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erinkellyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Continuing from the first book in this duology, I am again conflicted in my review. I did get more about the gods and Vincent/Oraya's past, which is what I was looking for, but... this dragged. I just never felt the chemistry between Raihn & Oraya and so when they were fighting over what Raihn did (which - valid, girl, I don't know if I could be in the same room with him after that in the beginning) I wasn't super rooting for them to get back together. I found myself skimming pages to get to the good parts. The ending was, in some ways, expected and, in others, unsatisfying. Now the question becomes - do I do what I did to myself with the Hades/Persephone series and push to read the rest in this world to see if it gets better or do I cut my losses on this series? Time will tell.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, War, Child death, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Slavery, and Bullying
Moderate: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Cursing, Infidelity, Child abuse, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Confinement, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Body shaming, Colonisation, Classism, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
After I finished and LOVED "The Serpent and the Wings of Night", I immediately picked up this book.
"The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King" is the sequel and conclusion to the "Crowns of Nyaxia" duet. Following Raihn's brutal murder of Vincent, Oraya's father, he has taken over as king. In an effort to save Oraya's life, he marries her, and he begins his plans to restore the kingdom to a place of harmony and balance between the vampires and the humans. Oraya is livid, and wants nothing to do with Raihn, but she does appreciate the freedom he has granted her. She can finally explore the castle and learn more about herself and all of the things Vincent kept hidden from her. But there are sinister vampires at work who are hellbent on taking Raihn down and keep things the way they have been.
First and foremost, this book took me way too long to get into. The first 350 pages took me two months to read, and I found that very disappointing. I just never wanted to pick it up because I was so bored by everything that was going on. Where the first book dove right into the plot from the beginning, this one attempted to lay a lot more groundwork, which I did not appreciate in a sequel. At this point in the story, I felt like we were ready for action, not meticulous political planning. This book's saving grace is that the last 250 pages I devoured in a morning because I fell back in love with the characters.
The first half of this book, Oraya's character drove me crazy. She acted way too immature, and she lost all of the qualities that made her such a strong female main character. She was blinded by anger at Raihn because he killed Vincent, and I empathize with that. But Raihn gave her countless ways out, and she never took them. She chose to stay in her castle and sulk over Raihn even though she was so clearly in love with him. To that point, Raihn's character was no better. I get that he was trying to appease Oraya and make things better for her any way he could, but he felt too perfect. Oraya continued to push him away every time he showed her kindness, and I feel like at a certain point he would have given up on her.
I normally really enjoy when we get both points of view, especially in a romance, but I am conflicted with this one. We do get the addition of Raihn's perspective in this book, but I do not think it added a ton to the story. I think the book may have been stronger and more engaging if we focused solely on Oraya's point of view.
The second half of the book was EXACTLY what I wanted, and I really did enjoy the ending.
I am still curious about this world, and I will likely pick up the next book when it comes out.
"The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King" is the sequel and conclusion to the "Crowns of Nyaxia" duet. Following Raihn's brutal murder of Vincent, Oraya's father, he has taken over as king. In an effort to save Oraya's life, he marries her, and he begins his plans to restore the kingdom to a place of harmony and balance between the vampires and the humans. Oraya is livid, and wants nothing to do with Raihn, but she does appreciate the freedom he has granted her. She can finally explore the castle and learn more about herself and all of the things Vincent kept hidden from her. But there are sinister vampires at work who are hellbent on taking Raihn down and keep things the way they have been.
First and foremost, this book took me way too long to get into. The first 350 pages took me two months to read, and I found that very disappointing. I just never wanted to pick it up because I was so bored by everything that was going on. Where the first book dove right into the plot from the beginning, this one attempted to lay a lot more groundwork, which I did not appreciate in a sequel. At this point in the story, I felt like we were ready for action, not meticulous political planning. This book's saving grace is that the last 250 pages I devoured in a morning because I fell back in love with the characters.
The first half of this book, Oraya's character drove me crazy. She acted way too immature, and she lost all of the qualities that made her such a strong female main character. She was blinded by anger at Raihn because he killed Vincent, and I empathize with that. But Raihn gave her countless ways out, and she never took them. She chose to stay in her castle and sulk over Raihn even though she was so clearly in love with him. To that point, Raihn's character was no better. I get that he was trying to appease Oraya and make things better for her any way he could, but he felt too perfect. Oraya continued to push him away every time he showed her kindness, and I feel like at a certain point he would have given up on her.
I normally really enjoy when we get both points of view, especially in a romance, but I am conflicted with this one. We do get the addition of Raihn's perspective in this book, but I do not think it added a ton to the story. I think the book may have been stronger and more engaging if we focused solely on Oraya's point of view.
The second half of the book was EXACTLY what I wanted, and I really did enjoy the ending.
I am still curious about this world, and I will likely pick up the next book when it comes out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Blood, Gore, Sexual content, Grief, Death, Toxic friendship, Violence, Stalking, Murder, Torture, and War
Moderate: Death of parent and Child death
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