The Serpent & The Wings of Night Book Review
Book Review:
The Serpent & The Wings of Night
by Carissa Broadbent
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Okay, I read this as part of the Magical Readathon ( Orilium ) and as such maybe I went through it a little fast. I can remember things when I try to say I don't, so hopefully this comes out okay as this book is not bad. It was kind of fun, in a way that probably it's supposed to be something else but I’m enjoying it either way. So here is my review which is possibly a rough draft to be revised on rereads. 😅
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The world-building here was quite well done for a romantasy. Do I remember what it is called? Not really, however, the continent is Obitraes and vampires rule over it. Each territory is divided and ruled over by a specific House that has its own unique gifts. The main one we are in is controlled by the Nightborn King of the House of Night. This specific house is also divided into two different types of vampires, with bat or feathered wings. Those two groups hate each other and the power struggles through the centuries seem to be endless. All of the vampires worship the goddess Nyaxia who is their creature. She was once part of what is known as the White Pantheon but broke free of their cruelties. Now she is not a benevolent goddess though. While there are humans here they are a lower class and in constant danger. There is at least one other continent mentioned that would be controlled by humans.
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Magic is determined in different ways I believe. For the vampires, it seems that each house has a unique style that they can control. Such as the House of Blood can control people using their blood. While the House of Night uses something called Asterisk (?), which I believe is only theirs. This is a dark star firepower?? Magic is not unique to vampires though. Technically humans can use it as well, though it does seem to be a different variety.
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Our main character is Oraya. She is a human woman who has been raised by her adoptive vampire father. Her whole life has been one of terror. Not to say she was particularly mistreated. It is just that he wanted to make sure she didn't trust her safety to other vampires, which sounds like a good dad move. Oraya has been trained in combat since she was a small child and practices her skills quite often. For someone growing up in a palace, she still has a good understanding of humans' place and the injustices of the world. However, she does have a large blind spot towards her father.
This story is centered around a competition, the Kejari, that is held once every two hundred years. The Kejari is broken into trials over four months, normally. Oraya is entering because to win it, as her father did, means receiving a gift from the goddess. She sees this as her ticket to becoming powerful instead of prey like all the other humans. Even with all her training and skills, Oraya is still not fully prepared for the bloody reality of the trial. Or the necessity of trusting in allies, including the man who could be her greatest competition.
The romance is a slow burn to be sure. With the setting, it does make sense that they would have to learn to trust one another not to kill the other. Also, as is slowly revealed through flashbacks, Oraya has more than one trauma to overcome when it comes to vampires. It's hard to say but I believe Raihn falls first. Plus I just love their dynamic. Based on everything this sounded like enemies to lovers from the start but by the end, it also gives Romeo and Juliet vibes, just they are alive.
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So while I feel like this review will need major updates after a reread I also think I summed everything up. It was an enjoyable fast-paced book. I liked the competition aspect and the unique take on the world our character was in. We even got a good amount of backstory about the Gods and why the competition was created. The writing could have been a bit better and I would place this up next to some other great books in a similar vein. I'm still going to be reading the sequel and possibly the adjacent duologies as they come out. The Crowns' of Nyaxia is currently projected to be a six-book series with three duologies broken down to focus on each of the vampire houses.
You can find this book from the below retailers:
Amazon Barnes & Noble MacMillan Publishers
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