Initial Thoughts
I haven’t been in a vampire phase in a long time. Somehow, The Serpent and the Wings of Night single-handedly put me back on my vampire era. I could not put this book down. It was dialed up to 100 constantly, and when it wasn’t, the soft moments didn’t drag. In fact, I wished there were more soft moments because I couldn’t handle all the hardship the two characters were facing after every trial.
The book was also surprisingly well written. The last vampire book I had read was enjoyable enough, but I was still rolling my eyes at the stuff that was written in that book. Meanwhile, this book had me addicted from page one. I loved the interludes sprinkled across all the parts of the book. I liked the dysfunctional relationship Oraya had with her vampire dad, Vincent. And I absolutely loved the relationship between Oraya and Raihn (But I swear to god, if Raihn says “there she is” one more time, my heart is going to bleed black. He’s already melted me into a puddle of incoherence okay, I can’t with this man!).
But mostly, I loved Oraya as a character. She made everything so relatable, as a human living in a world filled with monsters. Things got really uncomfortable when they had to be, and I felt every ounce of her pain and anguish and rage in every page. And the stuff that she has to wrangle with at the end of this book? Damn, girl. GOOD LUCK.
The ending was absolutely unhinged. Give me more please!
THE SERPENT AND THE WINGS OF NIGHT
by Carissa Broadbent
Bramble, December 2023
Adult romantasy, paranormal
Rated: 5 / 5 cookies
For humans and vampires, the rules of survival are the 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 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.
I’ve already seen a bunch of different cover editions of this book (and boy, there are a lot of special editions for this book that came out and are yet to come out), but honestly, the original (and the trad pub) editions are still the ones that make the most sense to me? They’re the prettiest IMO, even with the color change on the trad pub. I am also biased because I have the copy, but the Arcane Society edition isn’t too bad, either. I’ve put only the ones in English that have been released so far, though I do know there are two more special editions that have yet to be sent out.
To be honest, I hadn’t actually realized this was a vampire book until a few weeks before I’d actually picked up the book and read it. And when I did, the first thing I thought was: “Oh, so it’s what happens when Underworld and The Hunger Games get together and have this especially violent vampire child.” I mean, it could have been worse. Spidermonkeys could have been involved.
But honestly, once I got into the story? It was really frigging well written! The interludes between each part of the book gave a bit of break from Oraya’s perspective, which was cool, seeing as we got into the vampire king’s mind for a little bit. It gave some insight, that’s for sure, but not enough that the twists and turns at the end were unsurprising.
The Serpent and the Wings of Night started out strong and was constantly cranked up to 100 as far as pacing went. There was always something happening in each scene, and the slower, softer moments brought in some needed breath of fresh air when things weren’t going haywire, between the Hunger Games-esque competition and the intense rivalry/hate-to-love relationship that’s between Oraya and Raihn. And yet you’d think, with how Carissa dealt with description, that reading the expository parts would be a slog.
He smelled like the sky. He smelled the way air felt as it rushed around you, freeing and terrifying and the most beautiful fucking thing you’ve ever experienced.
But hello? The descriptions are lovely and I ate them up like I ate up the action.
People did all kinds of nonsensical things when blinded by good sex.
And Raihn looked like he was probably very good at sex.
That thought shocked me the minute it crossed my mind, and I slammed my mental doors against it as hard as I could.
And Oraya and Raihn as love interests? The way Oraya describes him, even as she hates on him (I mean, their meet cute is her actually stabbing him, I love her for this already!) is oozing with attraction. And the way Raihn says “There she is” like a mantra has me ascending to a higher plane. It helps that their relationship is literally an enemies-to-lovers situation. The two are embroiled in a competition where only one becomes a victor; to top it off, Raihn is undoubtedly Rishan, the antithesis and natural enemy to the Hiaj vampires. For them to have any interaction with the other is bad news, and yet…AND YET.
Let us be clear: she was a smart girl.
She knew how to survive.
But all living creatures desire. Is that weakness?
Another highlight is definitely the relationship between Oraya and Vincent, her adoptive father who also happens to be THE king of the Nightborn and ruler of the Hiaj vampires. The mythos behind Nyaxia and her “vampire children” is also something I’m extremely curious about, and honestly, I wouldn’t mind actually getting novellas of Nyaxia’s origin story. We get a sense of it during the Kejari (the competition), but I would have actually loved how things turned out the way they did. And how it connects to the rituals that are now being put into place by her followers.
Also, also, also. The way the ending has me ABSOLUTELY SHOOK. Even with me being spot on with some of my predictions, I was still left reeling at the surprising punches that Carissa threw in to continue the story. I mean, the series is meant to be six books, each a set of duology after the other, but damn this book left such an open gate I’m honestly astonished how I haven’t cracked open the second book yet to continue the story!
As is, I wanted to read the companion novella, Six Scorched Roses first before delving into The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King. But oh my gawd, I cannot WAIT.
5 out of 5 cookies! This was my first Carissa Broadbent book, and somehow it still singlehandedly threw me back into my vampire era. Kudos, Carissa. KUDOS.
Story and Somnomancy 