Reviews

The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

alinamihaela's review

adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

carlyjordyn's review

4.0

ugh idk about my rating for this one..

I was super engaged throughout but the ending was so like yuck no thank you and I get it you need to set up the series and whatever but like ……. idk didn’t love the ending/twist

HOWEVER otherwise this was so good…… like yes i love vampire books but this one did it well imo like everything about it felt different from all the other tiktok fantasies so I commend it in that regard. ignoring the ending I also really liked both oraya and raihn as well as the other characters like vincent. also thank the lord the spice wasn’t egregious like in fourth wing like it actually made sense. my favorite thing is def the father daughter relationship between oraya and vincent it kinda overshadowed the main love story which I prefer

rowrankreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

5.0

Was NOT expecting that ending at all! When I heard this was like hunger games but with vampires I was excited, but nervous about how it would be executed. However, the author did not disappoint. I would consider this book to be one of my top reads of 2024 so far. 

megsturrock's review

4.0

I’m a fan. The reason it didn’t get 5 stars was cause it kind of lost me for a bit, but the ending ramped it up again. I didn’t see it coming. Fave part? The spice… yum

leeahkb's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

Holy, blood, battles, love, and vampires! I love everything about this book! I had to focus and try to stick with it early on, but once it got going, the punches it packed in each chapter never stopped. It was intense until the final page! And the last few chapters 🤯🤯🤯. MAKE IT A MOVIE!!!

drakeea's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

4.0

hogwartsdropout's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Quick stats

Title: 

The Serpent and the Wings of Night

Author: Carissa Broadbent
Trilogy’s Name: Crowns of Nyaxia
Page Count: 532 pages
Word Count: 150,696
Plot Rating: ★★★★.5 = 9
Writing rating: ★★★★ = 8

At first, I didn’t understand why people gave this book such incredible and high reviews. Then I read the ending, and I’ve been permanently scarred. What was that plot twist!? Where did it come from!? I was definitely not expecting anything that happened in the last pages. I sobbed, I felt rage, I felt hope, and then I sobbed a little bit more. To be completely honest, that turn of events is carrying my whole rating because it was just so genius! Everything was foreshadowed, and still, there is no way you could’ve guessed the ending.

I loved the world-building, the main characters, the plot, and the trials. And that is coming from someone who doesn’t normally enjoy books about vampires. So, I’m 100% ready to read the rest of the series.

However, I do have to mention one thing I didn’t like. Apparently, vampire bites on humans can make you feel... things, spicy things. I did not like that at all. I feel like the author decided to include that detail just to have an excuse to write some spice, so it felt too forced. Also, knowing that vampires tend to prey on children makes it disgusting and unnecessary. But that’s about it. Now don’t bother me; I’m going to start Six Scorched Roses 🤑

reuben_books's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Two chapters in and I was already impressed with how this book is written. Unlike other similar books which force things down our throat, it doesn't actually set every single bit of worldbuilding and context out immediately and leaves us wanting the answers.

And yes Oraya is unique and talented, but BECAUSE she's been training her whole for this. It makes SENSE. In so many similar books she'd have been a shy little villager thrown out into a mad world and magically being the best, this time it actually has meaning/reason.

The ending was a tad cliche, however I thought the rest of the book felt pretty fresh for the kind of book it is. 

rachiebeeee's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

bean_bean's review

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

twas an interesting read. i’m still working out how i feel about it truthfully, especially with the twist ending. i’m not sure i fully understand the point of the whole competition it felt like at times one was not allowed to drop out and then in others like one could. i think the ending was supposed to be a surprise but Oraya’s relationship with herself and humannness was so fraught throughout that i wasn’t fully caught off guard. also i am begging for like one time in a romantasy that like fucking for one night doesn’t lead to endless love. i saw the build up, i liked the build up and yet the choice following the climax of the buildup is still something that doesn’t fit well with me. the balance between hating and loving vincent honestly makes me hate him from the beginning so seeing Oraya struggle with her feelings for him just made me think she needed some more time to think and reflect. 

i’m still going to read the second one and it was a nice brain break so can’t say it was bad. i won’t say it was incredible. just nice with an interesting story line and an interesting enough twist