Book Review: Children of Fallen Gods (The War of Lost Hearts #2)

Children of Fallen Gods

Carissa Broadbent

5/5

I'll start by saying that I was provided an ARC of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. I couldn't be more grateful because it was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it definitely did not disappoint. Children of Fallen Gods picks up very close to where Daughter of No Worlds left off, a boat full of refugees trying to find their way in a new nation. Tisaanah and Max quickly discover that new complications will make their journey even harder than they originally anticipated as they are pulled onto the battlefield yet again.  

Okay so I don't think I have ever comprehensively loved characters as much as I love Tisaanah and Max. I don't like reading perfect characters, I love characters in spite of their mistakes. Sometimes though, characters that I love make such obvious mistakes in their quest to avoid being classified as a perfect character. Tisaanah and Max run into roadblocks and failures, but they don't make decisions that conflict with the values that make them who they are. Their relationship is such a beautifully crafted dichotomy of their past experiences that make them such an effective and comprehensive unit. 

This book was so much better than the first, both in the emotional descriptions of the characters and the action. It's more high fantasy, more complex, and explores much deeper concepts. I loved every minute of it even though it dealt with some things that I don't typically like in novels. Like an additional POV, I'm usually kind of romance centered and don't want to read about someone else but the events are all so amazingly woven together. On that same note, romances where the protagonists are separated for extensive periods. This is a particular problem in the second books in trilogies because I feel like it's difficult to build a strong relationship the whole time through. Despite separations in this book, the relationship still grew so much and evolved into something better than I could have ever anticipated. 

So yeah, I'm recommending this book and this series very strongly. I love everything about it. If you're a fan of good romances, complex magic, and strong worldbuilding, this series will definitely check off all the boxes. I'm still shaken by just how well-written it all was and I know I'll be thinking about it quite a bit for the next few days.