Science Fiction and Fantasy Fridays: THE SERPENT AND THE WINGS OF NIGHT by Carissa Broadbent (Review)

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THE SERPENT AND THE WINGS OF NIGHT

Author: Carissa Broadbent

Series: A Crowns of Nyaxia #1

Source: Purchased

Publisher: Bramble

Publication Date: December 5, 2023

Overall Rating:
Diversity Rating:
Representation: Queer side characters

Summary:

The first book in the Wall Street Journal bestselling Crowns of Nyaxia series by Carissa Broadbent. Filled with heart-wrenching romance, dark magic, and bloodthirsty intrigue—perfect for fans of From Blood and Ash and A Court of Thorns and Roses.

For humans and vampires, the rules of survival are the never trust, never yield, and always—always—guard your heart.

The adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king, Oraya carved her place in a world designed to kill her. Her only chance to become something more than prey is entering the a legendary tournament held by the goddess of death herself.

But winning won’t be easy amongst the most vicious warriors from all three vampire houses. To survive, Oraya is forced to make an alliance with a mysterious rival.

Everything about Raihn is dangerous. He is a ruthless vampire, an efficient killer, an enemy to her father’s crown… and her greatest competition. Yet, what terrifies Oraya most of all is that she finds herself oddly drawn to him.

But there’s no room for compassion in the Kejari. War for the House of Night brews, shattering everything that Oraya thought she knew about her home. And Raihn may understand her more than anyone – but their blossoming attraction could be her downfall, in a kingdom where nothing is more deadly than love.

Purchase*:

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Content Warning: blood, explicit sex scene, death of a parent, death of a loved one, violence, gore, fire, wounds, pain, mentions of rape and sexual assault

I really enjoyed this! I like when there's more than just your typical urban fantasy when it comes to the supernatural and this exceeded my expectations. I was enthralled with the trials and shocked with the twists. I really appreciated the worldbuilding and the way that it was laid out slowly as we learned more throughout the novel. Oraya is a great main character and I loved the transformation of her throughout the book.

The tempo of the book was great - it kept you intrigued and gave enough information and scenes of the trials without overwhelming you. Considering this was a long trial period with lengthy time in between, I appreciated the bouts of preparation and the way we went through the story without it being bogged down with montages.

I thought the trials were super interesting and a good showcase of what Oraya's skills already were and how she could think on her feet to adapt to her surroundings. The trials also gave us more information about the world and expanded our knowledge of what vampires were and who we could and couldn't trust. I really enjoyed seeing how Oraya was so focused on keeping her humanity while knowing she had to be a monster as well.

Oraya is definitely the star of this show, even with Raihn being the broody hot guy in it. I did like the evolution of their relationship from adversaries to more. It isn't quite enemies to lovers because until the Kejari started, they didn't really know one another and they started working together pretty quickly. Really, all of the people in the book were Oraya's enemies considering she was 1. in a trial for her life and 2. a human amongst vampires.

Raihn was a really interesting character and I enjoyed seeing him open up throughout the novel. I liked how he tried to keep his humanity and bring some of that out in Oraya. I appreciated the way he viewed the world and how he made Oraya (and us as the reader) question what is happening in her life. I did also enjoy their romance and thought it was a good slow burn for them.

The ending was really well done but it leaves you on a pretty big cliffhanger! I still think the experience of reading this one and then having to wait until June (to get it from the Tor published version) makes it an even better experience. My brain can now think of theories and ways to fill in some of the gaps and think about what may or may not happen next.

This is such a good story and I wanted to be able to read more immediately. I can't wait to get my hands on book two! Pre-order yours using my affiliate link to Bookshop.org.

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Have you read this book? What was your favourite part?