Ratings
Content Warnings: Blood, Gore, Graphic Violence, Smut, Language, Self-Harm, Emotional, Sexual, and Physical Abuse, Flashback Rape, Slavery, Prejudice, Racism
Introduction
Take The Hunger Games and make it vampires with more gore.
At least for half the premise of the book. The other half is filled with turbulent familial relationships, rebellion, and hidden motives.
Pros
- Refreshing premise on vampire lore
- Strong, well-rounded characters
- Plot twists
Cons
- Odd, fragmented sentences
- Vague descriptions
- Confusing terminology
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Plot
The plot is simple and straightforward. Maybe not at first glance, but looking back everything is set up to follow the structure of the Kejari. I enjoyed the plot and the rollercoaster it took me on. The action and romance were perfectly balanced and kept the book moving.
I truly have no complaints about the storyline. It was strong and I enjoyed myself.
But gods the final fight between Riahn and Oraya was heartbreaking!
But since I knew how The Daughter of No Worlds trilogy ended, I held out hope that Raihn would come back. I knew it wasn’t over for him. Did I cry during the fight? Yes. Did I cry when Oraya stabbed him? Yes. Did I cry when Oraya wished for Raihn to win? You betcha! I was so invested in them, but it unfortunately didn’t last long.
By the time the book ended, I was so torn and devastated. Such a beautiful way to end a book.
Characters
As always, Carissa Broadbent’s characters are strong and well-rounded. There’s depth and story to even the most minor of characters. To me, this really brings the story to life. It shows the stakes at hand and how desperate some of its contestants are.
I love the dynamic between Raihn, Oraya, and Mische. They’re such a kickass and comforting group. I was rooting for all of them the entire time, though I knew someone was going to die.
And then Raihn’s brutal plot twist of killing Vincent and Oraya’s wildly conflicting emotions made everything so devastatingly beautiful. Raihn’s character change was not one I expected, however, I did see coming that he was the prince of the Rishan. But his motives were never really clear, which made for a huge impact at the end.
Where will Raihn and Oraya end up? Will Mische be there too? Gods I want to know.
Writing
While I enjoyed the book itself, my main quarrel was with the writing. I went from Broadbent’s masterpiece of Daughter of No Worlds with exquisite writing, plot points, and world-building, to too-close-sounding names and terms, confusing race distinctions, odd, fragmented sentences, and vague descriptions.
There were times when I had to stop and reread because I didn’t understand what was happening or was confused about what side a character belonged to. The world-building is there, but at the same time, it just wasn’t incorporated enough. It was too easy to get lost.
And that truly tore me out of the story. I was so used to her writing from her previous trilogy that when I read the weird sentences and vague scenes, I was reeling.
This is where the book lost points for me. It was too noticeable to not ignore.
Final Thoughts
I’m a bit disappointed in The Serpent and the Wings of Night (which I can’t even remember the name of!). It had so much potential but was blurred by awkward writing and editing. It just didn’t feel like a Carissa Broadbent book.
Maybe the second one will be better, but I won’t hold my breath.
What did you think of the book? Did you like it or could you have done without it? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
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