The Serpent and The Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent Review

Title: The Serpent and The Wings of Night

Author: Carissa Broadbent

Genre: Romantasy

Publisher: Tor UK

Pages: 30 May 2024 (Paperback)

Release Date: 592

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Hello fellow book lovers! Today I’m sharing my review for The Serpent and The Wings of Night, and it looks like vampires are back with a bang in this breathtakingly pacy and deliciously addictive fantasy from Carissa Broadbent.

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, pitting Oraya against the most vicious warriors from all three vampire houses. To survive, she will be 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 – and nothing more deadly than love . . .

Review

Blending heart-stopping action and slow burn romance with a plot twisty, Hunger Games style premise that had me utterly HOOKED!

The world-building was (to paraphrase Mary Poppins) practically perfect: vividly descriptive without slowing down the plot with unnecessary exposition, but also not too fast that the story (or our characters’ progression) feels rushed either— an impressive feat that even the most well established authors often struggle with.

But not Broadbent, who navigates her way through intricately woven character arcs and shocking plot twists like a literary Machiavelli; pulling strings and stealing hearts with her evocative prose.

I’m also happen to be a sucker for well written characters so loved the attention to detail (and three dimensionality) we see in protagonists Oraya and Raihn as they navigate the complex and brutal vampire hierarchy, it’s never ending power struggles and life-threatening court intrigues.

As a human raised by a Vampire King (after the death and destruction of her entire village), Oraya has learned to survive in a world that only sees her as prey. So exploring her compelling & resilient journey, alongside the scorchingly intense attraction building between her and rival contestant Raihn was marvellous!

The enemies turned reluctant allies were both in depth and engaging characters who, surprisingly, have waay more in common than I first thought. But I also loved some of the supporting cast too, particularly Mische, whose perky, sunshine-y demeanour had me rooting for them every step of the way too!

I don’t want to spoil anything (particularly Raihn’s heartfelt disclosure of his past) so all I will say is that I enjoyed getting to explore both of their poignant backstories, flaws and conflicted inner feelings - as they attempt to fight their way to victory.

Overall, an enthrallingly intense, vampire centric Romantasy that fans of Hunger Games, True Blood or Buffy The Vampire Slayer should definitely consider checking out.

And also, a huge thank you to Pan MacMillan and Bookbreak for the stunning PB copy.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

About The Author 

Carissa Broadbent has been concerning teachers and parents with mercilessly grim tales since she was roughly nine years old. Since then, her stories have gotten (slightly) less depressing and (hopefully a lot?) more readable. Today, she writes novels that blend epic fantasy plots with a heaping dose of romance.

She lives with her husband, her son, one very badly behaved rabbit and one perpetually sceptical cat in Rhode Island.

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