[ENG-ESP] 📚💖 Book Review: El Corazón del Rey 👸🏻👑

Hello Hello Community! ✨, The moment I've been waiting for has arrived, or rather, the moment I've been waiting for for a year and a half has finally arrived. The third book in Karine Bernal Lobo's King Saga has been published, and obviously I went straight out to get it digitally and have already finished it. It took me about four to five days to finish it because, honestly, I didn't want it to end, not only because I knew the ending was going to blow my mind, but also because I didn't want to stop reading about these characters that I love so much and missed so much 🥺. Now I'll have to wait a while longer to find out how this incredible story ends, but for now, all I can do is tell you about this third instalment, so without further ado, let's talk (with spoilers from the saga) about The King's Heart 👑 👸🏻.

Emily never dreamed of wearing the crown of a kingdom on her head, much less if that crown belonged to an enemy kingdom. Although her heart has been broken twice by different monarchs, it still belongs to only one of them, to that man with wounds from the past that continue to torment him, and who has not allowed himself to love for fear of losing everything again. However, when the time comes to make the decision between loving her or losing her, he is clear that not even his own people would be able to take him away from his Emilia.

Magnus VI Lacrontte not only bears the responsibility of an entire kingdom on his shoulders, he also carries secrets that do not belong to him but which jeopardise the stability of his own legacy as king. Now that he has publicly declared his love for Emily, they must both navigate the difficulties of their relationship, as well as the monarchical storms that threaten to destroy the life they have decided to build together.

Loving her is an offence to his people, but denying her would condemn his soul forever.

This is the third instalment in this incredible saga, but although I thoroughly enjoyed the story and all the ups and downs experienced by our protagonists, I cannot deny that this is the weakest book of those published so far. The King's Perfume and The King's Chains were books characterised by their perfect blend of monarchical political conflicts and romance. In both books, we are presented with all the adverse circumstances that Emily experiences when she is abruptly introduced to this world, which she knows no more than any commoner.

The author had constructed a narrative that reflected conflicts with which we could all feel a certain connection, especially in the Latin American context, with war between factions, peace agreements, migration conflicts, abuse of authority, negotiation for information, among others. In this sense, this third book loses some of this interesting political narrative and focuses more on romance. It is not that the monarchical conflicts are left aside, because they are still there, but the relationship between Emily and Magnus takes centre stage, and although this is not a bad thing, I feel that the author could have continued to play with this mixture of themes that she had already been working on.

From a certain perspective, this book feels like what I call ‘a bridge’, which is usually the role of second books, but that is not the case with this particular saga, as the second book is still considered to be the construction of the story, the climb on this roller coaster that has just reached the ‘flat part’ and is preparing for the sudden descent. So why do I consider it ‘the bridge’? Basically because we are faced with situations that are setting the stage for the outcome of the real conflict. There are no longer so many answers, but rather a lot of doubts. There is no longer just one villain, but several. Some characters reveal their true identities and intentions, and by the end of the book, there is a completely uncertain outlook for what is to come.

So uncertain that it is now clear that ‘the commoner from the enemy kingdom’ will be the one to rule and start making decisions, because yes, folks, and this is a spoiler, something this book focuses on a lot is the new coexistence between the protagonists now that they are married, and from that perspective, I think there is a pretty good narrative, not only because it all starts with the great disaster that Magnus left behind after deciding to break Emily's heart, but I liked that the leap to forgiveness was not instantaneous and in fact, even when she forgives him, the ravages of the insecurities he sowed in her continue to attack her, and that seems quite real to me.

Emily has been a fairly consistent protagonist throughout the three books. Obviously, she is not the same Emily we meet in The King's Perfume because a lot has happened and she has had to grow up and toughen her character, but her evolution has been quite organic and they have not turned her into a super-tough protagonist who can handle anything. I feel like she may have to show her claws in the last book, but even so, I feel that everything has had a positive thread running through it. In this third book, we see her as a little more dramatic and capricious, and although at times it frustrated me a little, it was more of a comical frustration, because her whims were actually quite endearing 🤣, those of a newlywed in love.

Magnus is, in my opinion, the one who has changed the most, and I don't know to what extent I find it credible, because what they are trying to show is that he can be cruel and ruthless with everyone except his wife. With her, he is sweet and loving, even though it is difficult for him at first. In front of her, he bends his pride and ego. However, although this premise is beautiful and made me love this character even more, I felt that his change was very abrupt. To a certain extent, it seemed to me that he was not the same Magnus I had left in the last book. I don't know if this is because I remember little of the story and perhaps I was left with a version of him that was extremely cruel and haughty, but I think this change could have been developed further.

¡Hola Hola Comunidad! ✨, el momento que tanto he esperado ha llegado, o mejor dicho, el momento que he esperado por 1 año y medio al fin llegó, ha sido publicado el tercer libro de la Saga Rey de Karine Bernal Lobo y obviamente que fuí directo a conseguirlo de forma digital y ya lo terminé, me tomó alrededor de los 4 - 5 días terminarlo porque honestamente no lo quería acabar, no solo porque sabía que el final me iba a explotar la cabeza sino porque no quería dejar de leer sobre éstos protagonistas a los que tanto quiero y extrañaba 🥺, ahora tendré que esperar otro tiempo para poder conocer el desenlace de ésta increíble historia, pero de momento solo me queda hablarles de ésta tercera parte, así que sin más que añadir hablemos (con spoilers de la saga) de El Corazón del Rey 👑 👸🏻

Emily nunca soñó con llevar la corona de un reino sobre su cabeza, mucho menos si esa corona era la del reino enemigo, aunque su corazón ha sido dañado dos veces por monarcas diferentes, éste sigue perteneciendole a uno solo de ellos, a ese hombre con heridas del pasado que lo siguen atormentado, y el que no se ha permitido amar por miedo a perderlo todo de nuevo, sin embargo cuando llega el momento de tomar la decisión entre amarla o perderla, él tiene claro que ni siquiera su propio pueblo sería capaz de alejarlo de su Emilia.

Sobre los hombros de Magnus VI Lacrontte no solo recae la responsabilidad de un reino entero, también carga con secretos que no le pertenecen pero que ponen en riesgo la estabilidad de su propio legado como rey. Ahora que ha declarado públicamente su amor por Emily, ambos deben atravesar las dificultades propias de su relación, pero también las tormentas monárquicas que amenazan con derribar la vida que han decidido comenzar a construir.

Amarla es una ofensa para su pueblo, negarla sería condenar su alma para siempre.

Estamos ante la tercera entrega de ésta increíble saga, pero aunque haya disfrutado enormemente la historia y todos los altos y bajos que tienen nuestros protagonistas, no puedo negar que éste es el libro más flojo de los que han sido publicados hasta ahora. El Perfume del Rey y Las Cadenas del Rey fueron libros que se caracterizaron por ser la unión perfecta entre conflictos políticos monárquicos y romance, en ambos libros se nos presentan todas circunstancias adversas que vive Emily al ser abruptamente introducida a éste mundo que no conoce más allá de lo que conoce cualquier plebeyo.

La autora había construido una narrativa donde reflejaba conflictos con los que todos podíamos sentir cierta vinculación, sobre todo en el contexto latinoamericano, teniendo guerra entre bandos, acuerdos de paz, conflictos migratorios, abuso de autoridad, negociación por información, entre otros. En éste sentido, éste tercer libro pierde un poco ésta narrativa interesante de política y se centra más en el romance, no es que se deja de lado los conflictos monárquicos porque éstos siguen estando allí, pero la relación entre Emily y Magnus es lo que toma el foco principal, y aunque no está mal siento que se pudo seguir jugando con ésta mezcla de temas que ya se venía trabajando.

Desde cierta perspectiva, éste libro se siente como lo que yo denomino “un puente”, generalmente esa es una función que suelen tomar los segundos libros, pero que con ésta saga en especial no se cumple, pues el segundo libro aún se considera la construcción de la historia, la subida en ésta montaña rusa que acaba de alcanzar la “parte plana” y que se prepara para el descenso brusco. Ahora bien ¿Por qué lo considero “el puente”?, básicamente porque nos enfrentamos a situaciones que están preparando el terreno para el desenlace del conflicto real, ya no hay tantas respuestas sino más bien un montón de dudas, ya no hay solo un villano sino varios, algunos personajes revelan su verdadera identidad e intenciones, y para el final del libro existe un panorama completamente incierto de lo que está por venir.

Tan incierto que ahora se deja ver que “la plebeya del reino enemigo”, será la que gobierne y comience a tomar decisiones, porque sí gente y ésto es un spoiler, algo en lo que se centra un montón éste libro es en la nueva convivencia entre los protagonistas ahora estando casados, y desde ese foco considero que hay una narrativa bastante buena, no solo porque todo comienza con el gran desastre que dejó Magnus luego de tomar la decisión de romperle el corazón a Emily, me gustó que el salto al perdón no fue instantáneo y de hecho, aún cuando ella lo perdona, los estragos de las inseguridades que él sembró en ella, siguen atacando y eso me parece bastante real.

Emily ha sido una protagonista bastante consistente a lo largo de los tres libros, obviamente no es la misma Emily que nos presentan en El Perfume del Rey porque han pasado un montón de cosas y a ella le ha tocado crecer y endurecer su carácter, pero su evolución ha sido bastante orgánica y no la han convertido en una protagonista super aguerrida que puede con todo, siento que capaz le va a tocar sacar las garras en el último libro, pero aún así siento que todo ha llevado un hilo conductor positivo. En éste tercer libro la vemos un poco más dramática y caprichosa, y aunque en ocasiones me frustraba un poquito, era una frustración más bien cómica, porque en sí sus caprichos eran tiernos 🤣, eran de recién casada enamorada.

Magnus es a mí parecer el que mayor cambio tiene, y no sé hasta qué punto me es creíble, porque lo que intentan demostrar es que él puede ser cruel y despiadado con todos menos con su esposa, con ella es tierno, amoroso aunque le cuesta al inicio, ante ella doblega su orgullo y ego. No obstante, si bien esa premisa es preciosa y me hizo amar aún más éste personaje, sentí que su cambio fue muy brusco, hasta cierto punto me pareció que no era el mismo Magnus que había dejado en el libro pasado, no sé si ésto se deba a que recuerdo pocas cosas de la historia y capaz me quedé con una versión de él sumamente cruel y altanera, pero creo que se le pudo dar más desarrollo a éste cambio.