Carissa Broadbent

No war can be fought with clean hands. Not even the ones waged for the right reasons. Not even the ones you win. Tisaanah bargained away her own freedom to save those she left behind in slavery. Now, bound by her blood pact, she must fight the Orders' war -- and Max is determined to protect her at all costs. But when a betrayal tears apart Ara, Max and Tisaanah are pushed into an even bloodier conflict. Tisaanah must gamble with Reshaye's power to claim an impossible victory. And Max, forced into leadership, must confront everything he hoped to forget: his past, and his own mysterious magic. All the while, darker forces loom -- far darker, even, than the Orders' secrets. As Tisaanah and Max are ensnared in a web of ancient magic and twisted secrets, one question remains: what are they willing to sacrifice for victory? For power? For love?

Children of Fallen Gods

Genevieve 

We are the children of fallen gods and lost empires. We are the memories of bones in the plains. And we are more than they ever thought we would be. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Oh... wow. I am speechless. I'm not even sure what to type here. Children of Fallen Gods is the most beautiful, heart-wrenching, epic book that I have read all year, and possibly that I have ever read, ever. I'm not sure I can find a single fault with this, I am completely and utterly in love with this series. 

Sooo much happens in the book - it is completely action packed, we go from epic battles, armies, war, politics to stunning professions of love, of deep connection, of understanding and support to heart-breaking, soul destroying moments, the angst, the anguish - oh my word. 

“No war can be fought with clean hands,” he said. “Not even the ones waged for the right reasons. Not even the ones you win.”

Tisaanah and Max are perfection, maybe too perfect, but even that isn't enough to mar this story. You cannot help but fall absolutely in love with these two - and it doesn't help that every few chapters one of them goes and does something insane that'll have you tearing your hair out and praying for their survival. I am not sure how many near-death experiences I can live through. 

“I like to live an exciting life, Max. This is part of my charm.”
“When all this is over, maybe we’ll take up hiking. Something scenic with a low mortality rate.”

We also are introduced to a new character POV in Children of Fallen Gods, Aefe (I'm choosing to pronounce this Ava - does anyone know the correct way??) who is Fey and the daughter of one of the Kings in the Fey land. Her added perspective adds another fascinating layer of intrigue, and the moment where the intertwined stories overlap is just breath-taking, I was in so much shock I had to put the book down and process it. I thought I was smart guessing my way through and then, now, reading back through the quotes I highlighted I am struck by how much the actual truth was forewarned. I could literally feel my heart being dragged out through my stomach when I realized what was happening. There were so many twists like this throughout this book, it definitely isn't for the weak of heart. 

Perhaps once I was something. But I do not remember what. And maybe I have never been anything but the discarded remains of others.

Here are a few more of my favourite quotes, because I'm not sure I can possibly say anything else that would live up to what I just read. 

“The temples were beautiful,” Caduan said, quietly. And he paused, as if remembering, a mournful smile at his lips. Then he looked back at the fire, and it was gone. “But when the humans came, they crumbled just as easily as the brothels. And the scholars and the whores ended up in the same graves.”

"I showed these cities exactly what I was capable of doing to them. My spectacles embodied the shattering of their greatest strengths. I collapsed the stone around the most fortified district, as if to whisper to them, I can tear your walls like paper. In the one sheltered by the sea, I roiled the waves until they were ten, twenty, fifty feet high, to show them, I could swallow you whole. I made mountains shudder and fields wither; I filled the sky with smoke and snarling eyes. Upon every target, I unleashed hell."

"No one deserves to be put on a pedestal. They won’t climb down to save you, and if you’re looking up at them, you’re not looking ahead at what’s coming for you."

Marisa Petri

Honestly dissapointing compared to the 1st book. The romance is basically settled, no surprises left. The twists were not that interesting to me, characters are presented as being morally grey (Nura) while not behaving so at all (she's just evil tbh), I liked the tension with the fae and the origin story of Reshaye but that's litteraly it... the only reason this book gets a second star is bcs of this backstory.

Children of Fallen Gods

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