Romantasy

Children of Fallen Gods

Name: Children of Fallen Gods
Rating: 4 (120 reviews)

Carissa Broadbent · The War of Lost Hearts #2 · 2021

Bound by magic and a fragile trust, the warrior and the commander must save a fracturing world — and the gods are watching.

Score: 78.5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️Steamy
POV: first
Ending: HEA / HFN

Tropes

Grumpy / Sunshine Morally Grey Enemies to Allies Found Family Dark Magic

Content warnings

ViolenceDeathTortureSexual assaultAbuseChild abuseSlaveryGraphic violenceGoreMajor character deathSuicideSuicidal ideationWarGrief & lossPTSDKidnapping

Curated signals, not an exhaustive guarantee.

If you liked this, read

The Bone Shard DaughterAndrea Stewart79.6 Mother of Death and DawnCarissa Broadbent79.3 A Conjuring of LightV.E. Schwab81.6 We Free the StarsHafsah Faizal78.5 The Hemlock QueenHannah Whitten77.9

What readers think

Readers consistently praise Children of Fallen Gods as a rare sequel that surpasses its predecessor, citing the propulsive pacing (many note barely noticing its 600-page length), emotionally resonant character arcs, and an ending described as a masterpiece of foreshadowing. The dual timeline featuring Aefe, a fey soldier from centuries past, is widely applauded for deepening the world's mythology. Criticisms are few but recurring: the opening battle sequences can feel repetitive, the antagonist Zeryth's motivations are underdeveloped, and some readers wanted more quiet intimacy between the leads. The romance is secondary to the sweeping fantasy plot, which some readers love and others find frustrating.

Read it if

· Readers who want plot-driven romantasy where the fantasy conflict genuinely matters
· Fans of dual-timeline epics with fey lore and morally complex war themes
· Those who loved book one and want a darker, higher-stakes payoff

Skip it if

· You want the romance front-and-centre rather than woven through an epic war narrative
· Heavy content warnings around slavery, sexual abuse discussion, and graphic violence are dealbreakers
· You haven't read Daughter of No Worlds — this is a direct continuation with no standalone value

If you liked this

· For fans of An Ember in the Ashes who want a more romance-forward emotional core
· Like A Court of Wings and Ruin but with grittier war stakes and less fae politics
· For readers of From Blood and Ash who prefer a fantasy-first balance over romance-first

How we read the room

In this series

Part of The War of Lost Hearts — read in order:

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