Between These Broken Hearts by Lexi Ryan

Here is a summary with spoilers for Between These Broken Hearts by Lexi Ryan

Abriella has been panicking. She feels as if she is failing and ruining her kingdom, but more importantly, has failed at finding her sister Jasalyn. She and some other fae have been looking for her for months, and as her 18th birthday gets closer, she starts to get more and more frantic. And on top of that, they don’t remember if they have seen or interacted with her during their search, as Jasalyn still has the cursed ring that makes people forget her.

Meanwhile, Jasalyn wakes up thanks to a goblin who is unaffected by her ring. The goblin has been giving her the blood of a creature found in the woods; it was the only way to wake her up, and the goblin had tried many ways to get her to wake, as she had been asleep for 8 months. Her birthday is in 11 days.

Felicity is with her twin brother, Konner, who tells her that her lover King Misha is waiting for her, but Felicity keeps hearing a voice telling her to wake up. She has a hard time being pulled out of dreams and not realizing what is real or not. When she finally wakes, she realizes the betrayal that she still caused King Misha.

Jasalyn still has a lot to worry about, now that she only has days to live. The first item on her agenda is to find the sword of fire so she can kill Mordeus (the evil fae king). She goes to his old prisons, the ones that once held her, to look for the sword. But before she gets fully inside, she is stopped by Kendrick, the man who turns out to be fae, whom she once loved, but has since felt betrayed by—especially when she found out that he was working with Mordeus while she was in prison. When he finally finds Jasalyn, he is shocked and broken to see her. He wants to know why she left, but she knows as soon as she tells him, he’ll forget. But Kendrick tells her that he hasn’t stopped looking, nor has her sister Abriella. Before they can talk more, monsters break out from the prison and Kendrick is injured. When he wakes up, he forgets everything, but begs Jasalyn to stay and work together on their missions. She leaves him. But he somehow manages to slightly follow, and when he finds her again, she is bleeding, and he gets her blood so that they can track her.

Felicity meanwhile has been forced to ask Misha for help, and while he doesn’t want to—still not wanting to trust her—he does. She is still continuing her shape-shifting as Jasalyn, this time to make it look like the kingdom is alive and well. This also brings Felicity closer to her brother Konner; but she is wary of this as well, as the prophecy that has to do with her and her family feels more real when she is with him.

Now that Kendrick can track Jasalyn, Abriella is brought in so they can find her together. But Jasalyn is still on her mission, and she finds the sword and Mordeus. Stabbing him does not work, and she is left bruised and battered, but luckily she is found by Kendrick, Abriella, and the group. They attempt to heal her, but Abriella wants the ring off of her as well. After a lot of effort, they manage to get the ring off Jasalyn, making it so people can remember their interactions with her again. This doesn’t change the deadline of her deal and death though.

Everyone is reunited—Jasalyn, Felicity, and everyone else—back at Abriella’s castle. They all share what they have learned, including that Mordeus needs to be killed another way, and that the sword is once again missing. Abriella realizes that Kendrick and his group of people need the sword and still need to complete their mission of killing the Seven. But she wants their continued help to defeat Mordeus and save Jasalyn; if they do so, she will offer full support in their mission afterward. Kendrick agrees, and he and Jasalyn start to create a new plan. But Jasalyn wants to move quickly, as it turns out Mordeus can still take over her body, and she doesn’t want to hurt anyone during those moments. They make plans to go to the oracle.

Felicity and Misha meanwhile have a heart-to-heart when Misha says that he loves Felicity, but won’t kiss her until she is her true self, not Jasalyn. Felicity also wants to go learn about the prophecy again to see if anything can be stopped. Before she does, she goes to talk to Konner, as it is his life that will be sacrificed according to the prophecy. While there, she sits with her baby niece, realizing what a life her brother has had to live because of who they are.

Jasalyn and Kendrick go out to the site where the witch lived when she cast the curse on her, to see if they could get answers. While the witch wasn’t there, they did find a cat, who transformed into a locket for her to wear. Kendrick and Jasalyn then move on to find the oracle. Along the way, they stop at Kendrick’s mother’s house, who is very happy to meet Jasalyn, but worried because Carissa is inside—his betrothed. The two girls end up sleeping in the same room together, and Carissa admits that Kendrick clearly loves Jasalyn, and that she won’t be upset if Jasalyn is in their lives. But Jasalyn responds that she doesn’t want to live in the shadows anymore.

Misha and Felicity continue their quest, and they get to Misha’s lands, where he admits how much he loves Felicity, and the two of them share a night together. Abriella then comes for Felicity and asks for her help in transforming into her sister again, specifically to trick dignitaries that everything is just fine. She agrees, though Misha hates the toll it takes on her. During this time, Abriella has been researching fae bargains and promises, and she believes she figured something out. Jas has the family phoenix magic, meaning she can die in fire and be reborn. If they can plan her death just right, there is a chance that she will be able to be reborn. No one, especially Kendrick, likes the plan, but Jas wants to do it, because the other option is her body being taken over by Mordeus.

Felicity has found her time to take vengeance; she kills the man who forced her to become an assassin, but in the process her brother Konner dies, thus completing the prophecy. Felicity is devastated.

Jasalyn and Kendrick are preparing for her death and final moments, when Mordeus takes over her body and she stabs Kendrick. When Jas wakes up, it is minutes to her birthday, with a bleeding-out Kendrick right next to her. She calls for help, calls to her magic, and starts the process. As Jas calls her magic, the castle is overtaken by soldiers, distracting her for a moment, but she manages to talk to Mordeus while she sacrifices herself. Kendrick goes searching for a body in the ashes but finds nothing. Eventually, Jas wakes up in the ashes, with Kendrick close by, waiting for her. The two have their reunion, and everyone else eventually joins in.

Everyone has time to process and enjoy being with each other. Felicity announces that she is moving to Misha’s lands to eventually become his queen. Kendrick and Jas start making their plans for the future as well, done in a way that they can be together.