Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - The Serpent and the Wings of Night

What the actual fuck.
Where was this book when I was in all of my previous fantasy book slumps?

The first ~7 chapters were fine enough, it felt like any other fantasy read, really. Jumping in to a new world, learning terms, and just sort of accepting things as they come up. Oh there’s vampires with different types of wings? Ya sure. This big mega vamp wants this rando human child as a pseudo child of his own? Go wild. But once you’re securely in the trials that take place in this book, *you get hooked*. The world is simple but still feels so real with the way Broadbent describes it. It was almost a theme while I was reading; expecting something shallow due to how little this book/author has been talked about in the mainstream until now (thank you booktok), but then being utterly surprised when proven wrong. Each chapter just revealed more and more strings and important details and connections and and and. I am thoroughly amazed.
I know many people are comparing Broadbent’s series and their respective tones to Sarah J Maas’ books, but there really is no better parallel. I’ve yet to read any other books by Broadbent, but there is no doubt I will collect as many as I can get my hands on.

Seriously though, if you are a fan of SJ Maas, give this author a go.

Content Warnings

that_awkwardpart's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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booksalacarte's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Serpent and the Wings of Night- 5⭐️3.5🌶️

Human or vampire, the rules of survival are the same: never trust, never yield, and always - always - guard your heart.

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.

But winning won't be easy amongst the most vicious warriors from all three vampire houses. 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.

But there's no room for compassion in the Kejari. War for the House of Night brews, shattering everything that Oraya thought she knew about her home. And 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.

——————

✨My Opinion✨

I could not put this book down. Literally, I stayed up all night to finish this book.

This checked all my boxes: Dynamic main characters, intricate political system, fully formed magic system, side characters that enhance the story, slow burn tension, heart wrenching plot twists that you don’t see coming.

Content Warnings