I haven’t already said in previous reviews. The Name of The Blade Trilogy was truly perfect for me. Which is spectacular giv ...more

Frail Human Heart has such a brilliant mix of Zoe's crazily vivid imagination and her characters' signature personalities and senses of humor. This book is so full of unexpected awesomeness from start to finish and was the perfect ending to the trilogy! Zoe is such a unique, talented, and dedicated author.
...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

This book was a satisfying end to the trilogy, even if it did fall into some of the tired YA tropes. How many times do we have to have a hero/heroine sacrifice him/herself to beat the bad guy and save the world? I was glad to have more of Hikaru, who is in my opinion the best character in the series, and everything wraps up very neatly at the end. This book (and the trilogy) was entertaining, however nothing groundbreaking and I am not likely to recommend it when there are so many similar series
...more

Book 3 (and conclusion) to the Name of the Blade series.
As is true with most series books for me, I really enjoyed the first one but found them decreasingly interesting by the final one. With that said, however, this is a satisfying conclusion to the series and picks up right where book 2 left off.
Mio has had to imprison Shinobu back into the sword, but that has not solved all of the problems in their world. London is being overrun by creatures from hell as two gods continue their destructive fi ...more
As is true with most series books for me, I really enjoyed the first one but found them decreasingly interesting by the final one. With that said, however, this is a satisfying conclusion to the series and picks up right where book 2 left off.
Mio has had to imprison Shinobu back into the sword, but that has not solved all of the problems in their world. London is being overrun by creatures from hell as two gods continue their destructive fi ...more

THIS WAS SUCH AN AWESOME SERIES AND SHINOBU WILL ALWAYS BE MY PRECIOUS BABY!!!
...more


Apr 10, 2013
Andrew
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
given-from-book-publishers
Review Taken from The Pewter Wolf
I've had this book, the third and final book of the Name of the Blade trilogy by Zoë Marriott since last summer. Yes, since last June-ish time. And I love this trilogy. If you have read my reviews of The Night Itself and Darkness Hidden, you know how much I love this trilogy. I adore it and compare it to Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunters series.
So why, I hear you ask, did I not read it when I got the book (and got Zoe to sign it and begged her to tell me if there w ...more
I've had this book, the third and final book of the Name of the Blade trilogy by Zoë Marriott since last summer. Yes, since last June-ish time. And I love this trilogy. If you have read my reviews of The Night Itself and Darkness Hidden, you know how much I love this trilogy. I adore it and compare it to Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunters series.
So why, I hear you ask, did I not read it when I got the book (and got Zoe to sign it and begged her to tell me if there w ...more

This book brought about a perfect end to the trilogy - I’m only sad that I put off reading it for so long. With a cast of loveable characters, The Name of the Blade books have been a rollercoaster of a journey and are the perfect teen adventure.
In this third book, Mio and her friends have no choice but to travel into the dream realm. Only there can they unlock the swords final name and gain the true power of the Katana, which they will need to face the dark goddess. But the dream realm is full ...more
In this third book, Mio and her friends have no choice but to travel into the dream realm. Only there can they unlock the swords final name and gain the true power of the Katana, which they will need to face the dark goddess. But the dream realm is full ...more

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central
After The Name of the Blade and Darkness Hidden, Mio is back, and the threat to London is still dire. Monsters are roaming the streets, terrifying residents, and only Mio and her small group of friends know what's going on. Shinobu is gone, and Mio must rely on her father, Rachel, Jack, Hikaru and others to save London from the fight between Izanagi and Izanami. Along the way, Mio must travel under London into the sewer-like entrance to the land of dream ...more
After The Name of the Blade and Darkness Hidden, Mio is back, and the threat to London is still dire. Monsters are roaming the streets, terrifying residents, and only Mio and her small group of friends know what's going on. Shinobu is gone, and Mio must rely on her father, Rachel, Jack, Hikaru and others to save London from the fight between Izanagi and Izanami. Along the way, Mio must travel under London into the sewer-like entrance to the land of dream ...more

Okay the book had a good ending. It would've been a better plot twist if they both died though. But anyway.
The story was okay, I'm not very fond of this series because it's too modern, and the people in it are too fickle and self-centered. They do get better as the series progresses, but they are still so small-minded. I can't take it. Other than the characters, the plot was fine, as fine as you can get with characters that are relatable to this strawberry generation. I like the dreamscape and ...more
The story was okay, I'm not very fond of this series because it's too modern, and the people in it are too fickle and self-centered. They do get better as the series progresses, but they are still so small-minded. I can't take it. Other than the characters, the plot was fine, as fine as you can get with characters that are relatable to this strawberry generation. I like the dreamscape and ...more

Mio is devastated by the choice she had to make at the end of Darkness Hidden to defeat the Shikome and heal all those affected by the plague. But she has little time to grieve, because the conflict between two gods she now knows is behind all that has been happening is about to escalate into the complete destruction of London and quite possibly the entirety of the human world. The only one who can stop it is Mio herself, and to do it she must acquire a second sword through a dangerous quest in
...more

Sep 09, 2015
Beth Kemp
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
ya-fantasy-sci-fi
I was nervous starting this, although I'd loved the first two in the series - or perhaps because I'd loved the first two in the series and held them as precious. I should have had more faith! This is a cracking conclusion to a brilliant trilogy. I'm finding it hard to say more at this point without spoilers, but if you enjoy Urban Fantasy (fantasy elements in a contemporary setting, rather than a complete fantasy world) and Japanese folklore appeals (even if, like me, you have no prior knowledge
...more

This final volume in the Name of the Blade trilogy is the best of the three. The characters have matured; snarky dialog flows effortlessly, and favorite characters from the previous volumes reappear to help before the final showdown with the terrifying gods, Izanami and Izanagi. A side story features Mio’s lesbian best friend who may have finally found love in the form of Hiroku, a fox creature that can take on the characteristics of either gender at will. In all, this is a satisfying resolution
...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

I wanted more sweet and funny interactions between Mio and Shinobu. And there definitely wasn't enough Hikaru the Kitsune fox spirit in this book. I liked that this trilogy featured Japanese mythology.
I had been anticipating this book for so long but the first 2 books were better. ...more
I had been anticipating this book for so long but the first 2 books were better. ...more
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Zoë has known that she wanted to be a writer since she read 'The Magic Faraway Tree' by Enid Blyton at age eight. She's never changed her mind in all the years since then.
She completed her first manuscript - a truly embarrassing romance novel - at age sixteen, and kept on writing books and submitting them until she had collected rejections from nearly very publisher in the UK and two in Australia. ...more
She completed her first manuscript - a truly embarrassing romance novel - at age sixteen, and kept on writing books and submitting them until she had collected rejections from nearly very publisher in the UK and two in Australia. ...more
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The Name of the Blade
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“I'm in a weird place because the book is about to come out. So I'm basically just walking around like a raw nerve and I'm not sure that I...
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“I just wanted to be quiet and alone – get my head around everything. Make sure I was really back to normal. I drank hot chocolate and … waited. I even slept for a bit. When I was sure nothing bad was going to happen, I came home. And, you know, found Mio nearly being eaten by a giant spider.”
“What? I didn’t see that!” Jack yelped.
“You were too busy grabbing the firebombs,” Hikaru put in. “I saw it, though. Rachel clocked it in the side and knocked it right off. It went flying.”
I gave Rachel a questioning look.
She shrugged again and put down her mug on the coffee table. Picking up an empty metal serving plate with her right hand, she poked it sharply with the index finger of her left. There was a rending noise, and Rachel’s finger popped out of the bottom of the plate.
“I’m pretty strong,” she said, with what I thought was epic understatement. “But I can control it now.”
Seeing the alarmed expressions on Hikaru and my dad’s faces, I quickly said, “The king – your king, Hikaru – told me this could happen. If people recover from the Nekomata’s bite, they have gifts. Seeing in the dark. Speed. Strength.”
“Let me get this straight,” Jack said slowly. “My sister is Catwoman now?”
“I suppose that makes you the Joker, then.” Rachel reached out to mess up Jack’s spiky hair.
Jack squeaked, trying to bat Rachel’s hands away. “Not the hair!”
“Oh, please. Try that on me when you don’t have an inch of roots.”
Hikaru leaned out of their way, looking confused and not sure if he should try to intervene. I could sympathize. Siblings were odd.”
—
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“What? I didn’t see that!” Jack yelped.
“You were too busy grabbing the firebombs,” Hikaru put in. “I saw it, though. Rachel clocked it in the side and knocked it right off. It went flying.”
I gave Rachel a questioning look.
She shrugged again and put down her mug on the coffee table. Picking up an empty metal serving plate with her right hand, she poked it sharply with the index finger of her left. There was a rending noise, and Rachel’s finger popped out of the bottom of the plate.
“I’m pretty strong,” she said, with what I thought was epic understatement. “But I can control it now.”
Seeing the alarmed expressions on Hikaru and my dad’s faces, I quickly said, “The king – your king, Hikaru – told me this could happen. If people recover from the Nekomata’s bite, they have gifts. Seeing in the dark. Speed. Strength.”
“Let me get this straight,” Jack said slowly. “My sister is Catwoman now?”
“I suppose that makes you the Joker, then.” Rachel reached out to mess up Jack’s spiky hair.
Jack squeaked, trying to bat Rachel’s hands away. “Not the hair!”
“Oh, please. Try that on me when you don’t have an inch of roots.”
Hikaru leaned out of their way, looking confused and not sure if he should try to intervene. I could sympathize. Siblings were odd.”
“We’d all started for the front hall when my father’s throat-clearing stopped us. “Where do you think you’re going?”
Jack and I exchanged wary looks. Parents pretending to be stupid was usually a sign that they were about to try to be – eugh – funny.
“Out, Mr Yamato,” Rachel said patiently, falling for it. “We’re going to walk to this nexus place. Aren’t you coming?”
Dad got out of the armchair and stretched fluidly. “Yes, but I’m not walking it. I assume you’re up for a ride in the Dad Taxi?”
I might be a barely functioning, emotionally shattered control freak, but I wasn’t an idiot. The next word out of my mouth was “Shotgun!”
The others groaned.”
—
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Jack and I exchanged wary looks. Parents pretending to be stupid was usually a sign that they were about to try to be – eugh – funny.
“Out, Mr Yamato,” Rachel said patiently, falling for it. “We’re going to walk to this nexus place. Aren’t you coming?”
Dad got out of the armchair and stretched fluidly. “Yes, but I’m not walking it. I assume you’re up for a ride in the Dad Taxi?”
I might be a barely functioning, emotionally shattered control freak, but I wasn’t an idiot. The next word out of my mouth was “Shotgun!”
The others groaned.”