Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

24 reviews

natashareadsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-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

4.0

Wow. I don't even know what to say about this book! 

Oraya was a human. She was taken in by the vampire king, taught never to trust others because she wouldn't be safe. Never safe. Taught to fight so she could protect herself. She used those skills to hunt down vampires trying to harm the innocent humans in the human district. And was taught to protect her heart at all costs. 

She threw herself into the Kejari- a tournament held every century, the winner granted just one wish from the goddess herself. And Oraya knew exactly what she wanted - she didn't want her human weaknesses anymore. 

But in the tournament she needed to form an alliance. Everything about Raihn was dangerous. He was her greatest competition and rival. But she still found herself drawn to him. But there was no room for compassion. Raihn may have understood her more than anyone ever had before. And their attraction may end up being her downfall in a world where nothing was more deadly than love. 

So, it took me a little longer to get into this book than I would have liked, I have been in a huge book slump for weeks. But it was intriguing and interesting and despite me taking awhile to get into the story, I wanted to know more. 

I was drawn to the characters, and their stories, and wanted to know all I could about them. How strong Oraya was, and brave - not only living in a world that was designed to kill her but to over come that every day, and to fight back against the injustices every chance she could despite her not having vampire strength, or powers. She fought for what she could, and still had compassion despite the world trying to beat it out of her. 

And I wanted to know more of Raihn. He was mysterious, and dangerous. He was ruthless and cunning. But he was also intriguing and curious. 

The world may be on the precipice of war, offering up horrors despite the characters being in the Kejari- the trials spanning weeks. Truths coming to light. 

I loved the dark fantasy world of magic. The depravity of the world but also the small glimpses of hope too. 

If you are looking for a new fantasy world to dive into filled with blood and carnage then I recommend this book! 

4 Asteris ⭐ out of 5⭐. 

2🌶️ out of 5 🌶️. - a couple detailed scenes. 

Tropes: 

→ Enemies/Rivals to lovers 

→ Trials/tournament 

→ slow burn 

→ romantasy 

→ dark fantasy 

→ vampires 

→ dark magic 

→ shadow daddy 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Animal death, Hate crime, Sexual content, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Stalking, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Violence, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Classism, and Gaslighting

tabea1409's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Death, Animal death, Classism, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Slavery, Violence, War, and Death of parent

fluffy_comet's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

It just fell flat at the end.

The forced marriage plot

was deeply frustrating, and the fact that all these two has to do was COMMUNICATE THE BAREST AMOUNT to avoid

another deadly war

was kind of infuriating at the end. The writer's grammar leaves much to be desired and I swear to God if she does the triplicate thing over (and over and over) in the next book I *will* DNF it. Loopholes and editing problems abound: you're telling me a 20 year old living in vampire territory isn't worried about her period? Also certain sentences/descriptions are repeated in the book in difficult situations, ie: he pissed himself, bleeding is bad, etc. 

Enjoyable read though, but it was very much a "kinda want to see what happens" vibe that drew me to ordering the next book, not a "I need to know what happens NOW".

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Classism, Ableism, Genocide, Murder, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and War

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Slavery, Sexual content, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, and Trafficking

thedigsy's review against another edition

dark funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Toxic relationship, Death, Confinement, Blood, Sexual violence, Murder, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Stalking

ladydeathnesta's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I absolutely love this book! It’s near perfection and it’s beautifully devastating 🖤

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, War, Ableism, Death, Sexual violence, Cursing, Police brutality, Self harm, Sexism, Hate crime, Stalking, Gore, Medical trauma, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Cannibalism, Classism, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Medical content, Confinement, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Bullying, Racial slurs, and Sexual harassment

palmkd's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this one!
Oraya's been raised by vampires so she's never quite felt human. Her father, the vampire king, has raised her as his own but also kept her incredibly sheltered, lest she become the vampire's next snack.
She thinks she's ready to prove herself, but does she really have what it takes to go up against vampires in the legendary tournament?
This is an easy story to get caught up in and hard to put down. There's minor sexual content, lots of blood and definitely betrayal and hijinks. It ends with a BANG so be sure to have the next book handy!

After reading this one, I'd recommend the novella, Six Scorched Roses, before continuing on to book 2, The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Body horror

xeyroc13's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Alcohol, Death, Murder, Blood, Violence, Abandonment, War, Death of parent, and Genocide

brownsugarnutmeg's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Rape, and Slavery

kymboh78's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Alcohol, Gore, Murder, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Cursing, Rape, Kidnapping, Gore, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Slavery

Minor: Animal death and Cannibalism

pagesinthesnow's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Grief, War, Torture, Racism, Rape, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Self harm, Slavery, and Confinement