Maxantarius Farlione has spent his life refining the precise, lethal arts of magic, driven by the singular ambition to honor his prestigious lineage and secure a place in the upper echelons of the military. But the transition from training exercises to the visceral reality of the Ryvenai War shatters his illusions of clean victory and noble glory. As the borders of Ara crumble and his family is thrust into the epicenter of the slaughter, Max is forced to reconcile his hunger for status with the brutal cost of the power he wields.
The stakes escalate when Max enters the competition for the title of Arch Commandant, a role that offers the influence he needs to protect his people but demands a ruthless disregard for personal sentiment. Faced with a trial that pits him against the one person he loves, Max must navigate a political and physical battlefield where every alliance is conditional and every choice carries a heavy moral weight. The narrative explores whether one can ascend to the height of military power without losing the humanity that made the struggle worth enduring in the first place.
The world of "Ashen Son" is built upon the rigid, hierarchical structure of the Ara military, where magic is not merely a gift but a weaponized tool of the state. Characters known as Wielders utilize a sophisticated magic system that requires both mental discipline and physical stamina, making the battlefield a place of high-stakes sorcery. The atmosphere is one of claustrophobic duty; the setting moves between the opulent, high-pressure environment of noble houses and the grim, ash-strewn landscapes of a border war. This juxtaposition highlights the disconnect between the political machinations of the capital and the bloody reality of the front lines.
Max’s initial arc is defined by the friction between his idealized vision of a "rising star" and the compromising nature of war. At the beginning of the story, his identity is inextricably tied to his potential for greatness and his family's expectations. However, as the conflict deepens, his development focuses on the erosion of that idealism. His relationships—particularly with those he must compete against—serve as the primary catalyst for his growth, forcing him to decide if he is willing to become the monster the military requires him to be in order to protect the ones he loves.
"Ashen Son" utilizes several classic military fantasy tropes, such as the "Prodigy in Training" and the "Internal Tournament," but it approaches them with a grim, deconstructive lens. Rather than focusing on a traditional hero's journey toward enlightenment, the story examines the moral decay inherent in systemic warfare. It subverts the "Great Man" trope by showing how Max is often a passenger to larger political forces, even as he gains power. The romantic tension is used not as a distraction from the plot, but as the primary vehicle for testing the protagonist's moral limits, making the "Rivals-to-Lovers" dynamic a source of genuine tactical and ethical dread.
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15 books in catalog
Bloodshed, political maneuvering, and the brutal cost of survival define the landscapes of modern romantic fantasy, where high-stakes conflicts extend far beyond matters of the heart. Fantasy author Carissa Broadbent has built a wide readership in this competitive genre by subjecting her protagonists to the grim realities of power, legacy, and systemic violence. She is widely recognized for The Serpent and the Wings of Night, an epic vampire tournament novel that launched her best-selling Crowns of Nyaxia universe.
Her expansive catalog blends high-tension epic fantasy plots with intense romantic arcs, establishing her as a prominent voice in contemporary speculative fiction across both independent and traditional publishing spaces.
Based in Rhode Island, where she lives with her husband, her son, a perpetually skeptical cat, and a badly behaved rabbit, Carissa Broadbent began writing dark, mercilessly grim stories around the age of nine. This early preoccupation with dark fiction eventually matured into a disciplined approach to epic fantasy world-building. Before transitioning into writing as a full-time profession, she worked in the healthcare industry. That professional background provided her with a nuanced understanding of human vulnerability, physical trauma, and psychological resilience—elements that deeply inform her character development and thematic depth.
Broadbent initially published her work independently, entering the literary landscape with self-published releases such as her 2017 novel A Palace Fractured. She steadily cultivated a dedicated fanbase in the indie fantasy community as her self-publishing earnings grew from covering routine utility bills to generating consistent four-figure paychecks. Her breakthrough reached a broader digital audience through platforms like BookTok, where readers praised her intricate world-building, high-stakes political intrigue, and morally complex characters. This grassroots momentum culminated in major commercial success and substantial reader demand.
Her rapid commercial ascent caught the attention of legacy publishers, leading to major deals with traditional houses including Tor Publishing Group and Pan Macmillan. In July 2023, Bramble, a romance-focused imprint of Tor, acquired her body of work to publish original installments in the Crowns of Nyaxia series alongside new traditional editions of her backlist titles. Now a #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Broadbent's transition from self-publishing to traditional publishing is frequently highlighted in industry publications such as Publishers Weekly as a prime example of independent success driving major publishing partnerships.
Broadbent’s writing style is distinguished by its refusal to sanitize the harsh realities of war, oppression, and physical trauma. Influenced by the lyrical prose and nuanced exploration of femininity found in the works of Madeline Miller, her narratives focus on the psychological toll of conflict and the structural pressures placed upon women in patriarchal or authoritarian societies. Rather than relying on simple tropes, her work emphasizes complex emotional realism, where characters must grapple with moral compromises, trauma, and the heavy burden of survival in hostile environments.
Thematically, her stories delve into the psychological motivations behind both human and non-human behavior, examining why individuals seek authority and how legacy dictates personal agency. A recurring concept throughout her work is that love can be a dangerous vulnerability in worlds designed for cruelty and state-sanctioned violence. While her novels incorporate a substantial romantic thread, critics and readers frequently observe that her epic fantasy plots—complete with intricate magic systems and grim geopolitical maneuvering—are robust enough to carry the narrative independently of the romantic relationships.
Her character design consistently features resilient, complex female leads forced to navigate oppressive power structures. These protagonists are rarely unblemished heroes; instead, they are pragmatic survivors who use strategy, combat skills, and political cunning to protect their communities and claim their personal autonomy. By pairing intricate magical mechanics with intense character dynamics, Broadbent creates stories where emotional stakes and mortal danger remain inextricably linked.
The War of Lost Hearts
