The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent is a captivating and thrilling novel that delves into the intricate dynamics and dangers of a world where humans and vampires coexist. Set in a universe where survival is paramount, the story takes us on a gripping journey with Oraya, the adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king, as she navigates the treacherous realm she inhabits. Oraya's struggle for acceptance and her quest for personal growth form the central pillars of the narrative. In order to transcend her vulnerable position, she seizes the opportunity to participate in the Kejari, an illustrious tournament organized by the goddess of death herself. However, the competition is fierce, with warriors from all three vampire houses vying for victory. To survive, Oraya must form an unusual alliance with Raihn, a mysterious rival with a dangerous reputation. Broadbent skillfully weaves together elements of action, romance, and political intrigue in this enthralling tale. The forbidden allure between Oraya and Raihn adds an additional layer of complexity to the plot, as their connection grows stronger amidst the chaos of the tournament. The author expertly captures the dilemmas faced by both characters, who find themselves torn between their own desires and the demands of their respective factions. Throughout the story, the author masterfully creates an atmosphere of tension and uncertainty. The brewing war for the House of Night serves as a backdrop, creating a sense of impending doom that hangs over Oraya and her allies. It challenges everything she thought she knew about her home and forces her to confront the true nature of power, loyalty, and sacrifice. "The Serpent and the Wings of Night" is a testament to Carissa Broadbent's immersive storytelling and her ability to create multidimensional characters. Oraya's evolution from a vulnerable outsider to a resilient and formidable force is compelling, and her emotional journey resonates with readers as they witness her struggle to find her place in this complex world. With its deftly crafted plot, richly developed characters, and themes of love, betrayal, and self-discovery, "The Serpent and the Wings of Night" is a must-read for fans of dark fantasy and vampire lore. Carissa Broadbent's eloquent prose and vivid descriptions bring the world to life, leaving readers hungry for more. This book is a testament to the eternal allure of the supernatural and the enduring power of the human spirit.

4/5 Stars:

This book has gotten a lot of hype recently so I'll admit I went into it with a lot of skepticism. And at first, that skepticism felt justified: It seemed unlikely that the FMC would have really survived for so long in a castle full of vampires; it feels icky how she wants to become her adoptive father's Coriatae (this doesn't feel like a spoiler since it's mentioned pretty early); and the F-bombs dropped every 3 lines got old very fast.

But then I got to the first trial and that's when this book really took off for me (~20% in). The things that I mentioned were still there but were definitely overshadowed by the intense and well-written trial scenes. And the plot just took off and took me with it.

This book did feel like it had elements of other favorites in it: Hunger Games, FBAA, ACOTAR but it didn't feel repetitive or even like a copy, just homage to elements that made these series so great. Oraya our FMC is smart, strong, and super relatable (well as relatable as a human raised by vampires competing for her survival can be). And Rhain, our MMC is funny, snarky, and very very likable. Their plot and relationship is well thought out without become too drawn out. The timing is key in slow-burns and this one hit it just right. The trials are really the best part of this book for me as the backstory and challenges could be a story all on its own (and I'm sure it will be some day).

Overall this is a great story for anyone who's looking for a Romantasy with some action sequences and I would definitely recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Publishing for the ARC of The Serpent and the Wings of Night.

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!

As a human living in the vampire courts, Oraya’s life is under constant threat. Sure, she’s the adopted daughter of the brutal king Vincent, but vampire’s aren’t exactly known for their impulse control. The orders of their king are easily disregarded in a moment of bloodlust – a fact that Oraya knows all too well. A smart and skilled human warrior is still no match for a strong vampire…unless she has a little help from a Goddess. To win a life-changing boon from Nyaxia, Mother of Vampires, Oraya risks her life to enter the Kejari.

The Kejari is a sacred rite for vampires, a series of trials where Nyaxia’s followers fight to the death to pledge their lives to their goddess. Held once every several centuries, the Kejari draws vampires from the three kingdoms. These people have centuries of bitter conflict along political and religious lines, and Oraya will need to ally with someone if she’s going to make it through. Enter Raihn, a talented warrior from another kingdom with a sense of humour and compassion. Throw in his rugged good looks, and Oraya’s intrigued despite herself. Of course, she isn’t stupid: they may have forged a tentative alliance, but they don’t trust each other. They don’t care for one another. That would be suicide. Wouldn’t it?

The Serpent and the Wings of Night does what many fantasy romance novels cannot: it blends elements of the expected and unexpected to create a story that’s both familiar and fresh. You’ll find classic tropes like deadly tournaments, human protagonists among the supernatural, and a forbidden romance between two misunderstood loners, but the world building is surprisingly robust. Broadbent takes her time to slowly develop multiple vampire Houses with distinct cultures, magic, and bloody political history. This does have an impact on the pacing, which is decidedly slower than your average fantasy romance.

The story unfolds rather slowly, and the relationship between Oraya and Raihn develops even more gradually – to good effect. Once the unlikely pair finally act on their feelings, readers will be fully on board. I understood their attraction and believed in their love, and felt torn over their circumstances. Broadbent cleverly constructs the narrative so that we compare their current circumstances with those of Nyaxia and her own doomed romance, adding to the epic feeling of their love. These glimpses into Nyaxia’s mythology were some of my favourite parts of the whole story. Her journey from a minor figure in a pantheon of gods to the single most powerful Goddess in history is compelling, and there are clear echoes of that story in Oraya’s own unexpected rise in the ranks.


It’s the combination of world building and character work that makes this fantasy romance worth recommending. While the romance receives the most page-time, the father-daughter relationship between Oraya and Vincent was the most compelling. The angst DELIVERS, let me tell you. Vincent is a centuries old, brutal, and cruel vampire king who shocked his subjects when he adopted a nobody human child out of the blue. Oraya should be grateful towards him – and she is. Vincent is her father and he loves her. But he’s also manipulated her, isolated her, and emotionally abused her for his own purposes. He’s forced her to cut off the human sides of herself, hardening her heart to become “strong”. Oraya’s slow realization of these facts is painful to watch, but it’s also satisfying to see her become aware of her circumstances. Three cheers for character growth!

Although the ending wasn’t entirely surprising, there are some major bombshells dropped in the last three chapters. I’m excited to see where it all goes in the sequel, which promises to be just as angsty, bloody, and satisfying as The Serpent and the Wings of Night. Highly recommended for fantasy romance readers.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

I wish that I had read this book sooner. I didn’t pick it up cause I normally don’t read vampire stuff but I really liked this. I can definitely see why it’s getting traditionally published.

Everything Carissa Broadbent writes is pure gold, and this is no exception. Bramble took an amazing story and gave it the perfect amount of polish for it's relaunch as a now traditionally published title.

The story is still absolutely excellent, the perfect vampire story with a strong, bad ass heroine and a really cool magic system. It is definitely a must read for any romantasy lover, or fan of Carissa's work. Truly one of my favorite books in the romantasy genre and definitely my favorite by her.

This is being pitched for fans of From Blood and Ash and A Court of Thorns and Roses. That’s like the romansty version of game of thrones and the lord of the rings but honestly it kinda works. Oraya's family is killed and then saved saved by the vampire king. He brings her up in his castle where she spends her life in hiding. She then enters this fight to the death contest where the winner gets a wish and there she meets a fellow contestant who makes her question everything. I’m not going to lie, it was juicy.
Full review on YouTube

4.75⭐️ A wonderfully dark, brutal, romantic, and captivating high fantasy. I could not stop reading this!
Oraya grows up as a human in a world dominated by vampires and is taught to never trust a soul and always remember she is never safe. Despite living in the shadows her entire life, Oraya becomes an incredibly strong woman and skilled fighter.
She enters the Kejari, a deadly tournament reminiscent of The Hunger Games, and must slaughter her way to the top if she wants to be the one and only victor.
The world Carissa Broadbent creates is gruesome, violent, and completely enthralling. There is also a great romance subplot and some spicy scenes, that only make the book better.
Highly recommend!

The Serpent & the Wings of Night was engaging from the first chapter. It had incredibly world-building, a fun cast of characters, an unlikely heroine and high stakes. This fun, plot-driven fantasy romance is perfect for fans of ACOTAR who are looking for a well-constructed world, tons of action, gruesome fight scenes, and plenty of spice.

I loved this book! A human girl looking to claim her power in a world run by vampires by competing in a challenge to the death for the chance at gaining a favor from a blood thirsty goddess, what is not to love? It was impossible to put down, I couldn't wait to see what would happen next.

I loved Oraya's character, how she is feisty and strong from the beginning, even if she doesn't recognize how strong she is in a world filled with predators. Raihn is wonderfully flawed and morally gray and the enemies to lovers dynamic between her and Raihn was perfection. Can I also say I was obsessed with Vincent! Morally gray, ruthless, and violent, but complex and full of secrets. All of the characters were so well developed.

The plot is set up perfectly, I didn't see what was coming from a mile away, but I could see the piece's coming together just before the revile, which I loved!

This is one of my favorite reads of the year, can't wait to read book 2!

One of my favorite books to read in this genre this year! Not going to lie, looking for books to read after having Asterion withdrawals led me to this book. And that’s ok!

5 ⭐️

This book is a must read for fantasy romance lovers. This is everything a good fantasy romance should have. A plot that could stand alone without the romance, characters that you will root for, high enough stakes to be invested in, and a romance that you’ll be thinking about long after you finish the book. Seriously, if you’re thinking about reading this, you should.

#TheSerpentAndTheWingsOfNight:⁣
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Thank you so much @torbooks @brambleromance for my gifted copy! ⁣
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Here’s the nitty: This gave me major major Red Queen vibes. We have this tournament of sorts and there’s an arena a few times. We’ve got a badass snarky FMC that doesn’t know her true power and is still figuring it out, I love it. A wicked twist that will leave you painstakingly conflicted with an eagerness for book two. If you wanted an adult version of Red Queen with vampires, here you go. This is your treat, this is THE book recommendation.⁣
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First, can we just appreciate all the vampire stereotypes being smashed in this book? Broody vampires with no humanity. Sure, but with vampires like Mische with her sunny disposition and Raihn with the apologies and humanity, I mean.. it’s refreshing. Also, the fact that vampires can still be poor after 200 years and not billionaires running countries, I can get down with this.⁣
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This book is 532 pages. I zoomed through these pages like it was nothing. The story was so engrossing and I had to know what was going to happen. The dynamics between Oraya and Vincent were so interesting, this push and pull between two vast worlds, ugh I ate it up. ⁣
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I loved every moment of this book and the worst part was honestly me trying to remember the title correctly. Out Tuesday, 12/5, another romantasy hit from me.⁣
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QOTD: What’s a topic or theme you’ll always gravitate to? For me, vampires and a secluded islands in mystery/thrillers.

Brutal, captivating, unputdownable- I was fully engrossed from the start! This book had interesting world building, a compelling main character, and swoon-worthy romance. Plus, the complex relationships, intense action, and political intrigue we've come to expect from fantasy. THIS is romantasy done right, people. Take notes!!

*check trigger warnings before reading the book*

The Serpent & the Wings of Night is a thrilling fantasy that had me rushing to the end. Broadbent builds a world of intrigue while relying on old superstitions about vampires. Full of tradition old and new, this spellbinding story left me with a book hangover. Luckily for me, there's another book!

I'll keep this review spoiler free, so let's just say if you like any of the following this should shoot up to the top of your tbr list: ACOTAR, Fourth Wing, the Blood & Ash series, etc. Romantic and bloodthirsty, this is a can't miss for all fantasy/romantasy fans.

Another romantasy for the books. I liked the darker edge to the characters and the world the author built, but I felt like more spice (between three to five scenes instead of the one and a half we got) and less angst would have done the story and characters well. The writing was enjoyable enough, but at the end of the day it really just felt like a book that mashed together lots of plot lines, characters, and fantasy worlds from other books. All in all, an okay read, and I enjoyed it enough to give the second book a try.

Having already read and been a huge fan of Broadbent's other self-published War of Lost Hearts series, I'd been eager to read the Crowns of Nyaxia series before it was even picked up by a traditional publisher. Since I received this ARC, I knew I needed to dive in! I'll admit, Serpent & the Wings of Night took me a little while to win me over. There's plenty of action from the start and I was liking the characters, but it took me some time to truly care. But I was by no means bored, so it was no struggle to keep reading and by the final third of the book, I was absolutely hooked! As for that ending, oh boy, I'm glad I don't have to wait long for the sequel! I'll definitely be recommending this to Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros fans.

This was a well developed fantasy enemies to lovers full of twists and turns. While I think this book could get lost in the many large scale romantasy books that are gaining popularity this book stand out because of how good the writing is. The author slowly introduces the world that is unlike any I've seen before, but still easy to slip into. The characters are fully created and the tone and atmosphere fully pulled me into the story.

Orarya is a fascinating character who has layers (and so much trauma) that her interactions and decisions felt so authentic and I appreciated seeing her realistically handle the trauma that was delt to her over and over in the book (physically and emotionally). I appreciated that the relationship between Oraya and Raihn develops slowly considering the circumstances.

I didn't love the ending - and it is a cliffhanger so be warned - I think partly because I was almost expecting a twist ending so when it arrived it was like Oh instead of OH. I think because with how angst and dark this book is I assumed there was no way this book was going to end happily ever after or even happy for now. (And SPOILER - I didn't understand why Oraya didn't die instead when she made her wish and/or it seemed too conveniently awful? She could have just wished for Raihn to be alive, or for him to be made her consort, or .... etc etc).

But for those looking for a dark fantasy that will keep ripping your heart out, look no further.

I just finished The Serpent & the Wings of Night earlier today and I can't stop thinking about it or recommending it. This feels like if The Hunger Games met my enemies to lovers star crossed "Underworld" favorites. Like The Hunger Games there are deadly competitions with high body counts. Except this has an added twist where if you win you can ask this super powerful goddess for a boon - think impossible dream style. And like "Underworld" we have a vampire and human romance which should be trouble enough. Except add in the complicated family dynamics of Selene who has to learn about her own family lineage and the secrets they've been hiding.