The Serpent and the Wings of Night book review

The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
Series: Crowns of Nyaxia #1
Published by Nasyra Publishing on August 30, 2022
Pages: 502
Goodreads

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.

This book has been all over my TikTok and I gave into the hype. Described as The Hunger Games with vampires, The Serpent and the Wings of Night sounded like it was right up my street. I was not wrong. There was such a great mixture of violence and lore that the book flowed perfectly. Genuinely one of my favourite books of the year so far!

Characters in The Serpent and the Wings of Night

The Serpent and the Wings of Night follows human, Oraya as she enters into the vampire rite, Kejari, with the hopes of winning and solidifying not only her own power but her adopted Vampire King father. There was a chance Oraya was going to be the cliched weak human made strong, and I do think there are elements of that. However, the way this book deals with allies and relationships means there’s very little time to ponder that. I really enjoyed the fact that we got a complete look at how she came to be in the castle and the consequences of that. Although not all the questions about her have been answered it was an interesting part of the book to see how she grew up and what made her tick. It was very well written and explained.

The best thing about this book was the relationships/friendships that grew throughout the trials themselves, there were some really great moments and they really shone through. I loved watching the new team grow together and the insight into the vampire kingdoms without it being info-dumpy. My favourite character was definitely Mische and her ability to not only kick ass, but also read a room. All together they make for such a great alliance. It comes out of left field a little but that’s what I love about this book, some of the craziest shit happens and then BAM it makes perfect sense.

The romance in this book reminds me of A Court of Mist and Fury, and there’s that same element of slow burn and need for safety. I will say the ending is a little predictable and if you’re not into that, then that might ruin the entire thing for you. However for me, I knew what I was getting into and leant right into it. I loved the pair of them together and although I wasn’t shocked by the ending, I was a little heartbroken.

Plot

There is really no way of describing this book better than Hunger Games with vampires so I’m not going to try. What I will say is that the pacing of this book was phenomenal, I loved the different phases of the moon and the way the book was split up. The Serpent and the Wings of Night has a great way of sprinkling information throughout without it becoming overwhelming. However I did struggle a little with the first part, there’s a lot of things happening and a lot to take in. But it does get better as the book hits its stride.

My only bad point would have to be that the ending and the big twist was predictable. It would have been great to see it go in a completely different direction and surprise me completely. I will say, even though I knew where it was going I loved the journey and seeing how the characters reacted in that situation.

Bad bits

• Predictable ending and romance

Good bits

• Spicy and steamy romance
• Hunger Games with vampires
• Bad ass alliance
• Fantastic lore and world building
• Brilliant pacing

Who would like The Serpent and the Wings of Night?

This is the perfect book for anyone who was a Twilight kid or Vampire Academy and wants something a little darker. It’s also the ideal book for anyone who read The Hunger Games and imagined it being in a different world.

Have you started this series? Are you enjoying it? Let me know in the comments.