An Editor Read “The Second Death of Locke” So You Don’t Have To.

Hello! This is u/XusBookReviews with this week’s review of a new book and what I thought of it. This one comes from a fellow romantasy Redditer (u/starving_novelist) who has kindly given me access to their NetGalley page for this review. They have also agreed to answer any questions we come up with, so let’s get cracking!

Also, sorry that this is a day late. I took the weekend to celebrate my anniversary to Mr. XusBookReviews and so had little time to read. Forgive me?

Book Details:

Title: The Second Death of Locke by V.L. Bovalino (a.k.a. u/starving_novelist)
Series Name: “The Hand and the Heart” (Book 1)
Page Count: 480 pages.
Publish Date: September 23^(rd), 2025.
Publisher: Forever (Hatchette Book Group/Grand Central Publishing).

Publisher’s Plot Description: “Love. Loyalty. Sacrifice. Grey Flynn has dedicated her life to her mage, Kier. She will be his blade on the battlefield, his healer and protector. The deep well of raw power inside her is Kier's to use. Grey would do anything for Kier—be anything for him—if he would only ask. When a quest to protect the child of an enemy kingdom pulls them into the dangerous heart of their nation's war, Grey and Kier will need to decide what they are willing to sacrifice to protect their secret. For Grey is no ordinary magical well, but heir to the lost island of Locke—the root of all power. If she dies, all magic dies with her. The Second Death of Locke is a devastatingly romantic epic fantasy about the undying bond between a knight and their mage, perfect for fans of Rachel Gillig and Alix E. Harrow.”

My Means of Reading: Kindle Paperwhite (NetGalley ARC).

Fantasy Style: High Fantasy

Review TLDR: This is the first book I’ve reviewed for you that I can say, unequivocally, that I think you need to read. It’s original in its execution of familiar themes, has characters that will feel like family, and has world building/pacing that is just the right side of comfortable while leaving you wanting more. I will be buying a copy of this book as soon as it comes out.

Overall: Why the glowing review? Let us count the ways: the FMC and MMC aren’t idiots who have to make dumb decisions to make a plot viable; the pacing is balanced between action scenes, recovery, and world building; the side characters are both meaningful to the plot (with their own relationships between themselves outside of their connection to Grey and Kier) and genuinely funny; the romance is delightfully free of “insta-lust” and centers on two people who already know each other’s flaws and love them dearly; and it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger. Maybe that last one isn’t as important, but I honestly don’t know if I have the strength in these troubled times to wait for this book to be published and wait for a sequel to boot. One note I have to mention: this book is not yet finished with the editing process and the errors can be distracting if you let them. Hopefully the publication team will have this all sorted out by the time it publishes in September. Guess I will find out when I buy a copy, eh?

Spice Level: 4/5 – Open door. Many details. Not for the youngsters ones among us, for sure. I think this may also be the first time I have read a scene written between two characters who are genuinely in love, rather than in lust, and the difference is remarkable. The romance is utterly earned, though I did shake my head at the thickheadedness of the FMC when she kept insisting to herself prior to the big moment that her feelings must be unrequited (seriously, the angst. The absolute angst). The MMC could not have been more obvious how head-over-heels he was the whole time. Problem is this MMC is a sweet, sweet cinnamon roll, not an arrogant shadow daddy, so he is equally delusional in his perception of her behavior towards him. Cracks me up a bit, honestly.

Pacing/Filler: There is some filler, but it is the best kind: the kind that teaches you more about the world you are in and the circumstances that got you there. Where would Avatar be without the Ember Island Players? Where would Dr. Bashir be without Section 31? We need this pacing to give us room to breathe between the bigger moments of the main plot, letting us stop and understand what those big moments mean to the characters and how they influence the choices yet to be made. Is the pacing perfect? No, of course not. But damn if it isn’t close.

Character Development: Usually this is the part where I say something snarky about how the FMC starts one way and ends another (or doesn’t, as the case may be). I think this time I will have to give my opinion in earnest: Grey is a fully matured character, fitting for one of her age, profession, and life choices. Is she without flaws? No, but those flaws are understandable and reasonable. Moreover, her arc shows her learning to let go of her pain and learn to trust others outside of the MMC in a manner that I think many trauma survivors will find cathartic. As for Kier, he does not have as much of a visible arc, but I think that is because the entire story is told from Grey’s POV and we do not hear his thoughts the way we hear Grey’s. I am genuinely impressed by the smoothness of the transitions Grey makes and the way she learns from her mistakes (mistakes that aren’t “the FMC did something stupid so we can have a plot, by the way).

As for the others, I found the side characters to be almost as interesting – and sometimes more entertaining – than the main pair. Ola and Brit are incredibly strong and don’t hold back when taking Grey and Kier to task for their stupidity. Eron’s cooking should come with a warning label. Sela is a sweet, very naïve girl who wants to do her best for her team. Attis the Commander and her Hand were everything I’d expect from veteran soldiers who just want to see another day. I liked that no one worshiped the FMC like she was somehow better than them, but we also don’t have to suffer from immature jealousies that exist only to force some drama. Kier and Grey’s older siblings are a wonderful influencing factor in their decisions, for all that they are not in the story themselves.

World Building: Full disclosure, I had to ask the author if she had ever spent time in the military prior to writing this book – because she nailed it. The sights, the smells, the constant tiredness but being unable to rest…even the way that nudity is handled is on point (for those who don’t know, modesty is a joke in a close-quarters army). The information given about the world isn’t given in massive chunks of exposition, but rather bits and pieces of relevant knowledge being passed between characters who realistically wouldn’t otherwise know the answers. The foreshadowing and layering of plot devices were excellent – the big reveals aren’t the secret heir (obviously) or anything so dramatic, but when they come, they hit you hard and leave you thinking “well, yeah. That makes sense.” I suspect when I go in for a reread one day I will catch even more things I didn’t think to put together.

Obvious Errors an Author/Editor Should Have Caught: As I mentioned above, this is an ARC and I want to make sure you all know that this book is still being worked on. That said, there are lots of grammar issues: run on sentences glued with commas, no Oxfords commas to be seen, random extra commas in the middle of sentences (I sense a theme here), sentences that should begin new paragraphs but don’t (e.g. when dialogue is complete you begin a new paragraph), etc.

One example of a grammar issue throughout the book: the author’s consistent use of colons when she needs to be using semi-colons. It shows she knows that a comma isn’t enough to convey her idea, but also that a period is too much if she wants the ideas to feel closely connected. To be fair, I get it; semi-colons are the scariest of all English punctuation marks. But still, they are what they are and the author would do well to get comfortable with them as they are absolutely the perfect means of conveying her ideas the way she clearly wants to convey them. I am not a part of the editorial team, but I hope that whoever is has a sturdy set of red pens. The ideas in this book and the language used to express them are amazing – the grammar just isn’t that the same level yet.

Bechdel Test Survivor: Yes indeed. The friendships Grey has with other women are meaningful and add a lot to the story outside of the main plot. I really enjoyed Grey’s dynamic with Leonie. Grey learning to trust Sela and Sela’s mother was also nicely done, given the circumstances they were in. But her learning to work with Ola, a fellow Hand who is as devoted to her mage as Grey is to Kier, was my favorite of the female friendships.

Content Warnings: Extreme violence, medical discussions (including a visceral surgery scene), and some implications of child abuse. No indications of sexual assault or abuse are in this novel.

Is the FMC/MMC Unfaithful: I think Grey and Kier would sooner jump into a bubbling lava pit than even think about it. That said, these are grown adults in a war zone, so they obviously have prior experiences and relationships that they carry with them into the beginning of the story.

Thank you for reading and please don’t be afraid to jump in to tell me what book to read next. I am building my list based on community requests, ARC approvals, and my own TBR library, so any input I get is massively helpful. Until next time!

Previously Reviewed: When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker.

Next Review Is: The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle Jensen