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A review by ladynovella
The Fallen & the Kiss of Dusk by Carissa Broadbent
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
So friends - I have to admit something. I've been treating the Nyaxia series like it's the "lesser" of Carissa Broadbent's series. I mean, "The War of Lost Hearts" is pretty much perfect and anything else can only pale in comparison with that UTTER and COMPLETE masterpiece of a fantasy romance, right? Nyaxia is fine, but my reader heart is still back with Tisaanah and Max and their - UGH - disgustingly flawless love story, the level of which all other romances can only dream of attaining
I feel like Carissa heard my mental critic and said "Challenge Freaking Accepted" and wrote this book.
Believe me, "Songbird" felt a little... off for me. I still liked it for what it was, but it was missing something and I couldn't exactly say what. I still can't say for sure. But whatever that was, "Fallen" MORE than made up for it!
It wasn't just the love story, either (though that is HEART EYES FOR DAYS). It was all the other baggage and nonsense that both Asar and Mische have been carrying - all their hangups and problems and trauma and giving most of that stuff some closure. Not completely, because none of that stuff ever totally goes away. But enough that they could both move forward. Hell, some of the things that happen at the end (especially with Mische) actually helped ME explain some of my shit - or at least give me something to hold onto. Not that I ever think "I need this fantasy romance story about vampires and gods and the underworld to relate to my life or it's worthless" (c'mon - I read to get away from my reality). But it is a nice side note, and it's a mark of how much I'm invested in the story that such a thing happened at all.
ALSO - THANK GOODNESS Raihn and Oraya showed back up and reminded us that, yes, people actually give a crap about Mische! That might be one of my complaints about "Songbird" - that things from previous books didn't quite connect again. I understand why that had to happen in the last book, but it was jarring.
Overall, I'm delighted with this installment. The excrement has well and truly hit the fan (we're just going to ignore the lack of sun for [mumble-mumble] years and how that would destroy pretty much every food source in this world? I don't even care if it's an ass-pull magic reason that the world is continuing to exist without the sunlight, please 'splain, thank you) and the main character for the next one is... a choice. But I will trust the author. She knows what she's doing.
I feel like Carissa heard my mental critic and said "Challenge Freaking Accepted" and wrote this book.
Believe me, "Songbird" felt a little... off for me. I still liked it for what it was, but it was missing something and I couldn't exactly say what. I still can't say for sure. But whatever that was, "Fallen" MORE than made up for it!
It wasn't just the love story, either (though that is HEART EYES FOR DAYS). It was all the other baggage and nonsense that both Asar and Mische have been carrying - all their hangups and problems and trauma and giving most of that stuff some closure. Not completely, because none of that stuff ever totally goes away. But enough that they could both move forward. Hell, some of the things that happen at the end (especially with Mische) actually helped ME explain some of my shit - or at least give me something to hold onto. Not that I ever think "I need this fantasy romance story about vampires and gods and the underworld to relate to my life or it's worthless" (c'mon - I read to get away from my reality). But it is a nice side note, and it's a mark of how much I'm invested in the story that such a thing happened at all.
ALSO - THANK GOODNESS Raihn and Oraya showed back up and reminded us that, yes, people actually give a crap about Mische! That might be one of my complaints about "Songbird" - that things from previous books didn't quite connect again. I understand why that had to happen in the last book, but it was jarring.
Overall, I'm delighted with this installment. The excrement has well and truly hit the fan (we're just going to ignore the lack of sun for [mumble-mumble] years and how that would destroy pretty much every food source in this world? I don't even care if it's an ass-pull magic reason that the world is continuing to exist without the sunlight, please 'splain, thank you) and the main character for the next one is... a choice. But I will trust the author. She knows what she's doing.