Earlier this year, I saw The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent literally everywhere. I immediately got drawn to this book, because I’m a sucker for vampire books and I don’t mind. So, I bought this, but I didn’t pick it up until late November. I admittedly was quite sceptical when starting this, because it’s self-pub which I usually don’t read and the hype for this book was big. I don’t often vibe with hypes, so maybe that’s the reason why I held off reading this book for so long. Did it live up to my expectations or was I pleasantly surprised?

About the book

• Title: The Serpent and the Wings of Night
• Author: Carissa Broadbent
• Series: Crowns of Nyaxia #1
• Publication date: August 30, 2022
• Publisher: Independently Published
• ISBN: 9781957779003
• Number of pages: 502
• Genre: Fantasy, New Adult, Romantasy

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. The Serpent and the Wings of Night is the first book in a new series of heart-wrenching romance, dark magic, and bloodthirsty intrigue, perfect for fans of From Blood and Ash and A Court of Thorns and Roses.

My review

This story is about oraya, a human girl who has been adopted by a vampire king at a very young age. She loves him as a father and slowly but steadily earns her place among the Nightborn Court. However, to become something more once and for all, she has to participate in the Kejari, a tournament in which all three vampire houses participate. Their warriors are the most vicious of their world and Oraya must survive – and more importantly win – to seek a better life for herself. To stand any chance, she forms an alliance with Raihn. She tells herself not to fall for him, although he’s attractive. We all know what happens then right? To be quite honest, I wasn’t drawn to Oraya as a character at first. Everything seems to go so smoothly for her, it’s like she faces many obstacles, but not facing them at the same time if you know what I mean. It feels like she’s the special snowflake, an old trope we haven’t seen a lot anymore these past years. However, all is forgiven because the story is so investing, more on that later. Raihn is your typical male book hero too, but that changes later on in the book as well. All the events let both Oraya and Raihn grow in their respective ways. I also liked Mische, a side character who I hope we’ll see more off. I can’t say more about this because of spoilers though.

This story is pretty tense. Everything and everyone is tested. The Kejari is a tournament consisting of several trials. Each trial is about life or dead. So, the games are already tense, because who will survive and who won’t? In order to survive, it’s clever to form alliances. But throughout the tournament, these alliances get tested as well. Who is trustworthy and who will betray you? Everyone backstabs one another in order to get what they seek. However, they are nice in one another’s face. This constant tense atmosphere is what makes this book investing. However, there is room for some lighthearted conversations, especially between Oraya and Mische. When you have to describe this book in one word though, it’s definitely dark.

Broadbent has an accessible way of writing. It invites you to pick this book up and to continue reading. The pace never slows down and I was sucked into this story from start to finish. We get to know everything from Oraya’s POV, but that’s completely fine for me. However, I would like to know Raihn better, because he definitely is plotting something…

The main focus of this novel is the Kejari and the desire to win. However, there are some political intriges woven into this book, which is logical though as warriors from all three vampire houses are involved. Besides the tournament, there is also space for stuff like training. There are some time gaps in this book, but they are necessary to keep the story moving forward. This book is not unique, it actually follows some tropes. Therefore it’s quite predictable, but nevertheless intriguing. I actually thought it was YA, but there’s some spice in the last 20% of the book so that makes it definitely a NA story. I think all the events are logic and the plot has an interesting twist that leaves me curious for the sequel.

I’m glad I gave The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent a fair chance, even though i was quite sceptical beforehand. This book is definitely worth the hype and I enjoyed it from start to finish. Even though it has a very predictable storyline with lots of tropes such as the female main character being a special snowflake. However, the Kejari made it much more investing and I like the fact vampires are reviving in books. I mean, we haven’t had so many vampire books in a while, have we? And I love it. Anyway, I’m sure we will find out more about Raihn and his motives in the next book, The Ashes and the Star-cursed King. I will be reading it as soon as possible anyway.