A slave with fractured magic. A soldier with buried secrets. In a world on the brink of war, love and power collide in a hauntingly beautiful fantasy trilogy.
The War of Lost Hearts is a trilogy composed of Daughter of No World, Children of Fallen Gods, and Mother of Death and Dawn. It gives Sarah J. Maas vibes, just darker.
Overview
The War of Lost Hearts takes place in the fantasy world of Threll and Ana. We meet Tisaanah while she is still a slave in Threll. As a “fragmented” valtain (person with magic), she has a unique appearance of skin, hair, and eye color, with mismatched colors. She attempts to buy her freedom, things go wrong, and she escapes.
She arrives at the Order in Ara to learn how to control her power. They don’t have any mentors available, so they take an unconventional approach of training under Max.
Max is an ex-soldier who just wants to be left alone in his cottage. Tisaanah’s stubbornness and dedication to gain enough magic to go back and free the other slaves eventually cause Max to teach her. Then you start to see some sparks.
Tisaanah and Max encounter many obstacles that test their skill and their relationship. Oh, and Max has some secrets he wants to keep quiet, especially the secrets about Reshaye.
Children of the Fallen Gods, we are introduced to yet another point of view, Aefe. It takes a while to figure out where she fits in.
Mother of Death and Dawn wraps up all our stories. I think it’s the perfect ending.
Positives
I love Broadbent’s storytelling. It’s such a treat when I come across a unique story. This is one of those.
You can tell she put a lot of effort into all the parts. Characters are well-developed, and the world is complex and beautiful.
In big complex plots like this, the romance suffers. Especially when the couple is away from each other and then comes back. Most authors aren’t able to incorporate character development while maintaining the dynamics of the romance we fell in love with. But Broadbent does it well, I was relieved.
Negatives
This is more of a preference, but this is a long and dense series. It is not a guide read. There aren’t any slow bits, though. It reminds me of The Lord of the Rings.
Recommendations
Five stars for me. The series is so well written, Broadbent did a great job.
Narration Notes
I was able to listen for free from my library via Libby!
The War of Lost Hearts series is also being offered for free with a Kindle Unlimited membership.
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