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A review by onthesamepage
The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Tropes: enemies to lovers
Steam level: 🌶🌶
There has been a lot of hype surrounding this book. I'm not a huge romantasy reader in the sense that I don't seek it out, but I can appreciate a book that blends romance and fantasy in equal measure. One important part, though, is that the fantasy elements have to be heavy enough to mean more than a shell for the romance, and I do think Broadbent delivered on that.
The worldbuilding and the non-romance plot were both interesting and engaging. I liked how there were different types of vampires with different kinds of powers, although I did tend to mix up the houses a lot. The world is pretty brutal, and there's an ongoing conflict between the different vampire houses to hold onto the throne. In the midst of this, we have Oraya, a human who was taken from the ruins of her family home by Vincent, the current vampire king, and raised as his daughter. She grew up constantly on guard against the vampires living in her immediate vicinity, and is now joining the Kejari with one goal in mind: to become strong.
Oraya has a lot of hatred against humans, even though she is one. She sees them as weak and inferior compared to vampires. It takes meeting Raihn for her to begin to see that there is something beautiful in humanity.
The romance had a steady pacing, and I liked Raihn as a character and as a love interest. I do think there was actually more focus on the plot than the romance, which I didn't mind, but might be disappointing if you are looking for something that's more romance than fantasy.
I predicted some of the twists, but definitely not all of them, especially towards the end, and I'm curious enough that I'll pick up the second book to see what happens.
There were a couple of moments that were so over the top that they'd drag me out of the story (I'm not one for melodrama). At one point, Raihn says this:
Steam level: 🌶🌶
There has been a lot of hype surrounding this book. I'm not a huge romantasy reader in the sense that I don't seek it out, but I can appreciate a book that blends romance and fantasy in equal measure. One important part, though, is that the fantasy elements have to be heavy enough to mean more than a shell for the romance, and I do think Broadbent delivered on that.
The worldbuilding and the non-romance plot were both interesting and engaging. I liked how there were different types of vampires with different kinds of powers, although I did tend to mix up the houses a lot. The world is pretty brutal, and there's an ongoing conflict between the different vampire houses to hold onto the throne. In the midst of this, we have Oraya, a human who was taken from the ruins of her family home by Vincent, the current vampire king, and raised as his daughter. She grew up constantly on guard against the vampires living in her immediate vicinity, and is now joining the Kejari with one goal in mind: to become strong.
Oraya has a lot of hatred against humans, even though she is one. She sees them as weak and inferior compared to vampires. It takes meeting Raihn for her to begin to see that there is something beautiful in humanity.
The romance had a steady pacing, and I liked Raihn as a character and as a love interest. I do think there was actually more focus on the plot than the romance, which I didn't mind, but might be disappointing if you are looking for something that's more romance than fantasy.
I predicted some of the twists, but definitely not all of them, especially towards the end, and I'm curious enough that I'll pick up the second book to see what happens.
There were a couple of moments that were so over the top that they'd drag me out of the story (I'm not one for melodrama). At one point, Raihn says this:
"I've lived through some injustices in the last couple of centuries. Seen some fucking travesties. But one of the biggest, Oraya, is that anyone taught you that you should become anything other than exactly what you are."
Yeah, no. Considering how the politics is built upon genocide, people regularly murder their entire families to seize power, and humans are used as slaves, I think it's safe to say that Oraya not having any self-confidence or self-love is not that big of a crisis.
The next bit is a spoiler:after a lot of character work, Oraya finally comes to the conclusion that being human isn't bad and vampires are the problem, and then...she's suddenly a half vampire, making the entire journey of self-reflection kind of a waste of time.
The other part that made this a good read, but not a great one, is that I wasn't very invested in the characters. I did enjoy the romance, and I liked Oraya, Raihn, and Mische, but I never got to the point where I was anxious about what was going to happen to them, or worried about their fate, or anything that signals true attachment to me. Still, I had a fun time reading, which is the most important thing.
One last note:
The next bit is a spoiler:
The other part that made this a good read, but not a great one, is that I wasn't very invested in the characters. I did enjoy the romance, and I liked Oraya, Raihn, and Mische, but I never got to the point where I was anxious about what was going to happen to them, or worried about their fate, or anything that signals true attachment to me. Still, I had a fun time reading, which is the most important thing.
One last note:
Raihn's voice was cold and hard. "Five hundred thousand people. Half a million lives. I don't give a fuck what reason he might have. What explanation could make that acceptable?"
None. There was none.
"We don't know what happened."
"I know enough," he snapped. "I saw the ruins. I could smell the bones in that dust. That's enough, Oraya. That is enough."
Interesting that the author wrote this, but couldn't unequivocally say the same about the very real genocide happening right now, without trying to find a middle way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Slavery, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Rape and Self harm
Minor: Sexual assault and Torture