Excellent. Highly recommended. ( )

Daughter of Death and Dawn by Carissa Broadbent is the third book of the War of Lost Hearts trilogy. This is a magical fantasy story with some humans being magic wielders. This books picks up as Tisaanah has been separated from Max and is forced to focus on helping her people obtain their freedom. There are shifting alliances between the Threllian lords, new queen Nura and the Fey, and the fate of magic, and the world, hangs in the balance.

The Lovely: The plot and tension were much improved in this book. Events kept happening and the pace was faster. It felt like the stakes were higher and I did want to keep reading with this book.

The Mundane: While I love Max and Tisaanah’s relationship, I don’t feel like she as a character or their relationship really developed much in this book, which was dissapointing given the length. Max had some development but she didn’t in my view.

The Dreadful: Despite the improvement to the tension and plot this book felt LONG. It was longer at 720 pages but I think the story could have been told in more like 500 or less pages.

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Recommendation: I feel like I need a cookie for finishing this series. This third book was a bit better than the prior two (likely because I didn’t have to deal with Reshaye consciousness confusion) but not enough to be four stars. I would only recommend this series in certain circumstances. I’ve loved Carissa Broadbent’s other books so not sure if these are different because they were her first books, or they’re just different enough. ( )

"It ends with two souls who create a future together."

First of all, the physical book itself is wonderful. The pages are thick and the book is heavy. I love holding it. Second, I very much enjoy the short chapters. Each one is from a different perspective. And most of them leave on their own little cliffhangers and switches perspectives that leaves you completely infuriated. I absolutely love it!
I do wish there was more relationship building. It helps the buildup. Carissa is getting better as she goes. The spice in this book is more than the previous two books in this series.
This is not a perfect, happily-ever-after ending. In fact, it's imperfect. Which is what makes it so great. Not only do I recommend, I recommend this entire series. It will live with me forever. Because it's not enough. Never enough.

Below are my **SPOILER** thoughts and reactions as I read through the book.

Pg. 163:

I haven't even started yet but the cover photo... Um excuse me? Is that a crown on her head?!?! I think I'm going to really love this book. Because I'm seeing it from both sides and I agree with both sides. Not all conflicts are black and white where one is solely wrong and the other right. This is that case. I completely understand Caduan. I would feel the same way but genocide is never the answer. Nura is brash and blinded by fear. But she's the one who started it. And she can't allow the fey to wipe out humans.
If Nura keeps taking Max out of the prison, why doesn't Tisaanah just wait until one of those times to strike? I'm betting she doesn't know. But if they kept watch they would see them they could get him.
Okay so she's got one of the Wayfinders, imbedded in her skin. There are 2 more. Maybe this is how she stops the wars.
And max is on his way to Threll! And she doesn't even know! This is so infuriating. I am so elated with the story of Aefe. I so badly want her and Caduan to wind up happy together. They deserve it.

Pg. 431:
Omg, Zagos is Niraja! Oh i fell in love with that place. The world needs to be like it. Fey and humans living together harmoniously.
They can't split up. No. They can't be separated again! This isn't fair! NO!
What's the deal with Ishqa? His reasons don't seem enough.
Nearly 2 chapters of them embraced together is a breath of fresh air. I needed this.
I honestly have no idea how this is going to play out. I don't want either side to win but I don't want them to lose either. Except Nura. She can lose.
Um, wtf Caduan. He just left her there? Acted like it was a mistake? Why??

Pg. 589:
Ascended above... stop getting captured!
It's like the showdown of a lifetime is about to happen. The fey, Aran, rebels, and Thereni all together, all pissed. LETS DO THIS!
Tisaanah the leader of Threll, max the leader of Ara, Caduan, and now Ezra is in the mix? There is so much. Yet... not enough. Never enough.
Caduan and Aefe 😍 omg! Nice spice scene.
How will this resolve?!?!
One moral that is see with Ishqa is that one terrible decision doesn't make you a terrible person.
Wtf is up with Caduan? What did Ishqa see?
Oh damn. Poor Caduan. I love him so much. And no offense but Aefe needs to get over her pity party.

Finished:
OMG THEY'RE GETTING MARRIED!
I really appreciate the concept of the fey not being as advanced as the humans because they had immortality. Like the figured they had time to advance and innovate while the humans spent their relatively short lives becoming greater. Caduan saw this and realized this fault in the fey. For a race that lives 10 times as long, they were not as advanced. He wanted to spend his lifetime learning everything about the world only to realize it still wasn't enough time.
Omg. So much. Caduan and Aefe. Tisaanah seeing her mom had me crying. Max seeing his daughter made my heart soar for their future. This ending is absolutely crazy. It definitely isn't where I thought it would go. My heart broke for Aefe and Caduan.

This isn't quite the happy ending I thought it would be. I didn't expect Aefe and Caduan to meet the end. However, I'm not disappointed in their ending. All Aefe (Reshaye) wanted was to die. And her and Caduan didn't want to live without each other. And in order to close the deep magic, someone had to give their life. And they went together, opening that door.
I'm very pleased that Max and Tisaanah didn't keep their high ranking roles. They were not greedy and power hungry but were still in positions to help change the world towards a better future. And the ending so so realistic. Everything didn't go straight to a perfect life for them. They still struggled with the torment that they endured in the past, they worried that their future would be ripped away, and the "new" world wasn't perfect. But this ending WAS! I love that it so imperfect. That's what makes it perfect. ( )