Thank you so much Carissa Broadbent for this ARC!
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.
Review & thoughts:
Oh. My. Gods. Carissa Broadbent did it again! I mean I really shouldn’t be surprised but if you thought The War of Lost Hearts was Carissa’s best you so aren’t ready for this masterpiece. The Serpent and the Wings of Night is the first book in the new Fantasy Romance series by Carissa Broadbent and let me tell you I am still in awe of how brilliant it was, I finished it at 2 a.m. and am still thinking about THAT ending.
Oraya is the adopted daughter of a vampire king and living amongst bloodthirsty vampires makes her hate that she is, as she calls herself, a “weak” human. To become more powerful she decides to participate in a bloody vampire tournament where the winner is granted a boon by the goddess Nyaxia. Oraya reluctantly partners up with two vampires, Raihn and Mische, but when more and more contestants lose their lives and some events make her question her father, the vampires and even her own life, her growing feelings for Raihn and friendship with Mische make everything even more complicated… because there can be only one winner.
Let me start by saying this book gave me major Hunger Games vibes but with vampires and it way written in such refreshing way I’m all for it. These vampires are bloodthirsty and even the best of them can’t always control themselves. The politics between the fractions were also interesting and I liked the idea that the main difference between each fraction was the kind of wings the vampires had (I think it’s the first time I read about vampires with wings and it was really great idea!).
Despite the amazing world, I think the strongest point of this book, like with all Carissa’s books, are the characters. They are all imperfect, they are often afraid, do not always make good decisions and that makes them relatable and so great to read about. The relationships between them were also very well portrayed, from the complicated relationship Oraya has with her adopted father, the growing friendship with Mische to the beautiful enemies to reluctant allies to friends to lovers romance with Raihn (I absolutely love this romance, they are now one of my favorite bookish couples!).
And now let’s talk about that ending… the whole book was fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat but those last 15% were a real rollercoaster, I cried, then I was really shocked, then furious and then I cried some more because damn, Carissa really doesn’t spare our hearts in this book, I guess I should have learn that by now (but I still love her!).
The Serpent and the Wings of Night is a really incredible Fantasy Romance story and if you haven’t yet you should definitely preorder it, Carissa never disappoints with her books. I already can’t wait for the sequel, I know it’s going to be epic!
Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
