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A review by aksmith92
Mother of Death and Dawn by Carissa Broadbent
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I refuse to believe this series is over! I will miss Tisaanah, Max, Sammerin, and others SO MUCH. I dove headfirst into this series and could not step away. It has been one of the most fun fantasy series I've ever read, and I look forward to reading much more of Carissa Broadbent's books once they are released.
Like the second book, I find it challenging to write a review without spoiling anything, but I will do my best. The second book (read it!) leaves off horribly - people are separated from one another, there is an entire war (a war combined with another war?), and characters in the novel (and I'm sure readers) are so confused about the events that just occurred. The plot and world-building are SO GOOD in all books, including this one. I feel like I am in their world - in the countries of Ara, Ela'Dar, and Threll, fighting right by the characters.
As noted in my other reviews about these books, and it stands for this book in the series as well, but I absolutely LOVED reading about Max. All characters were great, and do not get me wrong, I loved Tisaanah. However, Max's character just did it for me. He was complicated and had one of the most heartbreaking backstories I've ever read. But he was fiercely loyal and strived to use what happened to him for the greater good. I'll miss reading about Max the most.
I think other readers may have a different view than me here, but I LOVED Caduan and Aefe. We meet them in the second book, and they have much more prominent roles in this last book in the trilogy. What a ride it was to read about them. You hated them, felt sorry for them, loved them, were angry at them, and just ALL emotion for them. They were flawed characters in the best way. I think I liked them so much because they were a bit of a "reality check" in the book (for lack of a better phrase to put that). Max and Tisaanah were the good. They did everything for others, their people, their country, etc. They were almost too good sometimes when you were like, hm, would you actually do that? Caduan and Aefe were selfish and vengeful and exuded so much rage, which aligned with what they went through. I found Broadbent's writing of them impeccable - you weren't supposed to love them often. You were there hoping that they could see any ounce of reason after they overcame horrific and traumatic events in their life.
All of this is to say that I loved the character development. Per usual, the plot and world-building were great in this book, but those characters!! Man, can Broadbent write characters (in my opinion). My only two gripes with this book (not that they swayed my rating) were: (1) the magic system was still slightly confusing. It was confusing because we were in the dark about its inception and concept. I mainly understood how it worked, but I didn't get the nice bow about why the deep magic was there. This happens much in fantasy, so I didn't weigh it too much. (2) Although it didn't take much page space, the Ezra subplot seemed weird to put in there. I think it was more about Ishqa's character scrambling to figure out ways to prevent other battles in the war, but I don't think it needed to be in there. (I know this won't make sense until you read it).
BUT, I think this was a beautifully written novel with a lovely and beautiful ending. With that said, there were still some sad parts in the end, which I appreciated because Broadbent recognized that happiness and joy aren't always the first things that happen quickly after an intense war. The ending wrapped up nicely, and it didn't feel too rushed.
How I will miss these books. It has been a fun ride with The War of Lost Hearts trilogy. This series has 5/5 stars all around and has now been added to my favorites. I'll likely reread it in the coming years to experience it again.
Like the second book, I find it challenging to write a review without spoiling anything, but I will do my best. The second book (read it!) leaves off horribly - people are separated from one another, there is an entire war (a war combined with another war?), and characters in the novel (and I'm sure readers) are so confused about the events that just occurred. The plot and world-building are SO GOOD in all books, including this one. I feel like I am in their world - in the countries of Ara, Ela'Dar, and Threll, fighting right by the characters.
As noted in my other reviews about these books, and it stands for this book in the series as well, but I absolutely LOVED reading about Max. All characters were great, and do not get me wrong, I loved Tisaanah. However, Max's character just did it for me. He was complicated and had one of the most heartbreaking backstories I've ever read. But he was fiercely loyal and strived to use what happened to him for the greater good. I'll miss reading about Max the most.
I think other readers may have a different view than me here, but I LOVED Caduan and Aefe. We meet them in the second book, and they have much more prominent roles in this last book in the trilogy. What a ride it was to read about them. You hated them, felt sorry for them, loved them, were angry at them, and just ALL emotion for them. They were flawed characters in the best way. I think I liked them so much because they were a bit of a "reality check" in the book (for lack of a better phrase to put that). Max and Tisaanah were the good. They did everything for others, their people, their country, etc. They were almost too good sometimes when you were like, hm, would you actually do that? Caduan and Aefe were selfish and vengeful and exuded so much rage, which aligned with what they went through. I found Broadbent's writing of them impeccable - you weren't supposed to love them often. You were there hoping that they could see any ounce of reason after they overcame horrific and traumatic events in their life.
All of this is to say that I loved the character development. Per usual, the plot and world-building were great in this book, but those characters!! Man, can Broadbent write characters (in my opinion). My only two gripes with this book (not that they swayed my rating) were: (1) the magic system was still slightly confusing. It was confusing because we were in the dark about its inception and concept. I mainly understood how it worked, but I didn't get the nice bow about why the deep magic was there. This happens much in fantasy, so I didn't weigh it too much. (2) Although it didn't take much page space, the Ezra subplot seemed weird to put in there. I think it was more about Ishqa's character scrambling to figure out ways to prevent other battles in the war, but I don't think it needed to be in there. (I know this won't make sense until you read it).
BUT, I think this was a beautifully written novel with a lovely and beautiful ending. With that said, there were still some sad parts in the end, which I appreciated because Broadbent recognized that happiness and joy aren't always the first things that happen quickly after an intense war. The ending wrapped up nicely, and it didn't feel too rushed.
How I will miss these books. It has been a fun ride with The War of Lost Hearts trilogy. This series has 5/5 stars all around and has now been added to my favorites. I'll likely reread it in the coming years to experience it again.