Book Review: These Vile Hearts by Melody Robinette

Official Synopsis: Maddox Sinclair has run out of options. No job means no health insurance —a death sentence for a type one diabetic like herself. She flees to the forest to make a desperate deal with a dryad queen: kill the Redwood King and be cured of the illness that threatens her life.

In the redwood treetops, Prince Castor, is cursed-- anyone who loves him is doomed to die. Like Maddox, he has made an equally unwise pact with his brother, the Redwood King: get a mortal to fall in love with him by solstice and be free of his curse forever.

When Maddox mistakes Castor for the king, sparks fly and troubles ensue. Each must decide what is more important—survival and freedom, or the love they (kind of, almost) feel in their traitorous, vile hearts.

Darkly funny and brimming with magic, These Vile Hearts by Melody Robinette manages to be both wicked and warm, beguiling and moving—a richly woven story of survival and fate.

If you would have told me a year ago there would be a good with Type 1 Diabetes representation but also a romance with a fae I would have laughed, but now I'm ready to throw this book at literally everyone who will listen to me. Maddox Sinclair is a Type 1 Diabetic who doesn't have the money needed to pay for her supplies. After following her late-father's journals to find the Myrtle Queen, a fae-queen who she should know better than to make a deal with, she is desperate, willing to do whatever it takes to get the funds she needs, or to get rid of the disease all together. But the queen asks for something that should be impossible, kill the Redwood King and she will give Maddox everything she wishes for.

When Maddox finds her way into the Redwood kingdom, she befriends who she thinks is the king, but is actually his cursed brother. Prince Castor is cursed to have everyone who loves him die, but if he can get a mortal to fall in love with him his brother the king would help get rid of the curse. But now Maddox thinks he is the king and offers him the first friendship he's had in the while, but both of their goals are the same...they are planning to kill each other. But the longer Maddox spends in the Redwood Kingdom the more she starts to feel more comfortable than she has anywhere else, even if she only has so many supplies and none of the Fae fully understand what is going on with her. She also starts to learn more about what her father did, and the pact he made with the same queen years ago that lead to his death and the death of Maddox's mother.

First of all, having Diabetes worked into a fantasy novel is a dream, and the writing of the whole book but especially the Diabetes parts are really really great. Maddox has a lot of feelings about the disease and how complicated it can be. I also liked being able to see how Diabetes was built into a fantasy world and the care Maddox has to take in a place that doesn't always have the things she needs. The action and twists in the book were also really well done, especially having the POV of both Maddox and Prince Castor, seeing how they are working through their own problems and intentions.

Having Maddox have to worry about the pacts she made in a world that is not her own, while also having to worry about her blood sugars going out of control. She spends a lot of time trying to find sugar for a low, while also becoming aware when her sugars are getting too high. The other thing I enjoyed with that is having her not be on a pump and sensor, she is reliant on shots and being able to test her sugars. After doing that for most of the life, I can't imagine doing that now that I have a pump/sensor, but I think it adds to how much she has to juggle to complete her goal.

The ending of this book is...amazing and I'm excited for a sequel to come out in the future, hopefully sooner rather than later. Just remember to never trust a fae.

Overall, this book is really well written, with a unique aspect of having a Type 1 main character who is in a world that may be harder than our own.

I rated this book 5 out of 5 stars!

These Vile Hearts comes out August 11, 2026!

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