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savvyrosereads's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Rating: 5/5 stars
A standalone romantasy novella that should be read between THE SERPENT AND THE WINGS OF NIGHT and THE ASHES AND THE STAR-CURSED KING, which focuses on Lilith, who turns to local vampire Vale in a desperate effort to save her town from a deadly curse.
THIS WAS SO GOOD. I love a little mid-series novella, but it’s rare to find one that is truly special, and this is one of those rare ones. I absolutely LOVED both Lilith and Vale and their relationship was so sweet and lovely. I loved Lilith more than Oraya from TSATWON (by a lot) and honestly could have read 300 more pages of these two. The story also felt more like a classic gothic vampire tale with some updating, and I was SO HERE for the vibes. Truly, there are not enough good things I can say about this one.
I can’t wait to get more of Lilith and Vale and the rest of this world in the next book!
CW: Violence/blood/death/injury; terminal illness
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, and Violence
sbordo's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Blood
Minor: Chronic illness, Death, Murder, Violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Terminal illness
spicyviolets's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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
4.5
The pacing in this was slower, but it allowed for the romance to develop at a more natural and relaxed pace. I really loved Lilith. Her struggle to connect with others, and feeling different from them while simultaneously caring so much and wanting to save everyone was something that deeply resonated with me. I ended up liking Vale a lot too. His character development was really satisfying. I can’t wait to see more of these two!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Violence
louisepea's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“It's just... something being difficult is not a good reason not to do it.”
Six Scorched Roses was a brilliant Beauty and the Beast-inspired novella from the Crowns of Nyaxia series about a neurodivergent human woman making a deal with a grumpy hot vampire so she can find a cure for a disease cursing her village.
Every month, Lilith promises Vale a special rose in exchange for his blood- a human taking a vampire's blood? Oh, the irony!!- and what starts as a reluctant partnership soon turns into a friendly alliance, with Vale eagerly helping Lilith research her work, and adorably, sending her letters in her absence like the sweet old soul he is.
As the letters accumulate, it appears that something is building between the two friends, and Lilith is too distracted by her work and her feelings for Vale to realise the letters have led a group of scared religious extremists to his door. Will she be able to get to him in time? And when her actions displease a vengeful God, will there be anything she can offer to save those she loves from his wrath? Or has death caught up with Lilith a fourth and final time?
*
Ix's tits, I think this might just be one of the best novellas I've ever read.
After loving The Serpent and the Wings of Night, I wasted no time in sinking my fangs into this book, and loved it so much, I greedily drank it down in a couple of sittings. I only wish it had been longer. 195 pages wasn't enough time with Lilith and Vale.
It was fun to read a vampire story where the human was the one taking the vampire's blood, and the vampire the one being perturbed by the human silently sneaking into his home unannounced and uninvited at inconvenient times. (Nothing like a bit of voyeurism to make or break the mood...)
Lilith was such an interesting character as a fearless neurodivergent thirty year old whose difficulty with social cues got her into awkward situations at times, but who never tried to be anything but herself. It was admirable how her love for her terminally ill sister drove her to fearlessly approach a vampire to help her find a cure, and to not take 'no' for an answer, and how she worked tirelessly to help everyone, before giving everything she had to save them.
I loved how Lilith quickly had Vale, the, supposedly, big scary vampire, wrapped around her little finger, enthralled by her patented blend of curiosity and thirst for knowledge. He reminded me so much of a winged Lorcan Salvaterre- a big, moody, immortal killing machine softened by a clever human woman who isn't afraid of him. And just like Lorcan, I adored him!
I thoroughly enjoyed the enemies to friends to lovers relationship which developed between them, cemented by Vale initiating a letter exchange, and Lilith coming to save him. If I didn't already love him before he enthusiastically started penning her academic love letters with doodles and poems delivered by magic or raven, the letter-writing definitely did it. I mean, could that be any cuter?!
I was also swooning when he saved her from a group of opportunist robbers, and nursed her back to health- even while chastising her for almost-stripping to save her skin, not quite grasping her limited options as an unarmed mortal woman cornered by men until she made it clear.
I was equally moved by the scenes where Lilith raced to save Vale from the mob, killed to defend him, and then took care of him, as well as when Vale came for her when she went to face the vengeful God alone. The two of them were just adorable together, and the way this odd-couple cared for each other stole my whole heart. They were the last two people you'd expect to end up together, but somehow, they just worked.
For some reason, I wasn't at all surprised by how it ended- I guess it was kinda predictable- but it had me on the edge of my seat anyway, hoping Lilith made it through. And thank goodness she did... well, kind of.
I'm excited to read more books of the two of them in the future, and can't wait to see where the series takes them now that Lilith has all the time in the world. I loved this first adventure of them, and I need to know more! 4 shiny stars out of 5.
Trigger warnings for: Sex, voyeurism, violence, blood, terminal illness, death, attempted assault.
Six Scorched Roses was a brilliant Beauty and the Beast-inspired novella from the Crowns of Nyaxia series about a neurodivergent human woman making a deal with a grumpy hot vampire so she can find a cure for a disease cursing her village.
Every month, Lilith promises Vale a special rose in exchange for his blood- a human taking a vampire's blood? Oh, the irony!!- and what starts as a reluctant partnership soon turns into a friendly alliance, with Vale eagerly helping Lilith research her work, and adorably, sending her letters in her absence like the sweet old soul he is.
As the letters accumulate, it appears that something is building between the two friends, and Lilith is too distracted by her work and her feelings for Vale to realise the letters have led a group of scared religious extremists to his door. Will she be able to get to him in time? And when her actions displease a vengeful God, will there be anything she can offer to save those she loves from his wrath? Or has death caught up with Lilith a fourth and final time?
*
Ix's tits, I think this might just be one of the best novellas I've ever read.
After loving The Serpent and the Wings of Night, I wasted no time in sinking my fangs into this book, and loved it so much, I greedily drank it down in a couple of sittings. I only wish it had been longer. 195 pages wasn't enough time with Lilith and Vale.
It was fun to read a vampire story where the human was the one taking the vampire's blood, and the vampire the one being perturbed by the human silently sneaking into his home unannounced and uninvited at inconvenient times. (Nothing like a bit of voyeurism to make or break the mood...)
Lilith was such an interesting character as a fearless neurodivergent thirty year old whose difficulty with social cues got her into awkward situations at times, but who never tried to be anything but herself. It was admirable how her love for her terminally ill sister drove her to fearlessly approach a vampire to help her find a cure, and to not take 'no' for an answer, and how she worked tirelessly to help everyone, before giving everything she had to save them.
I loved how Lilith quickly had Vale, the, supposedly, big scary vampire, wrapped around her little finger, enthralled by her patented blend of curiosity and thirst for knowledge. He reminded me so much of a winged Lorcan Salvaterre- a big, moody, immortal killing machine softened by a clever human woman who isn't afraid of him. And just like Lorcan, I adored him!
I thoroughly enjoyed the enemies to friends to lovers relationship which developed between them, cemented by Vale initiating a letter exchange, and Lilith coming to save him. If I didn't already love him before he enthusiastically started penning her academic love letters with doodles and poems delivered by magic or raven, the letter-writing definitely did it. I mean, could that be any cuter?!
I was also swooning when he saved her from a group of opportunist robbers, and nursed her back to health- even while chastising her for almost-stripping to save her skin, not quite grasping her limited options as an unarmed mortal woman cornered by men until she made it clear.
I was equally moved by the scenes where Lilith raced to save Vale from the mob, killed to defend him, and then took care of him, as well as when Vale came for her when she went to face the vengeful God alone. The two of them were just adorable together, and the way this odd-couple cared for each other stole my whole heart. They were the last two people you'd expect to end up together, but somehow, they just worked.
For some reason, I wasn't at all surprised by how it ended- I guess it was kinda predictable- but it had me on the edge of my seat anyway, hoping Lilith made it through. And thank goodness she did... well, kind of.
I'm excited to read more books of the two of them in the future, and can't wait to see where the series takes them now that Lilith has all the time in the world. I loved this first adventure of them, and I need to know more! 4 shiny stars out of 5.
Trigger warnings for: Sex, voyeurism, violence, blood, terminal illness, death, attempted assault.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, and Chronic illness
Minor: Sexism, Blood, Misogyny, Murder, Death, and Grief
carlalaureano's review
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Sexual content
Moderate: Medical content and Injury/Injury detail
qatkatcat's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A wonderful short addition to the Crowns of Nyaxia series! I loved getting to read Lilliths story, she’s a brilliantly written character with lots of charm, especially considering the small amount of time/pages to develop her story. I personally recommend reading this novella after Ashes and the Star-Cursed King, as some mild spoilers occur in this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, and Rape
maregred's review
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness and Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
beckyremillard's review
adventurous
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? It's complicated
5.0
I didn’t realize this book existed until I had already read The Ashes & The Star Cursed King. I would have definitely paid more attention to Vale and Lilith in that story if I had.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Blood, Murder, Violence, and Sexual content
hapalyn's review
emotional
funny
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual content and Injury/Injury detail
emilywemily6's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I really enjoyed this novella, more than the duology! I found the length perfect and the story was sweet. It was slower-paced than other novellas I have read, which I didn’t mind but since I read it in multiple sittings I feel like I might have missed a little bit of the characterization of Lillith and Vale. So I would have loved a little more characterization at the beginning of the book, but I also might have missed it. I enjoyed seeing this relationship progress and how it felt right for Lillith to choose Vale.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Death, Blood, Grief, Violence, and Body horror
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual assault, and Bullying
Minor: Medical content