Book Review: The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

Title: The Serpent and the Wings of Night
Author: Carissa Broadbent
Publisher: Nasyra Publishing
Publication Date: August 16, 2022
ISBN: ‎9781957779027

Synopsis:
The adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king, Oraya carved her place in a world designed to kill her. Her only chance to become something more than prey is entering the Kejari: a legendary tournament held by the goddess of death herself. To survive, Oraya is forced to make an alliance with a mysterious rival.

Everything about Raihn is dangerous. He is a ruthless vampire, an efficient killer, an enemy to her father’s crown… and her greatest competition. Yet, what terrifies Oraya most of all is that she finds herself oddly drawn to him. Raihn may understand her more than anyone – but their blossoming attraction could be her downfall, in a kingdom where nothing is more deadly than love.

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I had the privilege of reading this book while travelling and it was the perfect thing to get into early each morning while I sipped my coffee and enjoyed the sunrise. Easy to read with vampires and cutthroat competitions, The Serpent and the Wings of Night is vampires meets The Hunger Games in a battle to the death to determine who is the strongest in the kingdom.

Oraya is an interesting character with a mysterious past. As the only human in a world of vampires, her life is constantly at risk. Her strength and ruthlessness is what keeps her going in the world that would literally eat her alive. Her adoptive father is the king of the vampires and though he loves her deeply, he teaches her to be a trained killer and to protect herself at all costs. It is this training that prepares her for the tournament that might very well end her life.

The writing is light and easy to read. It’s a good story that sucks you in and takes you far away to another realm. While it’s another vampire story, I have never read one quite like this. The vampires themselves are incredibly unique in comparison to the expected trope and that makes this story all the more interesting. These vampires have wings that determine their race, they have magical abilities gifted from their gods, and they can reproduce rather than turning humans in the traditional senes. It’s exciting to see this trope turned on its head, offering a different perspective on an often over-done tale.

I did sometimes struggle with the dialogue and the writing itself. Though easy to read, it does edge on just a little too simple sometimes, so that it comes across as unrealistic or unfinished. It took away from the story’s believability at some points. I also found that Raihn is oversold as a dangeous figure in the story. From the get go, though he is a trained killer, his behaviour towards Oraya and his friends is anything but dangerous. I get the sense that there was a desire to paint an “enemies-to-lovers” trope, but in my opinion, this falls flat. I like Raihn a lot and it would be better to just embrace him as the main male love interest without working hard to try and frame him in the “enemy” context.

This has been a good book to recover from my Sarah J. Maas hangover, but like many of the other books out there, it definitely doesn’t hold up against ToG or ACOTAR. Still, an enjoyable and light read. I’m glad to have had this one in the rotation.