Recent Reads: The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent

The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent  

Series: Crowns of Nyaxia #2

Publication Date:   April 14, 2023

 

Format: Ebook
Source: Kindle Unlimited Borrow

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

Love is a sacrifice at the altar of power.

In the wake of the Kejari, everything Oraya once thought to be true has been destroyed. A prisoner in her own kingdom, grieving the only family she ever had, and reeling from a gutting betrayal, she no longer even knows the truth of her own blood. She’s left only with one certainty: she cannot trust anyone, least of all Raihn.

The House of Night, too, is surrounded by enemies. Raihn’s own nobles are none too eager to accept a Turned king, especially one who was once a slave. And the House of Blood digs their claws into the kingdom, threatening to tear it apart from the inside.

When Raihn offers Oraya a secret alliance, taking the deal is her only chance at reclaiming her kingdom–and gaining her vengeance against the lover who betrayed her. But to do so, she’ll need to harness a devastating ancient power, intertwined with her father’s greatest secrets.

But with enemies closing in on all sides, nothing is as it seems. As she unravels her past and faces her future, Oraya finds herself forced to choose between the bloody reality of seizing power – and the devastating love that could be her downfall.

Book 1 Review is Here.

Review: 

I really enjoyed The Serpent and the Wings of Night, the tournament aspect of the book was a lot of fun. That being said, I wasn't sure where this book would take the plot since the tournament is over. If you haven't read Book 1, I suggest you stop reading here.

SPOILERS starting now...

At the end of Book 1 Oraya trades her victory wish to save Raihn. Once Raihn is alive though, he kills the king and takes power...because PLOT TWIST he is heir of that clan. When that happens though Oraya ALSO becomes an heir...

Where we pick up in this installment, is Raihn has married Oraya to protect her. He is lonely and hates his new role, and Oraya is pissed because of the position he put her in, he lied and killed her only family. Raihn keeps trying to apologize and I feel like the first half of the read is that, Oraya being mad and Raihn trying to make it up to her. Then it kind of goes all over, there are politics, searching for artifacts that the old king had left, dealing with the past, flashbacks, sexual tension, war. It took on a lot of plot points. All of it comes together in the end but for 600 pages, it was a bit hard to keep track of all the characters vampire politics on top of the broody Oraya.

The overall tension build this time was nicely done and the book was still very violent which I liked in the first book. I wanted more overall history of the clans versus just Oraya's father, but we got some. I keep seeing them as more of a vampire/gargoyle mix than just vampires though... just me? I appreciated Raihn's POV throughout, he seems so strong to Oraya but actually he is so broken from the past. Oraya is so very hard-headed and I can appreciate that stubborness but also it became a little frustrating. 

I liked the lull, slow build of the war and bloodshed and really what it comes down to is Oraya is a badass and I love that about these books, even while sad and mad, she is still a force to be reckoned with.