Daughter of No Worlds (The War of Lost Hearts)

4.5/5 Stars This book was so remarkable! It drew me right in and wouldn't let me go. I was really impressed with the composition of the story. The premise of the story is very compelling and it really makes a statement to the reader. Broadbent's writing style really spoke to me and had a very smooth arrangement that kept me engrossed in the story. I enjoyed the world-building for the most part but felt that the magic of the world wasn't covered very well. I went back a few times to see if I had missed something crucial to the story but it just seemed to be something that wasn't developed well enough. The story was still enjoyable even with only a vague understanding of the world's magic but I still felt confused on more than one occasion due to the lack of details. The characters were excellent. Both Tisaanah and Maxantarius were fleshed out really well and the reader couldn't help but love them. We dive right into Tisaanah's past right away and it really sets the tone for the story. I loved getting glimpses of Max's past as the story progressed. I admit, some of the side characters really blended together at first in the beginning. Once I got a grasp on things it was easier to distinguish them apart though. There was a surprising character that I am very eager to learn more about in the next book! The romance in this book was a slow-burn one that was so worth it. The way that Tisaanah and Max come together and come to care about each other is so full of feels. I loved the gradual change from Max's outright refusal to train her, to his reluctant help, to their friendship, to more. They shared bits and pieces of themselves with each other and developed a strong bond. I really loved how Max admired Tisaanah for wanting to help the slaves from her homeland. It's hard not to fall for someone that cares so deeply and is so selfless. I also loved how Tisaanah brought Max out of his funk and out of his loneliness. He had been secluding himself for so long and she sort of brought him out of his shell. Overall, I was wholly impressed with this story. There is definitely an awe-inspiring message under the surface. If not for the sparsely developed magic in the story this would certainly have been a five-star read for me. I am eager to read the second book and see what happens to these memorable characters.

Daughter of No Worlds is an epic fantasy book. I had a lot of fun with it, but there were a few things about it that just didn't quite come together for me. For the first quarter or so of the book, I was sure this was going to be a five star read, but then it sort of dropped off for me & I'm not really sure why. I was still invested in the journey, but it just seemed to lose direction or something. The middle dragged a bit, & it could've probably been a little shorter, IMO. About halfway through, an unexpected development really threw me off. It seemed like the scope of the novel suddenly changed from what I expected & I guess it just didn't resonate with me. I got back into it towards the last 20-30% or so. WHAT I LIKED: >> Tisaanah is a great female main character. I love her determination & her strength. I also love her self confidence. She doesn't think she can do something, she KNOWS it. She reminds me a bit of Aelin from Throne of Glass. >> Max is a compelling MMC, the stuff of great book boyfriends. He is so broken when he & Tisaanah meet, & I absolutely adored watching the two of them slowly heal each other without even realizing it. Both characters are well developed & likeable. >> The great grumpy/sunshine dynamic. The author did an excellent job writing Tisaanah & Max's relationship. It unfolded so organically, from their introductions as wary & slightly unwilling allies, which slowly warmed into friendship, to a true, deep bond as they recognized each other as kindred spirits. It took almost the whole book for them to realize they were in love, & I was totally here for how realistic it felt. No instalove here! >> The writing itself was on point, no grammatical errors that I noticed (although there are several times that Tisaanah, who is learning the language, makes mistakes in word order or mispronounces or misuses a word. These are mistakes that exist purposely to highlight her learning curve). >> It DOES NOT end in a cliffhanger. This is a big one for me. DoNW is a whole book, in which all of the primary plot threads are wrapped up, leaving clear room for sequels but not leaving the reader hanging. There is an epilogue that sets up the next book, including a twist at the very end but not anything that will rock your world. It's just enough to entice you to read the next book. WHAT DIDN'T REALLY WORK FOR ME: >> I thought the pacing was kinda messed up. At the beginning the stakes felt really high, then they were less urgent. This bouncing back & forth from extremely high stakes to chapters of downtime there me off. It seemed like there was either something life-changing & huge happening, or nothing at all. It was just kinda all over the place. >> Then about halfway through there was a completely unexpected development that I just wasn't really impressed with. I don't know why it didn't work for me, because like the rest of the book it was well written, but I just couldn't get into it & the story lost some of its overall lustre due to that. I still hadn't really warmed to it by the end of the book. It just brought such a change of tone. >> There are numerous secondary characters, some of whom have SO much potential, but I found myself wishing they had more depth. Many of the characters that were around off & on the entire book left absolutely no impression on me at all. There were a few people who popped up once then never again, dropping out of the story & leaving me wondering, "What was the point of that?" Maybe they'll become relevant later in the series, but for now they just felt superfluous. >> At 500+ pages, this is a decently long book, & usually I like that. I don't usually even read books with less than 300 pages, because I like the detail & depth of a book that size or bigger. However, in the case of Daughter of No Worlds, I think that if the page count had been pared down some, with a tighter overall narrative, this would've remained a 5 star read for me. Bottom line: I can totally see that some people out there will love this book. It has a lot going for it, & I did enjoy it. I want to see what happens next, but I'm not chomping at the bit to get there. I'll ready the rest of the trilogy, just not right away. I think lovers of sweeping epic fantasy & romantic fantasy will probably devour this novel. Despite my somewhat apathetic feelings towards parts of it, I really do think DoNW was a good book & I hope people give it a chance.

Eu estou impactada. Não esperava que iria gostar tanto dessa obra prima, mas cá estou eu! Confesso que no começo foi difícil para eu engatar na leitura, mas depois, só foi sucesso e surto e gritaria. Eu amei muito como a história foi construída, como os personagens foram se relacionando e confiando um no outro. Tisaanah é perfeita! A força, a determinação e a lealdade dessa mulher me deixou sem palavras. Vê-la se libertando de todas as suas amarras, confiando no Max e o ajudando a se curar também, aí aí aí, era só surto. Eu amo um casal! Max é tudo de bom! A metade da nossa mocinha/anti-heroina. Eles se completam de uma maneira gritante e intensa. Ele sempre a faz enxergar que ela é muita mais e meu Deus, é só tiro e porrada e bomba quando ela cai em si. Ai, vale muito a pena ler esse livro! Estou obcecada e já vou para o próximo! 💖

Absolutely loved this book. The story follows our main character Tissanah who loses her family and was sold when she was young to work as a slave and in order to gain freedom not only for herself but also for other enslaved people, she goes on this journey to the order, the most powerful of magic wielders in the world to ask for their help but in order to get what she wants she might need to agree on something that will change everything for better or worse. This book made feel lot of emotions and this whole series is just so beautiful and characters are just so amazing that they will leave an imprint on you atleast for me they did. From characters to their journey throughout this whole series that motivates them to fight for their people and the pain, the struggle that they went through everything was so beautifully done. Highly recommend.

I’m aware that the author now has a publishing contract - just bought her first hardback published by Bramble (The Songbird and the Heart of Stone) - but when I bought this book (and its sequels) they were self published. Bearing that in mind, the quality of this book is both impressive and remarkable - and I have a new favourite author! I did feel in the first couple of chapters that the author was maybe finding her feet a little, but that’s not really a criticism just an observation. As the story developed, I noted the wonderful world building, the elegant character development, and the beautiful writing. And the plot twists? I did not see them coming and, to be honest, I almost always do - so that’s high praise from me. This author has incredible skill and this book is an incredible read. It’s been a long time since I waxed so lyrical about a story but this one is just genius. A realistic universe, a genuinely viable magical system, an original premise, and some brilliant storytelling. The romance is beautifully evoked and the characters are complex - with compassion for even the unlikeliest of them gently drawn out of the reader. I absolutely loved this and have stopped to write this review before picking up book two. From now on, if Carissa Broadbent writes it, I’m going to be reading it. Faultlessly executed; brava!

I saw so much fanart about this book that I decided to read it, and I'm glad I did. It was a 5-star read and I can't wait to continue this series.

This was amazing. Heartbreakingly beautiful, I loved it, couldn’t put it down and I cried soooooooooo much. The character developlment was so amazing