5⭐️/ 3-4🌶️

The continuation of Oraya and Raihn’s story! With the first book, “The Serpent and the Wings of Night” ending on such a dramatic cliffhanger, I was all but waiting to get my hands on the next book! Oraya found herself married to Raihn, the newly announced King of the House of Night after using his wish from the Kejari and brutally murdered Oraya’s father, the former King, Vincent. A lot of things were up in the air from trying to navigate and win over the nobles of the court, establishing Raihn’s new reign over the kingdom, politics, Oraya dealing with the grief and loss of her father, as well as finding out that she was now an Heir?! There was so much more with this book than I initially anticipated, and so excited to continue with my fantasy girl era adventures alongside Oraya and Raihn.

The last thing Oraya imagined was getting married, especially to her now again enemy, Raihn. In a way, it was a marriage of convenience since, with Oraya being married to Raihn, it proved protection for her against the Rishan or anyone else that wanted her dead. Oraya didn’t expect to see this coming with Raihn taking over the kingdom she grew up in, let only killing the only man who raised her. In other words, Oraya felt conflicted because, as much as she now despised Raihn, there was still that flicker of memories from their passionate night and moments they spent getting close to each other. Even Raihn, while presenting a facade of being the cruel and merciless king in front of others couldn’t stop himself from feeling protective over Oraya, as well as missing the way they use to be together. 

With the second book starting, it was only a matter of time when the political intrigue would start to come out, especially in terms of Oraya deciding what she was going to do now that she was the Heir of the House of Night. For the longest time, even in the last book, Oraya felt like she didn’t fit in since she was human. Always having felt the need to be prepared for anything, making sure she could protect herself against the predators that surrounded her, Oraya was strong, but she wasn’t necessarily ready for the new tasks that would come with being an Heir. In the beginning, I was still questioning what it meant that Oraya was an Heir, and how Vincent may have left out some vital information on her background. Anyways, seeing Oraya decide to take part in fulfilling her duties as an Heir set off a new chain of events that I was questioning at every turn of what would happen next?! 

Now that this book was written in dual p.o.v. I was able to not only get Raihn’s perspective, but also get more background information on him. Right away in the beginning of this book, the story opened on essentially the ending of the last book and how the Kejari ended with Raihn making his wish. With Raihn having made his wish, he was now the King, married to Oraya (kind of political marriage/ of convenience), Raihn was ready to fulfill his duty of making the kingdom great again. Being a king wasn’t an easy task as most would imagine and for Raihn, he needed to show everyone that he should be feared and respected. Some moments Raihn would act a certain way in order to maintain control over his subject as well as shall I say, take inspiration from his former master in order to be cold and calculating. Seeing Raihn in this book made me see him in a new light in that similar to the cliffhanger of the first book, Raihn was willing to do what was necessary in order to secure his reign. Although, as much as Raihn portrayed himself to be this all mighty and powerful king, he still couldn’t deny his concerns and feelings towards Oraya. 

ALSO PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND READ, “Six Scorched Roses” the novella before reading this book as the main characters from that novella reappeared in this book! So glad I read the novella because, I got to see Vale and Lilith again! Yay! Especially with the way the novella ended, I was pleasantly surprised by the way Lilith had integrated herself among Rainh’s court. Vale was still such a grump, but strongly protective of his WIFE, LILITH! I was curious to see how Vale and Lilith would be around the other characters and from their scenes in this book, I was excited to see more, but also how Vale and Lilith were just the sweetest together!

Much like the last book, there was build up in Oraya and Raihn’s romance, especially with the added tension, it created a much more satisfying affect. With Oraya and Raihn at odds based from the beginning of this book, you would think it was over between them, but nope! It definitely wasn’t over. Oraya and Raihn still cared for each other deeply as well as missed the passionate moments they once shared. One thing I absolutely loved about Raihn was the way he expressed his feelings for Oraya, the kind that got my eyes doing a double take and wishing Raihn would say that to me (sigh) absolute perfection!

Even in the middle of a spicy scene, Raihn was out there legitimately begging to have Oraya, but also managing to squeeze in a powerful quote that was beautiful and downright passionate! I essentially would love if Raihn quoted this to me word for word, I would happily take him for myself, thank you very much! The romantic quotes in this book were meaningful, beautiful, but even sprinkled with Raihn and Oraya’s reading ways to spice things up every now and then. 

The plot twists, truth bombs, more secrets uncovered about both Raihn and Oraya’s lives, and more?! There was plenty to read about in this book that kept me turning page after page! From the betrayals, secrets, all out war, blood shed, and magic this story didn’t hold back whatsoever! Among the many things that occurred in this story, I was most perplexed by Oraya’s true nature and what it exactly meant for her to be a half vampire/human. For one, (from the first book and now this one) it was fully confirmed that Vincent was Oraya’s biological father, but then there was the question of… who was Oraya’s mom? Once it got closer to the end and the identity of who Oraya’s mom was, it actually made a lot more sense as to how she came to be a half vampire/human, but also how Vincent and Oraya’s mother met/ the significance of it all. So be prepared for lots of information to be thrown your way in this book, and your questions will all be answered. Meanwhile, in terms of Raihn’s past of being a former slave, this book definitely tackled that and gave more details as to how Raihn came to be the vampire he was. While the first book was heavily focused on Oraya, this book was equally about both her and Raihn, especially with the dual p.o.v. Raihn’s story became even stronger. 

OMG THIS WAS FANTASTIC! Oraya, my an absolute (and legit) Queen conquered the most death defying odds as well as Raihn managing to escape some close calls too! This was a brilliant end of Oraya and Raihn’s story! I truly wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, but with the amount of plot twists, truth bombs, action, romance, betrayals, secrets, magic, and more! It was an adventure filled ride to read for sure! I was so caught up in the world of this story that it seemed like time stood still and suddenly looking up from my book, I realized I was just along for the ride lol. Truly the kind of book you can escape to, and want to be part of all the action and drama that unfolded. Raihn and Oraya’s story revealed a lot of things about themselves and even their romance which was eye opening. Crazy to think how in this first book, it all started with a deadly competition, but the ending was just the tip of the iceberg that started the chain of events in this story. I truly adore both Oraya and Raihn, and I’m so impressed with the way they worked together, overcome so many obstacles, and their character growth was amazing. Carissa, on the off chance you are reading this review, I’m so thankful to have discovered your books, they have reinvigorated my love for fantasy books, and I will always love the characters from these books. Highly recommend you read this book, and essentially anything by Carissa as it will leave you on the edge of your seat, and immersed in a magical world that you haven’t read before!