The War of Lost Hearts by Carissa Broadbent is a trilogy which has been compared to Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. Which is a series I absolutely loved, so I was a little nervous to read this series. Because either I was going to lose interest if it was too similar to Throne of Glass or would spend too much time comparing the two instead of enjoying it. But I thoroughly enjoyed the Nightborn Duet from Carissa Broadbent, so I decided to finally give this series as try. Instead of doing a review for each book I’m going to combine them in one. I’ll try to avoid sharing too many spoilers, but I will be discussing the full series.
These books are considered Epic Fantasy. And unlike Throne of Glass which was Young Adult, this series is New Adult so there is more ‘spice’ in the romantic subplot.
Since I have a feeling this review is going to get hella long, I’m going to include a Table of Contents in case you want to see a specific part. I will also be doing a comparison to Throne of Glass in the places where the plot or backstory line up.
Daughter of No Worlds Book Details
A former slave fighting for justice. A reclusive warrior who no longer believes it exists. And a dark magic that will entangle their fates.
Ripped from a forgotten homeland as a child, Tisaanah learned how to survive with nothing but a sharp wit and a touch of magic. But the night she tries to buy her freedom, she barely escapes with her life.
Desperate to save the best friend she left behind, Tisaanah journeys to the Orders, the most powerful organizations of magic Wielders in the world. But to join their ranks, she must complete an apprenticeship with Maxantarius Farlione, a handsome and reclusive fire wielder who despises the Orders.
The Orders’ intentions are cryptic, and Tisaanah must prove herself under the threat of looming war. But even more dangerous are her growing feelings for Maxantarius. The bloody past he wants to forget may be the key to her future… or the downfall of them both.
But Tisaanah will stop at nothing to save those she abandoned. Even if it means gambling in the Orders’ deadly games. Even if it means sacrificing her heart.
Even if it means wielding death itself.
- Published: January 7, 2020
- Page Count: 520 Pages
Children of Fallen Gods Book Details
No war can be fought with clean hands. Not even the ones waged for the right reasons. Not even the ones you win.
Tisaanah bargained away her own freedom to save those she left behind in slavery. Now, bound by her blood pact, she must fight the Orders’ war — and Max is determined to protect her at all costs.
But when a betrayal tears apart Ara, Max and Tisaanah are pushed into an even bloodier conflict. Tisaanah must gamble with Reshaye’s power to claim an impossible victory. And Max, forced into leadership, must confront everything he hoped to forget: his past, and his own mysterious magic.
All the while, darker forces loom — far darker, even, than the Orders’ secrets.
As Tisaanah and Max are ensnared in a web of ancient magic and twisted secrets, one question remains: what are they willing to sacrifice for victory? For power? For love?
- Published: March 30, 2021
- Page Count: 636 Pages
Mother of Death & Dawn Book Details
Tell me, little butterfly, what would you do for love?
In the wake of a crushing defeat, Tisaanah and Maxatarius have been ripped apart. Tisaanah is desperate to rescue Max from his imprisonment, even as her people’s fight for freedom grows more treacherous. But within the walls of Ilyzath, Max’s mind is a shadow of what it once was… leaving his past a mystery and his future at the mercy of Ara’s new, ruthless queen.
Meanwhile, in the Fey lands, Aefe has been dragged back into this world by a king who vows to destroy civilizations in her name. But even as her past returns to claim her, her former self is a stranger.
Tisaanah, Max, and Aefe are thrust into the center of a cataclysm between the human and Fey worlds. The unique magic they share is key to either winning the war, or ending it.
But that power demands sacrifice. Tisaanah may be forced to choose between love and duty. Max cannot forge his future without confronting his past. And Aefe must decide between reclaiming who she was, or embracing who she has become.
The choices they make will either reshape this world forever…or end it..
- Published: February 10, 2022
- Page Count: 722 Pages
Comparison to Throne of Glass
As I will be comparing the two series, there will be spoilers in this mainly for Throne of Glass, since these were spread out over several books; whereas, in The War of Lost Hearts most of this comparison happens within the first few chapters of Daughter of No Worlds.
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Backstory of Aelin:
- Parents were royal.
- Home country was taken over during a war, many were killed and enslaved including Aelin’s family.
- Aelin was a slave in the mines for a year at the age of 17 after Arobynn betrayed her.
- Aelin’s Guild Master, Arobynn, was obsessed with her and gifted her with things.
- Aelin bought her freedom from Arobynn at the age of 17.
- Aelin was beat within an inch of her life by Arobynn after failing to complete a mission.
Powers in this universe:
- Aelin: Fire (god-like strong) and water (weak)
- Rowan: Ice and wind
- Dorian: Raw magic (literally able to do anything he wants)
Plot parallels:
- Rowan trains Aelin in magic during Heir of Fire, initially refuses to do so but gets no choice in the matter.
- Rowan softens towards Aelin after finding out she was a slave.
- Aelin orchestrated the death of Arobynn in Queen of Shadows, thought she does not personally kill him.
- Dorian loses control of his body to the Valg through a Wyrdstone collar that was placed on him by his father. He has no control over his body while the collar is on, and is only sometimes aware of what’s going on around him.
- Rowan’s wife and unborn were slaughtered during war leaving him with nothing to the point he became lost in his grief.
- Rowan swore a blood oath to Maeve following the death of his family.
- Rowan initially freaks out when Aelin touches his face in a romantic gesture making her feel rejected. He later opens up and allows their relationship to progress.
- The King of Adarlan was a puppet to the Valg King, Erawan.
- Witches have blue blood and are considered extinct even though they are not.
- SpoilerAelin is captured and imprisoned, resulting in issues identifying reality. Rowan cries on a beach when he realizes she’s gone, then spends months trying to rescue her.
- SpoilerAelin frees herself from captivity.
- SpoilerRowan and Aelin get married right before a major battle.
The War of Lost Hearts by Carissa Broadbent
Backstory of Tisaanah:
- Mother was leader of village.
- Home country was taken over during a war, many were killed and enslaved including Tisaanah’s family.
- Tisaanah became a slave at the age of 13 to Esmaris instead of being sent to the mines.
- Tisaanah’s owner, Esmaris, was obsessed with her and gifted her with things.
- Tisaanah tried to buy her freedom from Esmaris at the age of 21.
- Tisaanah was beat within an inch of her life by Esmaris after attempting to buy her freedom.
Powers in this universe:
- Order of Daybreak (Max): External magic – Fire and earth
- Order of Midnight (Tisannah): Internal magic – mind, emotions, water, and air
Plot parallels:
- Max teaches Tisannah magic, initially refuses to do so but gets no choice in the matter.
- Max softens towards Tisaanah after finding out she was a slave.
- Tisannah kills Esmaris following him whipping her 27 times, which almost killed her.
- Tisannah loses control of her body to Reshaye, a magical entity that was put in her by the Orders. Max previously had the entity and went through the same experience.
- Max’s family was slaughtered by Reshaye leaving him with nothing following the war to a point where he isolated and was lost in his grief.
- Tisaanah swears a blood oath to the Order to get assistance freeing the slaves in her home country, in exchange she has to become a weapon for the Order (host for Reshaye).
- Max initially freaks out when Tisaanah goes to kiss him making her feel rejected. He ends up admitting his feelings and the two get together.
- Queen Sesri is a puppet of the Orders, specifically Zeryth.
- Fey have purple blood and are considered extinct even though they are not.
- SpoilerMax is captured and imprisoned, resulting in memory issues. Tisaanah cries on a beach when she realizes he’s gone then spends months trying to rescue him.
- SpoilerMax frees himself from prison.
- SpoilerTisaanah and Max get married right before a major battle that nearly wipes out their side.
Overall Thoughts on The War of Lost Hearts Series
While this book has been compared to Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas and does have similar elements, they are vastly different stories. Which is something I appreciated, because it didn’t feel like reading something I already read before or being a rip off/copy. Similar tropes are a thing and while this book may have been inspired by Throne of Glass, it has a life of its own. For starters, most of the plot elements that I would compare this series to Throne of Glass occur within the first half of Daughter of No Worlds rather than spread across four books as they were in Throne of Glass, while still going in its own direction.
As much as I love Aelin, Tisaanah has more conviction towards freeing her fellow slaves and attempting to right the wrongs done to her people. Whereas, Aelin basically runs from any responsibility beyond her desire for freedom throughout her series. And while Tisaanah and Max have a very similar relationship to Aelin and Rowan, there are more layers to it especially when you add Reshaye to the mix. An entity that has lived inside both of them at one point.
They also have to deal with tyrants, but the why behind the actions of those leaders are different. Throne of Glass was a Valg King wanting control over the entire world after leaving his own using the King of Adarlan at first to enslave an entire continent. The War of Lost Hearts is due to the Arch Commandant wanting control and power over everything using Queen Sesri as a puppet to wipe out those opposed to the Orders using her paranoia after witnessing her father’s death years ago in the previous war. She doesn’t exactly have the most sound mind all things considered, and that’s what is driving her actions. Like in Throne of Glass, the Arch Commandant isn’t the only villain in the story, Nura is as well filling the role of Maeve. She’s helpful so long as the characters (Max and Tisaanah) work towards her best interest and the second they don’t then they are viewed as the enemy. Not only that but she wants powerful weapons and isn’t afraid to use people to get those.
This is a bit of a spoiler because it isn’t revealed until near the end of Children of Fallen Gods. But since I’m discussing my thoughts on the series, I felt it was only fair to mention since I realized the twist almost immediately. So, it wasn’t that big of a surprise. We’re introduced to Aefe in the second book, similar to how we were introduced to Manon out of nowhere in Heir of Fire, but I got a hunch right away that instead of this being a new character, Aefe was Reshaye. There was something about her demeanor that screamed Reshaye. Also, we knew Reshaye existed before they became a magical entity that turned people into weapons. That, and the emphasis on stories. Reshaye was always talking about stories, and one of the first things Aefe remarked was her interest in Pales stories.
Overall, I give each of the books a 4.5 star rating.
While the series can easily be compared to Throne of Glass as so many of the characters have similar arches or backstories, there’s also a bunch of unique elements to this story. Especially when you factor in Aefe/Reshaye and Caudan. They aren’t quite the same as Valg but do have similar characteristics in that they can temporarily control their host (Tisaanah and Max), but they aren’t the ones trying to infest people. Instead, Max and Tisaanah end up with them due to Reshaye being inserted into them by the Orders. Though neither of them knew what they were getting, only that it was power that could help them with their clause. Later, Max gets Caudan, for brief period of time, due to corrupted magic.
Reshaye is forced to after years of being experimented on to the point she can’t fully remember when she was Aefe. She does eventually get her own body and is reunited with Caudan but so much has changed in the five hundred years. Her story was as gut-wrenching as the end of Manon’s story was. She went through so much, but in the end she did learn that the way she saw justice and vengeance was empty. While I would’ve loved to see Aefe and Caudan get a happily ever after alive, as Max and Tisaanah did, I understand why they didn’t. Because in the end, no one would’ve been left alive if they kept going down the path they were. So instead, they healed what was broken then moved on to the afterlife hand and hand with each other. It gave them a satisfying ending and redemption, so all sides had a chance for peace in the end.
Did I feel like I missed out on some of the depth between certain characters? Yes.
Did I think some parts dragged? Yes.
But I also saw some of that as necessary as jumping forward in time would’ve felt wrong especially since it was the build up of the world and start of the character arcs. You need to see Max struggling to open up as he’s in a place where he doesn’t believe there’s anything good in the world anymore and while it may not have been his actions that resulted in the death of his family and an entire city, it was his hands and he had to watch it happen without being able to stop it. And I can’t fault Tisaanah for her conflicted emotions about her former master. She spent most of her life with the guy and thought he cared about her only to learn he really didn’t when he was almost killed her. So, yeah she killed him back but she never killed anyone before so of course she would be in shock and reeling with those emotions for a while afterwards. And considering how much he shaped her life, it makes sense why she would constantly be haunted by his memories.
Love ya,
Mae Polzine
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