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classical_learner's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Definitely emotional at the end of this series, but pleased at the ending. Oh, my heart! I shall miss Tisaanah and Max, and Samarin and all the others… These dear book friends will live rent free in my head forever. They have likely influenced my personality at this point. The conclusion is satisfying and whole with moral lesson in the end. The end of an amazing adventure!
Some content (sex, torture) was far more graphic than I would have liked but I just skipped or skimmed those parts since they are few and far between.
Some content (sex, torture) was far more graphic than I would have liked but I just skipped or skimmed those parts since they are few and far between.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexual content, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing
oreosandcreme's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Audiobook: 4
Story: 3
Cons:
Magic system / war conflicts are a little too complicated and not fleshed out.With multiple wars, freeing Max/fixing his memory, Aeffe's trauma, there is no need for another plot point regarding magical items to find and use. There's just too much going on, so it's hard to get fully invested in the stakes and understand what is happening to these characters and their respective countries. (Ie Nura wasn't entirely necessary for this story. I don't think her presence added much)
Pros
The characters are still just so stinkin loveable though. I can't help but root for them and empathize with each of their respective POVs, even though they're actively against each other. Aeffe especially is a great character. Whiny, insecure, and overly reactive, her POV can get annoying, but she makes sense - her emotions, her reactions, her insecurities all contribute to a character you can't help rooting for.
Story: 3
Cons:
Magic system / war conflicts are a little too complicated and not fleshed out.
Pros
The characters are still just so stinkin loveable though. I can't help but root for them and empathize with each of their respective POVs, even though they're actively against each other. Aeffe especially is a great character. Whiny, insecure, and overly reactive, her POV can get annoying, but she makes sense - her emotions, her reactions, her insecurities all contribute to a character you can't help rooting for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Murder, and War
dkgreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
So. Many. Feels. As predicted, this one was a doozy! It’s definitely a good ending for this series though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
dwinn5's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I’m not even sure where to start. This is kind of more of a review of the whole series than just this book, but I could really write an essay about it.
I love the way that the author portrays war in this series. It’s horrible, gritty, traumatic, and tragic and craps all over the idea that there is some kind of glory in war. That whole message comes mostly from Max’s personal development, I think, which leads me to my next point, which is that Max is one of my favorite fantasy men ever, and maybe even one of my favorite characters ever.
My Max rant:
I think too often, male fantasy characters-especially if they are warriors/soldiers, like Max- are thrust into the same stoic, serious archetype that prevents them from feeling like a full person. And even when they experience emotion, it feels stilted and shallow. It was refreshing to see a male character who experienced the full breadth of emotions, who had tried so hard to be “tough” and militant the way he knew he was supposed to be, but ultimately failed because he had always had a soft heart. But at the same time, it didn’t make him any less of a powerful character or undercut his powers- only his motivations/willingness to do things. On the flip side, a lot of the male fantasy characters with the sort of unshakable morals that Max possesses come off as condescending or holier-than-thou, and even when Max did wield some sort of moral superiority, he did it with enough humor and willingness to admit when he’s wrong that it never came across that way to me.
He’s a flawed, feeling, human character that I just loved. Also he was hilarious- definitely the funniest lead fantasy man I’ve ever read.
A couple miscellaneous things I really enjoyed about the series:
-I LOVE when the “villains” don’t really seem to fit the title. This has some true moral greyness to it, and even when I vehemently disagreed with character’s methods, I always understood exactly why they did it.
-Carissa does a great job of setting up the stakes of the story in a way that is believable and increases the intensity of the story to keep you invested. The stakes never felt manufactured or overblown to me- which I think had a lot to do with her willingness to absolutely decimate her characters, lol.
Anyway, long story short- I think a lot more people should be reading this series.
I love the way that the author portrays war in this series. It’s horrible, gritty, traumatic, and tragic and craps all over the idea that there is some kind of glory in war. That whole message comes mostly from Max’s personal development, I think, which leads me to my next point, which is that Max is one of my favorite fantasy men ever, and maybe even one of my favorite characters ever.
My Max rant:
I think too often, male fantasy characters-especially if they are warriors/soldiers, like Max- are thrust into the same stoic, serious archetype that prevents them from feeling like a full person. And even when they experience emotion, it feels stilted and shallow. It was refreshing to see a male character who experienced the full breadth of emotions, who had tried so hard to be “tough” and militant the way he knew he was supposed to be, but ultimately failed because he had always had a soft heart. But at the same time, it didn’t make him any less of a powerful character or undercut his powers- only his motivations/willingness to do things. On the flip side, a lot of the male fantasy characters with the sort of unshakable morals that Max possesses come off as condescending or holier-than-thou, and even when Max did wield some sort of moral superiority, he did it with enough humor and willingness to admit when he’s wrong that it never came across that way to me.
He’s a flawed, feeling, human character that I just loved. Also he was hilarious- definitely the funniest lead fantasy man I’ve ever read.
A couple miscellaneous things I really enjoyed about the series:
-I LOVE when the “villains” don’t really seem to fit the title. This has some true moral greyness to it, and even when I vehemently disagreed with character’s methods, I always understood exactly why they did it.
-Carissa does a great job of setting up the stakes of the story in a way that is believable and increases the intensity of the story to keep you invested. The stakes never felt manufactured or overblown to me- which I think had a lot to do with her willingness to absolutely decimate her characters, lol.
Anyway, long story short- I think a lot more people should be reading this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
leenkelly's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
bem13's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
matthewslaura's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
There aren’t many books that make me read hundreds of pages within a few days, but I absolutely devoured the final book in this trilogy. There was just a lot of great stuff - complex characters/world-building, intense emotions, surprisingly funny moments. I especially loved the epilogue. I’m going to miss this story and have no clue what I’ll read next to fill the void.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
katvou's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Slavery, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Alcohol
aklovekorn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Sexual content, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
bellebookcorner's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“I have made bad decisions before. But you are not, and never have been, and never will be one of them. It is always you.”
An epic conclusion to The War of Lost Hearts trilogy! One of the best series I read this year so far!
The plot is well crafted, every character was introduced and explored really well it’s easy to connect with the main and secondary characters even the morally grey ones.
I really like the writing style which makes it easier to follow the plot and understand the magic system in this universe.
Max and Tisaanah has a beautiful strong bond with one another, their strength is tested over and over again in this book. I love how they always support together and how selfless they are. They are one of my favorite couples!
Not just the main characters, the side characters like Serel and Sammerin are also well developed and has a good role in the story.
Not just Max and Tisaanah, there’s also another couple – Aefe and Caudan. Their story really breaks my heart but I feel their story has a fitting end.
Not just the sweet victory we see at the end, this book also has some heart-breaking moments like losing their loved ones and some sadistic parts with the torture.
I highly suggest to check the trigger warnings before reading this trilogy.
Overall, this is a fantastic trilogy and highly recommended for those looking for a dark fantasy read. It has everything in it, action-packed, emotional scenes, sweet and loving parts!
It’s very well written right from the start until the end and I feel satisfied with the way it wraps up everything, especially with that epilogue!
I’m looking forward to read future books from Carissa!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Sexual content, and Slavery