#Review - The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent #Fantasy #Romance

Series: Crowns of Nyaxia (#2)
Format: Hardcover, 608 pages
Release Date:  June 4, 2024
Publisher: Bramble
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Dark Fantasy / Romance

Love is a sacrifice at the altar of power.

In the wake of the Kejari, everything Oraya once thought to be true has been destroyed. A prisoner in her own kingdom, grieving the only family she ever had, and reeling from a gutting betrayal, she no longer even knows the truth of her own blood. She’s left only with one certainty: she cannot trust anyone, least of all Raihn.

The House of Night, too, is surrounded by enemies. Raihn’s own nobles are none too eager to accept a Turned king, especially one who was once a slave. And the House of Blood digs their claws into the kingdom, threatening to tear it apart from the inside.

When Raihn offers Oraya a secret alliance, taking the deal is her only chance at reclaiming her kingdom–and gaining her vengeance against the lover who betrayed her. But to do so, she’ll need to harness a devastating ancient power, intertwined with her father’s greatest secrets.

But with enemies closing in on all sides, nothing is as it seems. As she unravels her past and faces her future, Oraya finds herself forced to choose between the bloody reality of seizing power – and the devastating love that could be her downfall.

The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King, by Carissa Broadbent, is the second installment in the authors Crowns of Nyaxia series. The Crowns of Nyaxia series will be 6 books total, broken up into three duologies: The Nightborn Duet, which follows the House of Night, The Shadowborn Duet, which follows the House of Shadow, and the Bloodborn Duet, which follows the House of Blood. This book starts right after the events of The Serpent & the Wings of Night. 

It alternates first POV past tense between Oraya of the Nightborn, daughter of Vincent, the fallen leader of the House of Night, and Raihn Ashraj a former human turned vampire 200 years ago who is now King thanks to Oraya's wish after winning the Kejari to get his long awaited revenge against the House. In the wake of the Kejari, everything Oraya once thought to be true has been destroyed. She's a prisoner in her own kingdom, grieving the only family she ever had, and no longer knowing the truth of her own blood or her parentage. She’s left only with one certainty: she cannot trust anyone, least of all Raihn.

Raihn’s own nobles are none too eager to accept a Turned king, especially one who was once a slave. As the House of Blood schemes to rip the kingdom apart, Raihn proposes a secret alliance that could help Oraya reclaim her throne and get revenge on her traitorous lover. To pull it off, she’ll need to tap into an ancient power linked to her father's dark secrets. But with enemies lurking everywhere, Oraya faces tough choices: go for the ruthless power she craves or risk everything for a love that might just lead to her undoing. 

This book also includes Vale, once a General for the House, and the human he turned into a vampire in Six Scorched Roses, Lilith. One of the positives of this book is actually getting to know who Vincent is, and the love he lost, and the daugher that he did everything in his power to protect from losing to those who hated him. Not everything he did was right or justifiable, but you can truly see his efforts to make amends with Oraya. That struggle adds an interesting complexity, revealing that he’s not purely evil but rather a flawed individual trying to navigate his way through his mistakes.

The most disappointment for me in this book is Oraya. In the last book, Oraya went out and night and killed vampires who preyed on humans. This time around, she really loses what I loved about her. Yes, Oraya had every right to be mad at Vincent, and the reasons will become crystal clear why he tried to protect her. If people knew the actual truth about Oraya, which again, comes out later in the book thanks to Raihn pushing her buttons, they would have likely killed her leaving Vincent without a legitimate heir. In this book, there are interludes, and if you don't pay attention, you will have no clue who is telling the story. 

This book spends a majority of the time going back and forth between Oraya and Raihn as they put aside their hurts, and expectations, and realize that there is more to what is happening in this world, than Oraya's hurt feelings about being forced to becoming Raihn's wife, and apparent Queen. As I sad before, this series features (3) Houses. House of Blood, House of Night, and House of Shadows. We meet all three in this story when a huge betrayal happens that causes Oraya to finally grow up and discovers that she is more than a puny human, but a powerhouse.

While the book is allegedly the final book in the Nightborn duology, and the ending still leaves room for questions as to what happens next, it's not the end of the the world that the author has created. Next up is The Songbird and the Heart of Stone which takes place in the House of Shadow which was briefly mentioned in this story. That story will focus on Raihn's best friend Mische who has a similiar horror story when it comes to being forcibly changed from human to vampire.  

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#Review - Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent #Fantasy #Romance

Series: Crowns of Nyaxia # 1.5
Format: Kindle, 187 pages
Release Date: March 21, 2023
Publisher: Tor Publishing
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Fantasy / Romance

Six roses. Six vials of blood. Six visits to a vampire who could be her salvation… or her damnation.

Lilith has been dying since the day she was born. But while she long ago came to terms with her own imminent death, the deaths of everyone she loves is an entirely different matter. As her town slowly withers in the clutches of a mysterious god-cursed illness, she takes matters into her own hands.

Desperate to find a cure, Lilith strikes a bargain with the only thing the gods hate even more than her village: a vampire, Vale. She offers him six roses in exchange for six vials of vampire blood—the one hope for her town’s salvation.

But when what begins as a simple transaction gradually becomes something more, Lilith is faced with a terrifying realization: It’s dangerous to wander into the clutches of a vampire… and in a place already suffering a god’s wrath, more dangerous still to fall in love with one.

 "Whatever you need. My blood. My books. My knowledge. Anything. It is yours." 

 

Six Scorched Roses, by Carissa Broadbent is a standalone novella set in the Crowns of Nyaxia world. It takes place roughly in parallel, timeline-wise, to The Serpent and the Wings of Night. Lilith has been dying since the day she was born. But while she long ago came to terms with her own imminent death, the deaths of everyone she loves is an entirely different matter, especially her sister Mina. As her town slowly withers in the clutches of a mysterious god-cursed illness, she takes matters into her own hands.

Desperate to find a cure for Vitarus wrath, Lilith strikes a bargain with the only thing the gods hate even more than her village: a vampire, Lord Vale. She offers him six roses in exchange for six vials of vampire blood—the one hope for her town’s salvation. But when what begins as a simple transaction gradually becomes something more, Lilith is faced with a terrifying realization: It’s dangerous to wander into the clutches of a vampire… and in a place already suffering a god’s wrath, more dangerous still to fall in love with one.

The author states that both Lilith and Vale will become part of the next book in this story, which makes sense seeing as I don't remember either Lilith or Vale in the first installment. Here's what I do know. In this world, the vampire clans are divided into the House of Shadows, the House of Blood, and the House of Night. We know that vampires were created by the heretic goddess Nyaxia after she broke away from the Gods of the White Pantheon. Vale was once a General of the House of Night which is broken into Hiaj and Rishan. The Rishan have wings.

Lilith is a really amazing character. She has put the fact that she will likely died no matter if she finds a cure or not, has trained herself as a scientist after her father died of the plague, and now she has to find a way to save Mina even if she never sees her sister again. While Lilith is looking for a cure, the book itself is broken into Roses 1-6. Six Scorched Roses is the authors shortest book. But if you're into love stories with absolutely heaping amounts of longing, socially awkward brilliant heroines, grumpy vampiric heroes, some crazy god-action, and, of course, lots of rumination the nature of death, this book is for you.

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#Review - The Serpent & the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent #Fantasy #Romance

Series: Crowns of Nyaxia # 1
Format: E-Book, 480 pages
Release Date: December 5, 2023
Publisher: Tor Publishing/Bramble
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fantasy / Romance

The first book in the Wall Street Journal bestselling Crowns of Nyaxia series by Carissa Broadbent. Filled with heart-wrenching romance, dark magic, and bloodthirsty intrigue– perfect for fans of From Blood and Ash and A Court of Thorns and Roses.

For humans and vampires, 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 & the Wings of Night, by Carissa Broadbent, is the first installment in the authors Crown of Nyaxia series. In the world of Obitraes, humans living in this world are prey, pests, or both. The vampires who rule this world bow to the Goddess Nyaxia who has decided that every 100 years, the three great houses, House of Night, House of Shadow, and House of Blood, will provide participants in a game that there can only be one winner. When the Kejari takes place, people from all over Obitraes can participate. 

The contestants have to go trough five trials over the period of four months to win. The winner will be granted one wish by Goddess Nyaxia, the mother of all vampires. The House of Night is divided into two rival vampire clans: the Hiaj and the Rishan vampires. Oraya has been chosen for greater things. Vincent, the Vampire King of House of Night, found Oraya when she was eight years old. He called her his little serpent because she doesn't back down from any fight, especially when she is hunting vampires who prey on humans. 

He has trained her to survive in a world that even vampires can't stand the sight of each other, and there have been rebellions squashed by Vincent, including one that left Oraya an orphan. For humans and vampires, the rules of survival are the same: never trust, never yield, and always – always – guard your heart. Oraya's 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. A rival who belongs to the Rishan clan. Everything about Raihn Ashraj is dangerous. He is a ruthless vampire, an efficient killer, an enemy to her father’s crown and her greatest competition. He even has one of his best friends, Mische, along for the 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. Oraya is a character who is delightfully complex. She is shown to be caring and desperate to make a change, yet her fierce ambition is limited by her weakness as a human. He relationship with Vincent is both curious and puzzling. The puzzling part is how she didn't put two and two together and figure out why Vincent was so focused on her. 

The positive for Vincent is that he truly wants Oraya to win so that she can be powerful like him, and that means giving her tools like a poisoned knife and healing to keep her alive. Her relationship with Raihn is even more complex because he is supposed to be the enemy. The enemy who is ready to challenge Vincent and take away his powers. To make things even more maddening, is that apparently I am the one that I know that found the final chapters discombobulating. 

The story is going along, the end of the games is coming to an end, it is down to two expected participants, when suddenly, it was like an entire different story was taking place within this story. Chapters 50 thru 56 seem to have been written to take place after whoever wins the Kejari. The other curiosity of this story is that all of the powerful vampires have wings, and the contestants can go anywhere they want, as long as they are back inside when the the night turns to day. It is fair to say that trials and tournaments done right peak my interest greatly. That being said, I wish the author can explain the brutal ending to the story to me before I search for the sequel to this story!

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