The Serpent and the Wings of Night Review: Is It Worth Reading

**Verdict:** This The Serpent and the Wings of Night review finds a high-drama romantasy with sharp claws: brutal trials, tense alliances, and a slow-burn, teeth-bared romance. Worldbuilding skims at times, but the final act soars. If you crave vampires plus Hunger Games energy, it delivers. **Rating: 3.5/5.** **Content Notes:** graphic combat and blood; torture; on-page deaths; religious themes; slavery/branding references; open-door romantic scenes; coercive power dynamics. - **Key Facts:** Author: Carissa Broadbent; Series: Crowns of Nyaxia #1; Subgenre: vampire romantasy, fantasy romance; POV/Tense: first person, past; Heat level: medium-spicy; Violence level: moderate to graphic. ## At a Glance This The Serpent and the Wings of Night review covers Oraya, a human raised by vampire king Vincent, fighting through the Kejari to win a goddess’s favor. Expect enemies-to-lovers sparks with Raihn, found-family flickers, and a twisty end. Think ACOTAR meets The Hunger Games with Underworld vibes and courtly backstabbing. ## Story and World Carissa Broadbent sets the tale in Obitraes, where three vampire houses circle power like sharks: the Night’s Hiaj and Rishan factions, plus the House of Blood. Oraya, the human ward of Vincent, enters the Kejari, a once-in-a-century, goddess-honoring tournament with five deadly trials. The strongest hook is the **trial-to-the-death Kejari**. Each challenge nods to Nyaxia, the death goddess, while forcing alliances that may later require a blade to the back. Oraya’s hidden strengths flare just when survival demands it, pushing her into reluctant partnership with Raihn, a warrior with too many secrets and a target painted on his past. If you like compact mythos with cult-classic punch, the pantheon and house politics entice, even if rules and logistics occasionally feel fuzzy. The last 100 pages land with operatic stakes, paying off simmering tensions across monsters, gods, and thrones. ## Characters and Themes Oraya is fierce, prickly, and strategic. She’s also human in a nest of predators, so every win is mostly grit and prep. Raihn plays charming rival-turned-ally, defined by competence, loyalty, and a secret lined with scars. Vincent anchors the emotional core as a ruthless father who still means it when he says “my daughter.” Broadbent’s best throughline is the cost of love and power. Choices in the arena echo into the courts, raising questions about loyalty, sacrifice, and whether survival means hardening or healing. Jesmine, Mische, Septimus, and Angelika round out a cast designed to test Oraya’s trust as much as her blade. - **Core themes:** trust vs survival; love as liability and leverage; found family vs bloodline duty; power reclaimed and repurposed. - **Trope mix:** enemies to lovers, reluctant allies, forced proximity, deadly trials, last-gasp bargains. ## Writing Style The voice is cinematic and quick, with short, punchy beats during combat and intimate, breath-held moments in allies-only quarters. Dialogue lands playful then pained. Some readers will want deeper lore; others will prefer the speedrun to the heartbreak. > “Love was a sacrifice at the altar of power.” — Carissa Broadbent Comparisons fit the vibe: Sarah J. Maas’s ACOTAR for romantic tension, Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games for trial pressure, [Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing](https://kibbi.ai/post/review-fourth-wing-balances-brutal-stakes-with-heat) for ride-or-die partnerships. Expect momentum over minutiae and big feelings over rulebooks. ## Is The Serpent and the Wings of Night worth reading? **Yes, if you want high-stakes romance with blade-kiss tension.** The middle sags here and there, but the finale hits hard, and the relationship arc sticks the landing for romantasy fans. If you crave intricate legalese-level lore, you may want a denser fantasy first. ## Pros and Cons ### Pros - **Hooky premise:** human in a vampire tournament with a goddess’s wish at stake. - **Magnetic duo:** Oraya and Raihn spark through banter, battles, and brutal choices. - **Emotional anchor:** complicated father-daughter bond with Vincent deepens the stakes. - **Propulsive pacing:** lean scenes, fast trials, and a gasp-worthy endgame. - **Trope synergy:** reluctant allies, forced proximity, and enemies-to-lovers payoffs. ### Cons - **Lore lightness:** house politics and trial mechanics can feel under-explained. - **Middle dip:** momentum loosens before the late-stage surge. - **Familiar beats:** genre staples you may have seen in ACOTAR-style romantasy. - **Sidecast depth:** some supporting players read like archetypes. - **Violence level:** blood and torture content will not suit every reader. ## Who Will Enjoy It If you are here for swoony danger and tournament survival, this will scratch the itch. Readers who love romance first and politics second will be happiest. If you like every rule codified and every subplot deeply seeded, you may feel shortchanged between the trials. - **Read this if you enjoyed:** A Court of Thorns and Roses, Fourth Wing, From Blood and Ash. - **Favorite flavors:** vampire lore, knife-to-throat banter, sacrificial love, and “we shouldn’t but we do.” - **Skip if you need:** ultra-dense worldbuilding or low-violence fantasy. ## FAQs ### Is this more romance or more fantasy? It’s romance-forward fantasy. The Kejari frames the plot, but the emotional engine is Oraya and Raihn’s slow-burn bond and the fallout from their choices. If you want an even split, this tilts about 60-40 toward romance. ### How spicy is it? Moderate spice. There are a couple of open-door scenes with emotional weight rather than constant steam. If you prefer closed-door, you can skim and still follow everything. ### Any big triggers I should know about? Yes. Expect graphic combat, torture, death of side characters, coercive systems, and a few scenes involving blood, hunger, and branding. If that’s tough for you, preview a content guide first. ### Do I need to read the novellas or related duologies first? No. This is the first full-length entry for this branch of the Crowns of Nyaxia. There are adjacent books and novellas, but you can start here and expand later. ### Does the ending set up the sequel? Absolutely. The finale repositions the board and raises the political stakes, making book two a natural continuation for anyone invested in the romance and the crown-game fallout.