The Serpent and The Wings of Night

A Crowns of Nyaxia Novel, Book 1 of the Nightborn Duet By Carissa Broadbent

Summary Provided by Author

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.

Review & Thoughts

Trigger warnings: genocide, child murder, sex slaves, rape, revoted consent rape etc…

holy. shit. I had heard about this book since I first got into fantasy, but had no idea if this was one of those “you’ll either love or hate it” type of books. I cannot believe I have pushed off reading this as long as I have. I’d like to particularly thank my Instagram friends @wellread.badbehaved & @stablesandstories for kicking my butt and convincing me to finally jump in. At first, I foresaw the ending similar to Catching Fire, but I was soooo wrong. It has taken me almost a week after completing this book to get all my emotions in check so that I can write a real review versus the gibberish blubbering in my head. This book follows the story of Oraya, in her POV, as she prepares to enter the Kejari. We get to explore the relationship between her and her adoptive father, a vampire and king. This relationship develops in complexity as they navigate his role as the King and overseer of the games, as well as his role as her father. In the tournament, she meets Raihn, a turned vampire who becomes a reluctant ally (See the tropes developing already??). The attraction, and frowned upon alliance between Oraya continues to grow through each trial until it boils over.

spoilers ahead….

Raihn motherfucking Ashraj is one of the top book boyfriends everrrr. Seriously, there is NOTHING not to love about him. The relationship between Vincent and Oraya is so complex, but I think it adds such a great dimension to an already tumultuous storyline with so much death and challenging trials. I must have some toxic tendencies, because I’ll always love “Vincent the Father” but hate “Vincent the King.” As noted above, this story essentially has genocide, child murder, sex slaves, rape, revoted consent rape, etc. It’s pretty dark but god it’s written SO well that you feel like you’re truly in Oraya’s shoes as she learns the truth about her kingdom. I literally lost my shit at the ending, and when I re-read the first sentence of the book- it ALL MADE SENSE. She truly did become his ruination by picking the rival clan’s heir over her father & king. I cannoooot wait to read the rest of this series to see how she navigates the dynamic of being an heir, marriage, and a fragile kingdom- let alone trying to figure out who tf she actually is, and where she came from.

Quotes

“The king did not know then that his greatest love would also be his ruination- nor that either would come in the form of a tiny, helpless human child.”

“At least we’re all fucking cowards in the end”

“The ugly truth was that perhaps a part of me was disgusted by them, the same way I was disgusted by all my own human flaws”

“He was my father in name alone. Perhaps I didn’t have his blood, or his magic, or his immortality. But I had that ruthlessness. He had cultivated it in me, one thorn at a time”

“Never trust. Never yield. Always guard your heart”

“Death isn’t frightening when weighed against an insignificant existence”

“Raihn fucking Ashraj.”

“Are you deaf, or just stupid?” “You’re unfriendly.”

“Maybe our skin doesn’t scar the same as yours, but our hearts do. Sometimes they never heal.”

“Fear is just a collection of physical responses”

“There’s no bonding like bonding over murder”

‘Don’t be so quick to throw away your humanity, Oraya,” he said. “You might find you miss it once it’s gone.”

“I would beg,” he murmured. “For you, I would. You have fucking destroyed me, Oraya.”

“Raihn. He was on his knees, staring up at me. And that- the way he was looking at me- was the first thing that felt real. Real, and raw, and… and confusing. Because he looked at me in sheer awe- like I was the most incredible thing he had ever seen. Like I was a fucking goddess.”

““Never you. I've lived through some injustices in the last couple of centuries. Seen some fucking travesties. But one of the biggest, Oraya, is that anyone taught you that you should become anything other than exactly what you are.”

“So many mistakes in the end,” he choked out. “Never you.”