By Ava Shaffer
The Hunger Games meets the dark, twisted world of vampires in this epic fantasy series by best-selling author Carissa Broadbent. Oraya, the human daughter of the vampire king, enters into a competition to the death in order to have one wish granted from a goddess. Despite being a ruthless killer, she is forced to make an alliance with a dangerous rival: the mysterious and handsome vampire Raihn. In this epic fantasy that centers on themes of humanity and power, readers follow Oraya’s courageous journey through structured trials as she fights for a new world. Full of complex characters, heart-wrenching romance, and a dark magical world, The Serpent and the Wings of Night is a story of a fighter and the lengths she will go to for her humanity.
Read This Book If You…
Love strong, complex female main characters
Enjoyed The Hunger Games, Twilight, and A Court of Thorns and Roses
Are longing for some good ol classic slow burn romantasy
Appreciate a balanced mix of plot, worldbuilding, and romance in fantasy books
If I could throw all of the elements I adore in romantasy books into a big smoking cauldron and stir it up, a Carissa Broadbent book would come out. I recently discovered her work last year when I read Daughter of No Worlds on audiobook and absolutely devoured it. She has such an excellent touch when it comes to this genre and she hits every note so perfectly. More people need to be talking about her books!
As soon as I started reading The Serpent and the Wings of Night, I instantly fell for the characters. We get so much insight into Oraya– her past, motivations, fears, and desires so well-communicated through the beautiful prose. Broadbent is so talented at crafting complex, emotionally rich female main characters. I especially appreciate this in fantasy, since so many other books in this genre are lacking in that department. Right from the start, I was so invested in Oraya’s journey and am excited to keep reading about her in the rest of this series.
Speaking of characters I love, I am absolutely obsessed with Raihn, the love interest in this story. Cheers to red-haired-boy-representation in fantasy! Not only did I picture him as an older, more charismatic version of Ron Weasley (my middle school Harry Potter years haunt me to this day), but he in general was just the ultimate book boyfriend. Some of his dialogue lines had me blushing and the flirty banter in this was superb. When I tell you this was one of the best slow burns I have ever read- THIS WAS ONE OF THE BEST SLOW BURNS I HAVE EVER READ! The romantic tension Broadbent effortlessly weaves into her scenes is impeccable, always electric but never distracting from the other important elements of the story. There’s one specific training montage scene in this that had me weak in the knees! Carissa Broadbent knows what she is doing and she is doing it so well.Â
Although the romance was a main draw for me, there were so many other elements to this story that kept me engaged. There’s so many little details that really craft my perspective on these characters, their struggles, and the bigger world of this series. In particular, I thought Ibrahim was an especially compelling character. Also, I greatly appreciate how well Broadbent handles the theme of grief in her novels. I noticed this in Daughter of No World too, where there aren’t deaths in the story just as shock factor or driving forces of the plot. When a character close to the main character dies in these stories, they carry that grief with them throughout the entire story, an underlining of loss and love threading throughout the entire narrative. There’s a lot of care and purpose put into those devastating scenes, which makes the characters in this book feel so real and human.Â
Lastly, the pacing of this book was incredible and I devoured the last 200 pages in one day. As a reader, I love well-deserved emotional payoff in the end of a book, especially longer fantasies. The Serpent and the Wings of Night manages to have one of the best emotional payoffs I’ve read in fantasy, and it accomplishes that in only 450 pages as opposed to behemoth 800+ page books of the same genre. The emotional build up and intense moments in this book felt so earned at the end. If you’re a fan of well-constructed romantasy that ties to strong messages about the world and about us as humans, The Serpent and the Wings of Night is a must read for you!