I don't know how Carissa managed to do it, but she packed quite a punch in a story that didn't span a whole novel. Six Scorched Roses was a different breed from that of The Serpent and the Wings of Night, but I found that I didn't really care so much. I expected the novella to introduce characters that would eventually play a part in the second book of the Nightborn duology, but what I got was a fully developed origin story of Lilith and Vale as a unified front. We only got a mention of them in the first book, but after this novella, I'm really excited to see how they play their roles in the second book. And I can't wait to go back to Obitraes for some Oraya and Raihn action too.

While I do still find the time period jarring (Lilith herself is a scientist and uses a lot of magic-based scientific tools, for example), the world kind of naturally fell into place as Lilith lived through it. The story was more focused on one major problem, and the budding romance managed to be a slow-burn despite the book being less than 200 pages. 

The best part? Lilith. I absolutely adored her views of the world and related to her in a level much more than I did with Oraya. That's not to say I love my stabby girl less, but Lilith was ordinary in her humanity, but extraordinary with the way she doggedly used her mind to try to solve many of her problems. The one scene where she witnesses Vale with another vampire? Definitely made me laugh because her curiosity (FOR SCIENCE...MOSTLY) and reactions were EVERYTHING. Lilith also singlehandedly had me crying for the better part of Chapter 25.

Also this.

I can't even. Can I have more Vale and Lilith pleasethanks!