Mother of Death and Dawn by Carissa Broadbent (The War of Lost Hearts 3)

Rating: 8.5/10

Tell me, little butterfly, what would you do for love?

In the wake of a crushing defeat, Tisaanah and Maxatarius have been ripped apart. Tisaanah is desperate to rescue Max from his imprisonment, even as her people’s fight for freedom grows more treacherous. But within the walls of Ilyzath, Max’s mind is a shadow of what it once was . . . leaving his past a mystery and his future at the mercy of Ara’s new, ruthless queen.

Meanwhile, in the Fey lands, Aefe has been dragged back into this world by a king who vows to destroy civilizations in her name. But even as her past returns to claim her, her former self is a stranger.

Tisaanah, Max, and Aefe are thrust into the center of a cataclysm between the human and Fey worlds. The unique magic they share is key to either winning the war, or ending it.

But that power demands sacrifice. Tisaanah may be forced to choose between love and duty. Max cannot forge his future without confronting his past. And Aefe must decide between reclaiming who she was, or embracing who she has become.

The choices they make will either reshape this world forever . . . or end it.

REVIEW

What does justice cost in a world full of power and corruption? Does love even survive when two competing tribes make it out to be something other than it should be? This third entry in the series is a powerful book. A lore compendium on the harshness of a world that is ready to sacrifice the innocent and uphold the villains in eternal glory.

This series embodies a world where characters become the lesser of their extent; the lesser of their morale, the lesser of what they should be. Most fantasy worlds within a romantasy context can be ruthless; Shadow and Bone, for one. But in this one? It goes further. Much further than I expected.

This is a world that carries out Tissanah’s and Max tragic mishaps. Their relationship and chemistry brighten this novel. Aefe is confronted with the challenges of her new identity and her past. There are a ton of characters who bring this world to life. But I will not spoil the rest of this novel. It is a fantastic third entry into an amazing series.