Welcome friend! Carissa Broadbent’s The War of Lost Hearts series has found a new home with Bramble (Tor’s romantasy imprint), and I couldn’t be happier. I first read Daughter of No Worlds when it was still an indie fantasy making quiet waves, and now, with its rerelease, it feels like the perfect time to revisit my thoughts. This is a sweeping, emotional journey about power, survival, and freedom, led by one of my favorite heroines, Tisaanah.
Let’s take a look at the synopsis:
Carissa Broadbent | Goodreads | The War of Lost Hearts # 1
A former slave fighting for justice. A reclusive warrior who no longer believes it exists. And a dark magic that will entangle their fates.
Ripped from a forgotten homeland as a child, Tisaanah learned how to survive with nothing but a sharp wit and a touch of magic. But the night she tries to buy her freedom, she barely escapes with her life.
Desperate to save the best friend she left behind, Tisaanah journeys to the Orders, the most powerful organizations of magic Wielders in the world. But to join their ranks, she must complete an apprenticeship with Maxantarius Farlione, a handsome and reclusive fire wielder who despises the Orders.
The Orders’ intentions are cryptic, and Tisaanah must prove herself under the threat of looming war. But even more dangerous are her growing feelings for Maxantarius. The bloody past he wants to forget may be the key to her future… or the downfall of them both.
But Tisaanah will stop at nothing to save those she abandoned. Even if it means gambling in the Orders’ deadly games. Even if it means sacrificing her heart.
Even if it means wielding death itself.
Content notes include slavery, violence, physical abuse, rape, war, sexual assault.
Daughter of No Worlds – Book Review
Daughter of No Worlds is a page turning adventure about Tisaanah who was a young girl when her village was destroyed by Threllian lords. The prologue of the book does a fantastic job of introducing her in the early years as well as the other protagonist, Max, through the pivotal moment in his life.
Tisaanah became dear to me in the first few chapters of the book and I was hooked to see her growth and journey. She may have offered herself up for slavery as a young girl but since learning the way to buy her freedom, she worked hard. She danced and manipulated rich people with her charm and magical butterflies to gather the 1000 pieces of gold that would set her free. In her time as a slave, she had learned of The Order and become close with a visitor, Zeryth Aldris. He told her that they accepted ‘fragmented’ albino people with magic like her into their ranks so her goal after she gained freedom was to join the Order and come back to free her best friend.
When Tisaanah finally went to her master, Esmaris, she was beaten and insulted. She was unable to buy her freedom and ended up taking drastic measures to take it for herself. In the aftermath, she had to flee Threll, leaving behind a vacuum of power. She learned more about her power, realizing that they are much more than what she thought they were.
In the world of Daughter of No Worlds, there are two kinds of magic: Solarie and Valtain. The Order is composed of both Solarie and Valtains. After much peril, Tisaanah arrived at the city of Aara where the Order had established themselves. She was a few months too late to be taken in as an apprentice, not to mention older than the age at which apprentices are taken. But considering her situation and connection to Zeryth (who wasn’t there at the time of her arrival), she convinced the second in command, Nura, to give her a chance.
This is how she met Max, the disgruntled, stubborn, only person in the Order who did not take an apprentice. He let her stay but refused to help prepare her for the exam in five months. Tisaanah, used to having to take the hard road, started to study with the limited knowledge of the language. Daughter of No Worlds is primarily told from the perspective of Tisaanah. The dialogue does a great job to show her difficulties with the language while her thoughts present a strong woman, willing to do whatever she can for justice and love.
Tisaanah won over Max with her perseverance and over time, she starts to understand his history with the Order and why he is always on pins and needles with them. She learns about the war from many years ago that made him who he is and the war that her actions in Threll has invariably caused. I enjoyed their chemistry.
I enjoyed the storytelling and situations in Daughter of No Worlds. Carissa Broadbent creates human characters who love, fight, despair and get sea sick. Both Tisaanah and Max are like no other and the Order knows this and takes advantage of it. I found Max’s history heartbreaking. It makes sense why he is the way he is, not trusting the Order in anything they do. He starts to care about Tisaanah and that leads him back to working with the Order, even if it is just to watch over her.
The story has numerous supporting characters. Max’s friend, Sammerin, is a healer and an important part of the plot. His young and clumsy apprentice adds humour and innocence to the book. There is also Nura, one of the leaders of the Order, another healer. She is the one who thinks Tisaanah may do Max some good and she is not wrong. Max’s relationships with Sammerin, Nura, and Zeryth offer a rich backstory filled with political tensions. I found Nura to be quite mysterious and I believe she will have a major role to play in the next installment of the series. The couple chpaters that were told from Max’s perspectives helped me get to know him better and the horrific situations he has faced. Zeryth turns out to be very important in the Order and Max continuously questions his decisions, particularly the one where he left Tisaanah in Threll, inspite of knowing of her powers and her suffering. Zeryth is a formidable character who is going to cause a ruckus in the coming books. I don’t know what his end game is but I am sure it has something to do with power.
One of the most complex characters of all is Reshaye who has a unique connection to both Tisaanah and Max. I enjoyed how it was introduced in Daughter of No Worlds and the havoc it causes in the lives of the people it touches. Tisaanah’s intelligence and commitment to her goals shines through when she takes on Reshaye and decides to Wield it as it was meant to be. She is so powerful and I am excited to see how she grows with time.
After many justified and unjustified tests, The Order welcomes Tisaanah as a Valtain. She is a warrior who is going to be swept up into a war that she does not understand. Tisaanah’s time in slavery made her close to a fellow slave, Serel. He is the only family she has and she would go to any length to save him from the corrupt system they were part of. She is an expert bargaineer and she convinces the Order to help her free Serel before she would help them in their pursuits. The cost is very high and Max realises this too late. The second half of Daughter of No Worlds is all about the mission to Threll, the city where Tisaanah had been a slave. I loved learning more about the world and the Order through this journey while also becoming closer to the characters. The conflicts were ruthless and violent. The mental pressures were extreme. The romance was to die for.
Daughter of No Worlds stands out for its depth, its tenderness, and the slow-burning connection between two broken but hopeful souls.
With Bramble bringing new readers into this world, I can’t wait to see more people meet Tisaanah and Max and to continue the journey myself in the next book.
Add this book to Goodreads or locate it at your local library, Libby, or bookstore.
Also check out: Nightstrider.
Thank you for reading my thoughts. 🙂
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