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

Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

22 reviews

tabea1409's review

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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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cableknitsweater's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.0

Good old fashioned vampire Hugh fantasy with a side of unhinged FMC that really worked for me.

If you enjoy fantasy plot lines about female characters growing up thinking they have to be the perfect weapon to be taken seriously, you will enjoy this book. Definite Jude vibes (FotA series).

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fluffy_comet's review

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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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crybabybea's review against another edition

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dark 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? Yes

2.0

I gotta stop reading romantasy. I feel like the subgenre just doesn’t work for me because it always feels like the author has to try and shove so many different elements in, to the detriment of the quality of the work. The world-building, plot, characters, and romance are all underdeveloped because of how much has to be fit into the book. Everything takes a backseat to the romance more often than not, because the author wants to get to the sex scene within the first book. They always end up longer than they need to be because of it as well. Granted, this is on the shorter end of romantasy at 450ish pages, but the next one is over 600 pages. It’s just not enough payoff for a book that long. I feel like it actually takes an incredible amount of skill to write a good romantasy where all elements stand on their own (and seemingly takes a great editor as well cause whew every romantasy I have read needs serious editing). I actually love fantasies with romantic elements as I’m a big YA fan, but I have yet to find a romantasy that doesn’t feel lackluster and overhyped.

This book falls into all of the issues I usually have with the genre. The fantasy doesn’t hold up if you look at it for too long. I understand it’s one of those books that people want to “turn their brain off” and read, which I have no issue with, but this book almost feels like you have to turn your brain off to read. You have to read it not really understanding the point of the plot or really anything about the world at all. The world-building is muddy at best, and oftentimes the narrative just doesn’t make sense. I still don’t understand the point of the Kejari tournament, why it’s happening now, how the world works politically, or the difference between the vampire clans. The magic also isn’t explained well and it’s not clear who can do what magic (is it a racial thing? is it only certain vampires? idk) or what the consequences of the magic are. It just doesn’t feel well thought out and it’s only dragged down more by the author’s bland writing and habit of telling vs. showing.

The writing itself is just… meh. There’s nothing special about it. I don’t think all writing has to be poetic or use flowery language (and in fact some authors force it to the point that it’s cringey ~~cough When the Moon Hatched cough)~~ but the writing here just has no substance. Like, it’s fine but there is nothing about it that is memorable or that encourages me to pick up more by this author. It’s also written in first person POV, but the narration doesn’t match up with the voice of the main character, and it actually makes it hard to connect with Oraya as a character. We don’t get a lot of time in the narration before we are plunged into the Kejari (about 30 pages or less of setup), so we go into the story not really having an idea of who the characters are or what the purpose of the plot even is. It felt very YA, which is fine but… I thought this was not YA for a reason. The only thing that differentiates the writing from a YA book is the overuse of cursing to seem edgy as well as a sex scene. Which, even the sex scene is just bland and boring. There were multiple times I was wishing this book had more editing. At one point the author repeats the same "surprise" and the characters act like they weren't aware even though the same thing was said like 200 pages prior.

I did like the action scenes and felt they had nice pacing and were detailed enough to be understood but not too detailed that they dragged on.

The characters aren’t well developed over the course of the story. We have a very, very narrow cast of characters, which should mean we get intimately acquainted with them, but we just don’t. They fall into their respective tropes and don’t venture outside of them. The author tries to do a “found family” type thing with the main 3 characters but it just doesn’t work because we don’t get to know them well. There are beats of the story that are clearly intended to be emotional but I just don’t care about the characters enough to worry about them. The beginning setup for Oraya’s relationships was good, but

then the author kills off one of two characters that she cares about before the tournament even starts with little fanfare. Her death happens off-page and Oraya never really feels much about it.

I actually found Vincent to be the most interesting character by far, and hoped to see more of an exploration of he and Oraya’s relationship.

I did like the ending. Even though it was similar to other plot beats I’ve read in similar books, I did find myself at least a bit connected to the romance at the end.

This is compared to The Hunger Games (and I understand why) but I would probably compare it more to The Cruel Prince and the later books of ACOTAR. The plot points were almost exactly like The Cruel Prince but with less developed enemies to lovers. I don't think the political strife or intrigue is enough to accurately compare it to The Hunger Games.

Like other romantasies, it’s good for an easy, light entertainment read. If you’re a high fantasy fan and want deep world-building, complicated magic, and political intrigue, I think this is just meh.

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sbordo's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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ladydeathnesta's review against another edition

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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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samanthabush14's review

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adventurous dark emotional 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? No

4.75

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zanazy's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I found myself pleasantly surprised by the story. Oraya is the main female character and the story is told from her perspective. Raihn is the main male character who is mysterious from the very beginning and this drew me in. Vampires, humans, gods, and a competition to be the last one standing are all present, and there is a mystery to both Oraya and Raihn that kept me reading in suspense. I was dreading the conclusion based on the knowledge that only one could win, so I saved the last 10 chapters an extra day. In the end, I may have screamed, fell into silent shock, and currently still feel like I need to be a little stabby stabby with some characters.

Oraya is the adopted-human daughter of the reigning Vampire King, Vincent. In this world, there are three factions of vampires, and the Hiaj are currently on top since Vincent is a Hiaj. The other two factions are the Rishan who previously ruled and who Vincent overthrew in what is described as a bloody coup. The Bloodborn are the third faction who are cursed and set to live for shortened lifespans. As a human surrounded by vampires, Oraya has always been protected by her father, Vincent. He trains her to fight and kill, and it’s his idea for her to enter the Kejari, a bloody tournament that comes along once in a lifetime for Oraya. Vincent basically trains her to win so in the end, as her wish from the goddess, she can bind herself to him. Giving her power, but also giving him power too. Raihn is another contestant in the tournament, and they form an alliance, knowing they will eventually need to turn on each other as only one can win. While they are in the tournament, civil unrest is prevalent and King Vincent rains havoc for all the Rishan. As the tournament progresses, Oraya and Raihn become close, and although Oraya has always been told to guard her heart, it becomes harder to do after each trial. This culminates in the final trial, when the two fight each other and only one of them wins.

This was a unique vampire story that was not afraid to show that humans are the main food source for vampires. This led me to wonder how a human like Oraya has survived as long as she has which I hope to find out more in book 2. Oraya was cunning and smart when it came to her survival. When it came to knowledge, she was as naive as a prey would be in a world surrounded by predators. On a personal note, her name did not seem fitting and is my least favorite amongst all the other characters. Raihn is a complex and mysterious character who was both a white knight and dark knight throughout the story. Villain, enemy, friend, and

lover.

When Raihn and Oraya finally ally in the tournament, the story picks up pace and seemingly flies by. Until that point, the pace of the story is slow. Oraya often describes the world and building architecture in great detail which paints a vivid picture of her world and surroundings as you read. My favorite side character is Mische, Raihn’s friend and ally coming into the tournament, and she represents everything good in vampires. Vincent is a compelling character who loves his adopted daughter in his own twisted way. He is a mix of Daddy Warbucks from Annie and Wilson Fisk (Kingpin) from the Daredevil comics.

The ending…

I screamed when Oraya killed Raihn. At first, I thought Vincent used his powers to push her hand to kill him. I should have known it was Raihn pushing her to kill him. Even after she said he was dead, I was expecting him to wake up. Her wish… I was not expecting that. I assumed she’d ask for his life, or the goddess would see how much she loved him and gift him to her, but when Oraya wishes that Raihn had won instead… WOW. I do feel like an explanation is needed, as that would mean that she should be dead right? That he killed her? Then when Raihn immediately upon realizing what she’d done (which he realized super quick and asked no questions), tells the goddess he wants the Rishan restored, I went into another shock. I was not surprised to find out that he was an heir since Oraya focused on his scar a lot, but for him to do what he did once his mark showed up? HE KILLS VINCENT. It’s not even just that, but he kills Vincent in front of Oraya as she watches and tries to save her father. Cruel as he was, she thought of him as her father and Raihn knew that. It was too much. When Oraya gets the heir mark for the Hiaj and Raihn saves her life by telling everyone he will marry her, all my love for his character dies. He had previously told Oraya binding herself to Vincent was a dumb idea, and yet here he was doing it to her. She even calls him out for this later. APPLAUSE for Oraya here. I know he had to stop his people from killing her so he said what he said, but I cannot forgive him for saying he would marry Oraya and rape her like he assumes Vincent did to the previous Rishan queen, who we also know was Raihn’s first vampire love that he regrets not saving. And to top it off, he said he would plop up Vincent’s body so he would watch the wedding and I assume the subsequent bedding/rape. That whole dialogue went too far. Raihn eventually tells Oraya he said it to save her, but it’s a poor excuse for someone who loves her. Given Oraya’s past, which he knew about, and how she just watched him kill her father, I cannot imagine how you forgive or un break your heart from all of that. I love that Jesmine is Oraya’s army’s top commandant and survived, and that she called Oraya her queen. From the quick interaction they have, I got the sense that she will be able to help Oraya understand all that she is, and how powerful she always has been. I truly hope Oraya can stand on her own and reclaim her power, her title, and save her kingdom. I currently could care less if Raihn remains in the picture. He needs a major redemption in my eyes.

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maxinesf's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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shadikb's review

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adventurous tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

That ending though.

Great book, I gave it 4* because there wasn't much world building and I have a lot of questions but a lot of great action- by action I mean actual action not spicy time. That was very short but it was great. I liked that it wasn't all about the spice and more about the plot. The spice was amazing though. Didn't take away from the storyline, it added to it.

I'm hoping the next book will answer those questions. I felt the ending a bit rushed. Glad the next book is already out and hopefully it'll help with the conclusion.

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