Breakaway Books

Authored by Carissa Broadbent; Published 2022; Fantasy

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🏖️🏖️🏖️🏖️🏖️

Until the last quarter of The Serpent and the Wings of Night, I thought it was a relatively average novel. Those last hundred pages grabbed my heart and did not let go—I hope the sequel continues the upward trend.

The Serpent and the Wings of Night follows Oraya, a human adopted by a vampire king, as she competes in a competition to be granted one wish by the goddess Nyaxia. The competition forces her to ally herself with a vampire Raihn, with whom she (predictably?) falls in love, but he is not exactly who he seems. A lot of this novel was predictable to me: the series of gory trials, reminiscent of The Hunger Games; the heroine, taught to be brutal and heartless to protect herself; the jaunty hero who slowly wheedles his way into her heart.

None of these elements were bad—in fact, I found them all enjoyable to read, and the writing didn’t get in the way. It flowed easily, and I felt connected to Oraya and Raihn. But, the twists that came at the end of the competition made this much more than a romantasy that had me swooning. The novel is about more than romance: It’s about power, and whom you trust to have it and wield it with compassion. It beautifully set up a sequel that I hope is complex, messy, and spicy, all at the same time.

None of this would have worked nearly as well, except for the fact that I liked spending time with Oraya, who was tough without losing her heart, and whose honest narration made me laugh. I liked Raihn, who, in spite of himself, clearly felt so drawn to protecting Oraya, and passionately desired to protect the humans who could not protect themselves. Their relationship, as unexpected and inconvenient as it is, is the heart of the tension in this novel and I suspect all the following ones.

The Serpent and the Wings of Night is an excellent romantasy escape—pick it up the next time you need to get away!