Daughter of No Worlds is the first volume in the War of Lost Hearts trilogy. While drawing on some tropes of the romantic fantasy genre, the trilogy’s broad geographic canvas and emphasis on militarism and politics place it firmly in the epic fantasy category. Like Carissa Broadbent’s other work, this trilogy focuses on issues of power: The protagonist is a disempowered woman whose quest for magical supremacy raises questions about power’s corrosive and corrupting influence.

The trilogy is summarized below (with spoilers) to give the reader context for the series as a whole.

Daughter of No Worlds

Tisaanah kills her enslaver in self-defense and flees to the kingdom of Ara, where she hopes to develop her innate magical gifts. She is trained by a cynical ex-soldier named Max, who eventually falls in love with her. Because Tisaanah is motivated by the desire to free her fellow enslaved people, she urgently wishes to acquire as much magical power as possible. This leads her to agree to a disastrous bargain to host the evil magical entity Reshaye, whose former Host was Max. After freeing the enslaved people of Threll, Max and Tisaanah are embroiled in a political coup staged by Tisaanah’s mentor, Zeryth.