Children of Fallen Gods
By Carissa Broadbent (2021)
Fantasy Romance
★★★★★ 5 Star Review
Description
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?
Thoughts & Review: Characters and Romance
Tisaanah is still as badass as ever, and I admire her determination and her resilience. Some moments in this book were heartbreaking, but she still continued to go on, and believe that she could make the world a better place.
“People like me have always had to fight,” I said. “It’s easy to abandon the dream of easy victory when it was never an option at all.”
Max max max, of course he is the best general ever. and of course he can’t help it but personally teach combat lessons to other soldiers. Max's strategist side is also more evident in this book, he was involved in this conflict even though he didn't want to, but he decided to do it on his own terms and to take the lead. It was fun watching reluctant Max fall perfectly into the role he was forced to take. He has a big heart and a calculating brain. We really see Max battle between his fantasy world of running off with Tisaanah and his strong moral compass, beckoning him to stay and fight.
“You were the one who wanted to save the world,” he said, quietly. “I just wanted to save you.”
Romance
We get to see Max and Tisaanah’s relationship in a new context. Sort of a long distance relationship if you will. As they separate, each take their new roles in fighting someone else’s war. We get to see their independent strengths in how they take on challenges. I am so happy that the strength and bravery Tisaanah showed in book 1 has bled into this installment as well. Even without Max at her side she is determined and fierce. This also gave us the beautiful letters written between the two… the longing, the comfort, the intimacy in sharing their vulnerabilities and deepest thoughts from miles away… beautiful, I can feel the love through the page. They complete each other so well, and they are always there to support, reassure and love each other, and fight their demons together.
“Still, Maxantarius Farlione, acclaimed general, was nothing to me compared to Max, my friend. I didn’t receive letters from General Farlione — I received letters from Max, riddled not with battle strategies but inside jokes that only I would understand and quiet insecurities that I read in the spaces between his handwriting.”
Other Characters
We got blessed with so many villains and morally gray characters, which when written well is fantastic… and these were written SO WELL. We really get to understand Nura and see her perspective in this book, which is exactly what I wanted!! There was a new storyline added in, Aefe, which takes place in the Fey lands. The addition was wonderful and provided us a whole new intense, detailed, and captivating world and set of characters to dive into. Perfect for someone like me, who can often get bored during the second book of a series. And don’t worry, Aefe’s chapters have plenty of relevance to our dear Tisaanah and Max.
Thoughts & Review: Plot and Writing Style
Plot following Daughter of No Worlds
Children of Fallen Gods takes up soon after the ending of Daughter of No Worlds, as Tisaanah and Max quickly realize that new turns of events will make their journey harder than they originally anticipated. The plot gets more complex in this book as new characters are introduced, we went from Tisaanah's quest to save the slave in exchange for her services, to a war fought on many sides at the same time and where the power players are ruthless.
Multiple POVS & storyline threads weaving together
The multiple storylines were to die for!! The plot twists and the pinnacle of the threads weaving together was perfect. As I mentioned earlier, we got blessed with so so many villains and morally gray characters that I was always on my toes in wondering if I could really trust a character. It felt like I was right there with Tisasnah wondering about everyone's motives and who was going to flip and stab her in the back. We also get interesting backstory and perspective of individuals that view Tisaanah as their own personal villain.
“Maybe one day you’ll stand where I do. You’ll cut away every weakness. You’ll make every sacrifice. And then the world will look at you and sneer at your inhumanity, as if you didn’t just become everything they told you to be.”
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