Recent Reads: The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent 
Series: Crowns of Nyaxia #1
Publication Date:  August 30, 2022

 

Format: Ebook
Source: Borrowed- Kindle Unlimited

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

Human or vampire, the rules of survival are the same: 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 Kejari: 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.

The Serpent and the Wings of Night is the first book in a new series of heart-wrenching romance, dark magic, and bloodthirsty intrigue, perfect for fans of From Blood and Ash and A Court of Thorns and Roses.

Review: 

I don't even remember how I found this book. Might have just been browsing but also might have been one of those TikToks with an excerpt, either way it was boasted as a vampire fantasy with a romance element. I have been looking for a fun fantasy series and this one was a good one to start. 

The book follows Oraya, a human brought into the vampire court by the current king when she was a child. She is now older, and she is entering a tournament in order to receive a wish from a goddess in the hope of becoming more to her vampire father, and stronger for herself. The tournament has a number of trials that she must pass through and only one can win, and she is the only human competing, the rest are vampires. Oraya is strong, has learned to protect herself, and is fighting for herself throughout this book. 

I really enjoyed the tournament and the various trials that she is put through, there is a lot of world building around them. We get some of the vampire world and history before she begins the trials and then little by little also gain more information about this goddess that they are fighting for. Oraya is such a passionate character it is hard not to root for her, although sometimes she is not taking the smartest path. She is stubborn and strong-willed almost to her detriment at times. 

The overall plot was a little slow, the trials themselves moved pretty quickly but some of the interludes were a little boring to me at times, I wanted the action and movement in the story. There were a lot of great plot twists and interesting politics that arose as you continued the story that I enjoyed. I think that the next book with have more of that as well. 

The romantic element is a slow burn enemies to lovers thing, that worked well and got spicy in the end. I think that it was easy to see coming and that these two have a lot of respect for one another in the end... but boooooy that ending... I was not expecting it and I cannot wait for book 2. 

I want to say more about this book, but I think leaving more to the reader is best for this book. There were a lot of interesting surprises and characters and I think it had more impact because I went in pretty blind to what the plot was really about... Overall if you are looking for a fantasy with a vampire focus, but also don't mind some steam, this could be for you.