The Serpent & the Wings of Night: Book 1 of the Nightborn Duet (Crowns of Nyaxia, 1)

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Spice: 🌶️🌶️/5 Banter: 🗣️🗣️🗣️

I absolutely loved the plot and the romance in this book! The writing and world-building were so captivating that I could vividly picture every detail of the kingdoms. The action scenes in the tournament were very immersive I enjoyed every moment! I seriously could not put this book down! Carissa's way with words is truly amazing, and I'm eagerly looking forward to reading more of her work!

Oraya is a total badass! She is clever, strong, caring, and determined. She's now one of my favorite fmc’s. I loved her mostly controlled demeanor during challenges. Her proving everyone wrong when they underestimated her was so satisfying to read! She brought a unique and refreshing vibe to the story. Her dark humor resonated with me on a deep level, and I couldn't get enough of it! I appreciated how she balanced being unapologetically herself while also reciprocating love and compassion in a genuine way. The dynamic between her and the MMC was beautifully portrayed.

Raihn was the most charming, loving, and caring MMC 😍 I absolutely loved him! He was also so mysterious, and of course incredibly skilled. His love and care for Mische and loyalty to Oraya was adorable. All these qualities made it so hard to not love him, even at the end!!!!😱

Vincent oh Vincent… I love him and I will not accept any VINCENT SLANDER!!! He is the father figure that has a lot of qualities Oraya needed. He trained her to survive in the world of vampires as a human. He loves her idc what anyone else may think, he loves her He wanted the best for Oraya to the very end! I love him I love him I love him.

I hadn’t even heard of this book when I was offered a review copy, but a few glowing reviews caught my attention and I agreed to read it. And I’m so glad I did! This was a wonderful surprise, a dark, dangerous, vampire tale with intricate world building, great characters and a little bit of spice. Even better, this is the first book in a series, and I’m so excited to see what comes next. Yes, there are some familiar tropes at work here, but I found the combination of all the different elements to work surprisingly well. If you love The Hunger Games or Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I guarantee you’ll find a lot to love in The Serpent & the Wings of Night.

Oraya was only seven when her village was destroyed and her entire family killed. Plucked out of the wreckage by a vampire king named Vincent, Oraya has been living in the House of Night, one of three vampire factions in the land of Obitraes, for the last sixteen years. Vincent has raised her as his daughter, teaching her how to survive in a land ruled by vampires, and it turns out, preparing her to complete in a once-every-hundred-years competition called the Kejari.

The Kejari is made up of five brutal trials, each one winnowing the contestants down until only two remain. Only one victor can be crowned at the end, though, and Oraya is determined to be the last one standing. The reward for victory is sweet: any wish you want, granted by the goddess Nyaxia. Oraya’s wish? To become a vampire herself and fight side by side with her father in the war against the Rishan, a rival vampire clan within the House of Night.

But once the trials start, Oraya realizes it's going to be hard, if not impossible, to win. Luckily, she meets a vampire named Raihn who asks her to ally with him and his friend Mische. Oraya and Raihn work surprisingly well together and they become a formidable team against the other contestants. But, as Oraya must keep reminding herself, only one of them will survive the Kejari, and the more she gets to know Raihn, the less she wants to kill him.

This is a lush, complex world, and the author does a very good job of introducing it in this first book, even though I’m certain she’s only scratched the surface. At first it was a little hard to keep everything straight. There are three main vampire “houses,” but within those there are smaller factions. Each house has its own types of power and magic derived from different gods, and the houses don’t usually intermingle with each other, although the Kejari is the exception, because vampires from each house are allowed to join the competition. And it isn’t just vampires in this world. Humans live among them, although they are mostly treated as servants or even food. Because Oraya is under the protection of a vampire king, she’s safer than most, but she still has to watch her back at all times.

In addition to the competition plot, which is the main focus of the story, there’s a war brewing in the background that will most likely take on a bigger role in the next book. There’s a lot of Shakespearean drama and tragedy going on too. Vampires will kill their parents to take over as leader, and then they’ll kill their children so they can’t do the same to them. This isn’t a happy world by any means, but luckily there are bright spots in the plot.

Which brings me to the characters. The focus of the story is the slow build relationship between Oraya and Raihn, an enemies-to-lovers romance that I thought was very well done. Oraya, who spends her free time stalking vampires and killing them, is horrified to find she's starting to like and respect one, especially when she discovers he’s one of the Rishan, her father’s enemy. Oraya has a prickly personality, which I quite loved, although she eventually starts to warm up to Raihn. But their banter was so much fun, charged with all sorts of emotions, and I loved how the author gave them time and space to get to know each other before (yup) hopping in bed together.

There are a lot of great side characters as well. Mische is the sweetest vampire in the story, and her friendship with Raihn was wonderful. I was rooting for the three of them to be OK, but wow, some of the scenes in this book were so stressful! Vincent was an interesting character as well. I didn’t really like him in the beginning, but you can tell Oraya loves him, even if he’s the one who took her away from her home. I liked him less and less as the story went on, and by the end of the book I hated him, lol. Still, it was interesting to see Vincent and Oraya interact, even if I didn’t always understand her complicated feelings for him.

As for the Kejari, it was thrilling and scary, and the trial scenes had me holding my breath, I was so worried about Oraya, Raihn and Mische. I loved that the actual trials felt different from other “fight to the death” stories I’ve read, although don’t worry, there’s plenty of bloodshed!

As the end of the last trial approached, I started to get very nervous. After all, there’s only one winner, right? The author managed to completely surprise me with her ending, making me even more excited to read the second book, The Ashes & the Star Cursed-King. And I can’t say enough about Carissa Broadbent’s writing. Her prose breathes life into her characters, and her storytelling skills make this a must read for fans of vampire/fantasy romance.

This was one of the most unique and interesting fantasy books I have read in awhile. I am baffled by this odd vampire craze that seems to be prevalent in so much modern fantasy writing so I expected to roll my eyes through this book. I didn’t. It drew me in right from the beginning. Great plot twists and entertaining writing. Some stereotypes but the characters had enough nuance that you go with them. Terrific world building. This author has a gift. Looking forward to more of her work in the future.

I’m so happy I finally read this book! It truly lives up to the hype on all fronts.

Oraya was such a complex character, but I rooted for her from the beginning. She is a human among vampires so she is always looked at as prey and always in danger. Her father has trained her as much as he can and never coddles her, so she becomes a killer, someone who won’t let her emotions show and refuses to give her heart away. She enters into the Kerjari for a taste of real power, but during her time in the trials everything she thought she knew is questioned, and she is drawn to someone who should be her enemy.

Like I said, this world is so brutal and unforgiving, and the writing didn’t shy away from any of the violence. There are real stakes here, and we see our characters get severely injured multiple times. The world-building was pretty straightforward with no info dumps, and I liked all the different factions and political in fighting. The trials were really exciting and so fast paced. I liked how they all had to do with Nyaxia their goddess, and all the stories surrounding her. There were so many moving parts to the plot and everything came together beautifully in the end. There were so many twists and turns and just when I thought I had something figured out, we went in a completely different direction.

As for Oraya and Raihn, they are so tragic and angsty and I loved them both dearly. Oraya is so strong but has had so many terrible things happen to her, it leaves her hardened and unable to ever trust anyone or feel safe. She had a really complex relationship with her father and I liked how that was explored. Raihn was really secretive but also very charming and witty. He brought out the best in Oraya even though they were very much enemies in the beginning, and he fell in love with the real her. He never underestimated her and knew she was a force to be reckoned with. I loved the contrasts between them too. Oraya is ashamed of being human and wants to become something different, but Raihn hangs onto his humanity despite being a vampire for a few hundred years. He cherishes it and feels more comfortable around humans than she does. Their relationship was very compelling and I couldn’t help but root for it.

This just had everything you could want from a fantasy romance and I’m so interested to see what will happen in the sequel!

"The Serpent & the Wings of Night" is a mesmerizing start to the Nightborn Duet. Carissa Broadbent crafts a darkly beautiful tale that will captivate fantasy and romance fans. The book's intricate world-building, well-developed characters, and emotionally charged plot make it a standout in the genre. Readers will be eagerly anticipating the next installment in this enthralling series.

“𝘿𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙, 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙩? 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙗 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝 𝙣𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝘽𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨. 𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙥𝙚𝙧. 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙞𝙩.”

Oh man did I love diving back into this world. It’s been so long since I’ve been with Raihn and Oraya.

Y’all know I’ve entered my re read era. And I’m loving revisiting books I’ve read, but never reviewed. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 was up next on my list.

📖 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 ✍🏼 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗮 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗯𝗲𝗻𝘁

𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦: 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘕𝘺𝘢𝘹𝘪𝘢 🪽ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴇʀᴘᴇɴᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡɪɴɢꜱ ᴏꜰ ɴɪɢʜᴛ #1 (ᴏʀᴀʏᴀ x ʀᴀɪʜɴ) 🪽ꜱɪx ꜱᴄᴏʀᴄʜᴇᴅ ʀᴏꜱᴇꜱ #1.5 (ʟɪʟɪᴛʜ x ᴠᴀʟᴇ) 🪽ᴛʜᴇ ᴀꜱʜᴇꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴛᴀʀ-ᴄᴜʀꜱᴇᴅ ᴋɪɴɢ #2 (ᴏʀᴀʏᴀ x ʀᴀɪʜɴ) 🪽ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴏɴɢʙɪʀᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ ᴏꜰ ꜱᴛᴏɴᴇ #3 (ᴍɪꜱᴄʜᴇ x ᴀꜱᴀʀ) 🪽ᴛʙᴅ 🪽ᴛʙᴅ 🪽ᴛʙᴅ

𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦 🩸ᴅᴇᴀᴅʟʏ ᴛᴏᴜʀɴᴀᴍᴇɴᴛ 🩸ᴠᴀᴍᴘɪʀᴇꜱ 🩸ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ ꜰᴍᴄ 🩸ᴅᴀʀᴋ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ

📖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 📖

I adore Oraya as a FMC, she is such a strong character. Her walls are high but her heart is larger. I enjoy seeing her hard exterior melt away. And who wouldn’t melt away for Raihn.

Raihn constantly uplifts Oraya, and not once has ever pitied her for being human or the traumas she’s endured. He has always made sure she knew how strong she was, on her own. No matter what help she’s received from Vincent.

Vincent in book one, man we teeter on a fine line here with love/hate. There’s a quote that summed up my thoughts on him perfectly.

𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙑𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩, 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚, 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙡𝙮 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙙. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙑𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙮?

Vincent the King and Vincent the father are two completely seperate people in the storyline. You love him, for his love for Oraya. But you hate him for his actions as a king.

I have missed this world so much, and I’ve been loving this re read! Onward to 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧 𝘾𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙜!

“𝙊𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙖 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙣,” 𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙. “𝙄 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮. 𝙄 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙. 𝙄 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡. 𝙄 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩. 𝙁𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨. 𝙁𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣. 𝙄 𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪.”

Wow! Talk about action packed! Its a long book so there's a lot to talk about but essentially we have a human fighting for her safety in a vampire run world. The man who raised her is the vampire king; he taught her to fight so that she could keep herself safe. And so she does, she does it in a very long contest where there can be only one victor. All so she can become something more than human. Its through all of the trials that she finds out what it really means to be human as she has always felt cold like a vampire in every way just simply in a frail human body. She learns a lot through her ordeals like trust, family, friendship, and even love. Because of all this, we find a new era arising. That's what we will see in the next book, and plenty of politics, I'm sure. There's plenty of action here. Lots of fighting, death, and even some love making. Its been a while since I've read from this author and I'm glad I picked up this book.

Bruh! I am trying to see if I understand how the story ended. But wow, the writing in this book! Two rounds of applause. I loved it. It was too hard to follow along with but it did take me a while to read because I'm not a fantasy book girlie.

I am so caught up in my emotions right now. I thought the book was ending one way then HELLO PLOT TWIST! And I never knew what was coming so I couldn't possibly have seen the ending coming. I'm soooo curious to see how the next book goes though.

I am not normally into vampires BUT this one was written so well that it didn't really cringe me out. Very well written. The beginning was a bit slow for me. I had to muscle through to get to the good stuff and once I got there I could not stop. But that's how all fantasy books are for me, so I am not knocking points off for that.

The romance aspect...It was obvious it was going to happen. You could feel the tension from the moment the two MC's crossed paths.

There were so many extra details at the end that I had a hard time keeping up. I might go back and re read the last few chapters just to see if I can decipher it all.

Carving out a life in a world that deems her as mere livestock or prey, Oraya, a human girl, maneuvers the challenges of her life as the adopted daughter of the vampire king, Vincent. Despite the protection afforded to her, every day is a gamble amid vampires unable to control their instincts at the scent of human blood. Seeking strength, Oraya takes a plunge into the Kejari, a competition honoring the vampire goddess, where she teams up with Raihn, a full-blooded vampire, in a contest ultimately calling for mutual killing.

This book seamlessly weaves together elements reminiscent of "Hunger Games" with high fantasy, unveiling gods, monsters, and vampires against a desert backdrop. The intricate world-building and intricate societal structure add layers to the narrative, complemented by characters navigating the enemies-to-lovers-to-enemies and found family tropes.

Right from the start, the grim and dark storyline pulls you in, with the author judiciously issuing trigger warnings for sensitive topics. Flashback scenes play a crucial role in Oraya's character development, offering a glimpse into her strengths, flaws, and a nuanced understanding of her character.

Choosing a desert as the vampire homeland deviates from the conventional European settings, creating an unforgiving environment that complements their vampiric nature, particularly their aversion to sunlight. The narrative maintains a well-paced rhythm, introducing unexpected twists and characters grappling with decisions, personal goals, and evolving relationships.

Political intrigue and the pragmatic realism of vampires, utilizing humans as a food source and restricting them to designated "safe" areas for procreation, contribute to the dark yet logically constructed world. The inclusion of wings for vampires adds a unique touch, deviating from the norm and enhancing the story's distinctiveness.

The book provides a captivating and unique perspective on vampire lore, skillfully blending darkness, political intrigue, and complex relationships into a finely crafted narrative. And I enjoyed every minute of it.

I actually really enjoyed this. I wasn’t too happy with Booktok after they recommended Haunting Adeline and that was just nope. But this was very good. I liked the banter, the BA female main and her love interest. The vampire aspect of it all was a cool way to change but I do feel like the “compete in the arena” is a little overplayed. However, this author did a fantastic job of making the story far more than just that. It’s not my favorite book I’ve read, nor is it in the top five but it was excellent in comparison to the other books I’ve read this year. I don’t think I’ll read it again but I’m glad that I gave it a chance. Not very spicy, either.