Isabel Ibanez is on my watch list. I’ve truly loved some of her work in the past, so I wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to read her newest book, Graceless Heart.
Moving from Egypt in her previous historical fantasy series, this one takes place in Italy, a setting replete with historical potential.
It took a hot minute for the story to grab me, and I still felt like I was sort of bashing my way through a jungle of vines in order to get to the good stuff.
But the good stuff was good. Saturnino was one of those characters where you weren’t entirely sure the entire time if he was someone you could trust. Ibanez is so good at this morally ambiguous love interests! And the finale at the end of the book was truly fascinating and memorable.
If you are new to Ibanez I would honestly recommend her previous duology, beginning with What the River Knows, over this. I found it more immersive and chalk full of adventure and mystery I was more interested in. This one just felt a little too heavy with extraneous world building/political details that, while they may pay off eventually, also had an adverse effect on the story this novel could have been. As a writer myself, I understand the impulse to show off the impeccable world you’ve crafted that the story fits inside of…there just wasn’t enough, as a reader, to grab onto and really care about all those tracks.
Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Details
Title:: Graceless Heart (The Spellbound History Quartet #1)
Author:: Isabel Ibanez
Genre:: Historical Fantasy
Publisher:: Saturday Books
Length:: 488 pages
Published:: January 13th, 2026
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars
If you liked this book, check out…
The Familiar | Leigh Bardugo
What the River Knows | Isabel Ibanez
Where the Library Hides | Isabel Ibanez
Divine Rivals | Rebecca Ross
Fallen City | Adrienne Young
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