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gperna01 's review for:
The Songbird & the Heart of Stone
by Carissa Broadbent
OMFG CARISSA!!!!! This was so beyond fantastic words do not even come close to describing it. I first off what to thank my favorite, Carissa Broadbent for this e-ARC. As someone who has been a fan since Daughter of No Worlds first released, nothing makes me happier than a new Carissa Broadbent book. It has been so long since I’ve gotten a new book, I feel like I was stranded in the desert, and I have just had my first sip of water in years.
The story starts off a couple months post the chaos at the end of Ashes and Mische is captured by the House of Shadow for the murder of the prince and Heir. Mische is faced with execution or help the Wraith Warden, Asar, with his mission from Nyaxia. This starts Mische on a journey that she can never come back from. Asar is tasked by Nyaxia to bring her husband, Alarus, the God of Death, back to life. Asar is a necromancer, and he has a unique connection to Alarus's underworld and is the only moral able to navigate it. The only kicker is that Atroxus hid all the parts to Alarus's soul with his own power and Asar needs an Atroxus's priestess to retrieve the parts of soul for the resurrection. Mische will change and transform into someone different than the person who we started with at the beginning of this book. Her journey through the underworld and her relationship with herself, Asar, and Atroxus makes for a nail-biting story.
I was so excited for Mische’s story to get some love. I always felt that she was underrated as a character and her human life before turning had the makings of a fantastic character arc to where we see her now. Initially as the book was starting and she was in a cell in the House of Shadow I was thinking to myself okay where this is going. But holy hell would I never be prepared for what I went through. Asar's task leads Mische, Elias, and Chandra into the underworld to collect the parts of Alarus. Mische is faced with many challenges throughout; she is on this trek, firstly, with Chandra who is an elderly priestess for Atroxus. It is hard for Mische to reconcile who she is now and who she used to be when she is around Chandra. Chandra makes Mische feel that she is not good enough for her god and she must do everything in her power to make him lover her again. Mische constantly needs to use her fire and light but the farther she gets down into the underworld the harder it is for her to find it inside her, this has forced her to use her shadow powers. Mische has a continuous inner struggle the entire novel where she is trying to accept who she is now versus who she used to be. Knowing that if she gives up the human Mische version that Atroxus will no longer love her. The theme of the novel very much follows the struggle with change and transformation. In Mische's eyes, her Turning ruined everything in her life and she is damned now. Mische was always taught that she must give give give and never take, that taking was selfish and sinful. Every time she takes, she always beats herself up and worries over what Atroxus will think. I feel like on this journey with Asar, Mische realizes she is more than her god and that there is nothing wrong with her, this is a very slow process. Learning about her childhood and the major events that she experienced on her fall from grace was heartbreaking. She gave up everything for Atroxus and his love was conditional and fleeting and super f*cked up. Even when Atroxus does the worst things she never realized that Atroxus's "love" was not what love was supposed to be like. I loved seeing Mische blossom into the person she was always meant to be, and the ending took me by surprise. This book was a CONSTANT rollercoaster of emotions, and I truly never knew what was going to happen next. I feel like I am going to have to reread the last 100 pages again as it went by so quickly and so much was going on I do not feel like I properly absorbed it all. I am on the edge of my seat for the next installment, and I cannot wait to see where she takes the rest of this series.
Honestly, this book was so full of such an amazing storyline it is hard for me to put it into words that are gracious enough to describe how I feel. Carissa's books have always made an impact on me and are ones that you never stop thinking about. They are profoundly emotional while the fantasy world building is beyond your wildest dreams. Many writers cannot replicate the reader connection to every set of characters she creates and how well developed they are as well. Even in her Novella, it was short, but man did you feel connected to Lilith's story. I feel that my reviews of my well-loved books are never as concise as I want them to be, but I feel the love for them makes the review more chaotic. Carissa Broadbent to me will be one of the greatest writers I have ever had the pleasure to read and is ALWAYS an automatic buy for me. This is truly one of her greatest works and when I think she cannot outdo herself she always does.
The story starts off a couple months post the chaos at the end of Ashes and Mische is captured by the House of Shadow for the murder of the prince and Heir. Mische is faced with execution or help the Wraith Warden, Asar, with his mission from Nyaxia. This starts Mische on a journey that she can never come back from. Asar is tasked by Nyaxia to bring her husband, Alarus, the God of Death, back to life. Asar is a necromancer, and he has a unique connection to Alarus's underworld and is the only moral able to navigate it. The only kicker is that Atroxus hid all the parts to Alarus's soul with his own power and Asar needs an Atroxus's priestess to retrieve the parts of soul for the resurrection. Mische will change and transform into someone different than the person who we started with at the beginning of this book. Her journey through the underworld and her relationship with herself, Asar, and Atroxus makes for a nail-biting story.
I was so excited for Mische’s story to get some love. I always felt that she was underrated as a character and her human life before turning had the makings of a fantastic character arc to where we see her now. Initially as the book was starting and she was in a cell in the House of Shadow I was thinking to myself okay where this is going. But holy hell would I never be prepared for what I went through. Asar's task leads Mische, Elias, and Chandra into the underworld to collect the parts of Alarus. Mische is faced with many challenges throughout; she is on this trek, firstly, with Chandra who is an elderly priestess for Atroxus. It is hard for Mische to reconcile who she is now and who she used to be when she is around Chandra. Chandra makes Mische feel that she is not good enough for her god and she must do everything in her power to make him lover her again. Mische constantly needs to use her fire and light but the farther she gets down into the underworld the harder it is for her to find it inside her, this has forced her to use her shadow powers. Mische has a continuous inner struggle the entire novel where she is trying to accept who she is now versus who she used to be. Knowing that if she gives up the human Mische version that Atroxus will no longer love her. The theme of the novel very much follows the struggle with change and transformation. In Mische's eyes, her Turning ruined everything in her life and she is damned now. Mische was always taught that she must give give give and never take, that taking was selfish and sinful. Every time she takes, she always beats herself up and worries over what Atroxus will think. I feel like on this journey with Asar, Mische realizes she is more than her god and that there is nothing wrong with her, this is a very slow process. Learning about her childhood and the major events that she experienced on her fall from grace was heartbreaking. She gave up everything for Atroxus and his love was conditional and fleeting and super f*cked up. Even when Atroxus does the worst things she never realized that Atroxus's "love" was not what love was supposed to be like. I loved seeing Mische blossom into the person she was always meant to be, and the ending took me by surprise. This book was a CONSTANT rollercoaster of emotions, and I truly never knew what was going to happen next. I feel like I am going to have to reread the last 100 pages again as it went by so quickly and so much was going on I do not feel like I properly absorbed it all. I am on the edge of my seat for the next installment, and I cannot wait to see where she takes the rest of this series.
Honestly, this book was so full of such an amazing storyline it is hard for me to put it into words that are gracious enough to describe how I feel. Carissa's books have always made an impact on me and are ones that you never stop thinking about. They are profoundly emotional while the fantasy world building is beyond your wildest dreams. Many writers cannot replicate the reader connection to every set of characters she creates and how well developed they are as well. Even in her Novella, it was short, but man did you feel connected to Lilith's story. I feel that my reviews of my well-loved books are never as concise as I want them to be, but I feel the love for them makes the review more chaotic. Carissa Broadbent to me will be one of the greatest writers I have ever had the pleasure to read and is ALWAYS an automatic buy for me. This is truly one of her greatest works and when I think she cannot outdo herself she always does.