Book Review: ‘Children of Fallen Gods’ by Carissa Broadbent (The War of Hearts #2)
Tisaanah has just won a major victory in Daughter of No Worlds (previously reviewed). With Reshaye’s power, she destroyed the corrupt leaders of Threll and freed the slaves. But there’s no time to revel in her victory in the second book in Carissa Broadbent’s The War of Lost Hearts series. In Children of Fallen Gods, Tisaanah is immediately thrown into a new war with reprecussions that reach far beyond Ara. Tisaanah is determined to find a way to save everyone, but she may find out that it isn’t always possible.
[Note: While I am reviewing this novel independently and honestly, it should be noted that it has been provided to me by Bramble for the purpose of this review. Warning: My review of Children of Fallen Gods contains some spoilers!]
Tisaanah must trade strength for finesse in Children of Fallen Gods
Tisaanah has become very used to Reshaye’s power. When its strength flows through her, the results are incredible. But now Tisaanah is being forced to fight a war that she doesn’t believe in against people she sees as almost innocent. She has no choice but to fight, but she is going to do it on her terms. Which means exerting extreme control over Reshaye’s raw strength. If she slips, the results will be catastrophic.
Thankfully, she has Max to help ground her. They have finally fully given into their love, and it helps to keep them both focused. But it also gives them something more to lose. Their enemies know this, and when a horrible betrayal shocks them both, their enemies will use those feelings against them. Will their love save them or be their downfall? Only time will tell.
Children of Fallen Gods rotates between three narrators: Tisaanah, Max, and a new character, Aefe. At first, Aefe’s story seems completely unrelated to the story of Tisaanah and Max. Aefe is an elf that doesn’t fit in her world. She is supposed to be the next ruler of her people, but because her magic works differently, she is cast aside. In fact, if she hadn’t been of royal blood, she would have been killed.
But then elves begin dying in genocidal attacks. It turns out that humans are to blame; the question is, how could these insignificant bugs possibly be killing elves in such devastating ways?
Aefe sets out with a small group of elves to look for answers. As we follow them, it dawns on the reader that Aefe’s story is intimately connected to Tisaanah. Indeed, Aefe’s story is the cornerstone, without which there would be no War of Lost Hearts. Her story is the sad tale that sets everything else in motion.
Complex villains and their motivations
Something very interesting in Children of Fallen Gods is that everyone thinks they’re doing the right thing. Even the characters that are villains don’t see themselves that way. And yeah, the villains usually don’t see themselves as bad guys, but they really think they’re the heroes in Children of Fallen Gods. In fact, their complete and total belief in their actions ends up making some characters into even bigger adversaries as time goes on.
The characters’ conviction ends up making picking out the bad guys and deciding who to root for really difficult. Some characters seem really great until sudden revelations change everything. Others seem horrible, but when you see their justifications, you soften towards them.
The world that Broadbent creates in Children of Fallen Gods is complex and multifaceted. And just like in the real world, there are no easy answers or obvious solutions to situations.
Everyone has a plan, and everyone believes that their plan is the best. The best plan will always involve lots of compromise, but usually those who are in power are too enamored with themselves to really listen to and compromise with others. This proves true over and over again in Broadbent’s story.
What’s worse is that everyone in power appears to be willing to accept collateral damage. They see it as sad (well, some of them do) but necessary. Tisaanah and Max seem to be the only ones who don’t accept the cost. They want to win battles without bloodshed and end wars instead of starting more. If only those most interested in protecting people were the ones in charge!
A marked improvement over Broadbent’s Daughter of No Worlds
Children of Fallen Gods is the second book in her The War of Lost Hearts series. Broadbent self-published the series five years ago, and it was so popular that Bramble is now releasing the trilogy.
I have to admit that I wasn’t particularly impressed with the first book, Daughter of No Worlds, when I read it a couple of months ago. But I found Children of Fallen Gods much more compelling. I really enjoyed Aefe’s story. Speculating how it connected to Tisaanah and Max was fun. Being right was even more fun!
Beyond the new characters that I enjoyed, I liked seeing Tisaanah grow. She still wants to save everyone, but she starts to see how to use intelligence to win instead of just beating her head against the wall trying to break through. Max also grows in Children of Fallen Gods.
Previously, he hid himself away from the world. He saw only the ugliness in the world and sought to create his own safe space. Now he is seeing that hiding solves nothing. He may not want the spotlight, but to build a world worth living in, he is willing to do whatever he has too, anything except lose Tisaanah.
My rating for this book: 8/10
Although I wasn’t crazy about the first book in this series, Children of Fallen Gods is a marked improvement. Hopefully the third book, Mother of Death and Dawn, continues the pattern and ends the series on a strong note. In the meantime, I do recommend reading the first two in the series to prepare for it.
Also check out Book Review: Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent
