Reviews with content warning for Body horror - The Serpent and the Wings of Night

Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

51 reviews

moonchild_cos's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0

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emilywemily6's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

4.25

Wow this book. The first 25% felt slow, probably because vampires are not my favorite fantasy concept, but then I read the rest of the book in less than 24 hours. This is high fantasy and my brain had a little bit of a hard time wrapping itself around everything for the first part because I wasn’t in the mood I think, but I enjoyed it thoroughly even when it felt a little slow. I loved the magic system and politics, as well as the culture of the entire country. It was well thought out and intriguing to learn about. I appreciated all of the characters’ motivations and found lots of depth in the characters too. The last 80 pages gutted me 😭 it was such an emotional whirlwind. My feelings are so complicated about how it all ended, which is the mark of a well-written and complex book that I am still thinking about. I have no idea where the second book will go but I need to read it asap!

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kristinallard's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

4.5

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bzliz's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

4.25

Oraya is the adopted human daughter of a vampire king and has been protected and trained by him for years so she can enter a magical death tournament in honor of the goddess of vampires. She reluctantly teams up with Mische and Raihn when it becomes clear she needs allies. They work together to unlock her magic (which is spotty at best) and get through the trials. Mische gets severely injured in an attack on the palace where the tournament is held and Oraya makes an unsavory deal to get her new friend out to safety, paving the way for romance to reluctantly blossom for her and Raihn.

The story is compelling even for readers who aren’t huge vampire fans. I really had to dove head first into the lore because there’s a lot of characters, places & factions named that you need to remember. Now that I’m in it, the story has its hooks in me and I can’t wait to start the next one.

Content warnings:
Blood, death, gore, injury, violence (on page):

This is a book about a vampire death match with a side story of war brewing.

Body horror (on page):

In addition the the previous warning, during one of the trials, the contestants realize that the demons they’re fighting are mutilated versions of other contestants who have died.

Murder (on page, flashback):

Oraya regularly goes to the human district to kill vampires who prey on the humans there because it’s supposed to be protected. Her first kill was her first love at the behest of her father, which we see in flashback form.

Sexual content (on page):

Oraya and Raihn finally give in and have sex the night before the final trial. If you don’t want to read that, you can easily tell it’s coming and can skip the whole chapter.

Death of parent (on page):

Raihn kills Vincent immediately following the final trial. Oraya is instantly grief stricken.

Sexual assault (on page, flashback):

Oraya’s first sexual encounter is told through flashback and we got hints of it leading up to the full story. She and a young Turned vampire were sneaking around together for a while and consensually began having sex, during which he started to lose control because of her human blood. Oraya told him to stop and he didn’t/couldn’t and he bit and almost killed her. Her focus is not on the sex but in the neck bite that is likely to kill her before she manages to fight back and get away to run to her father’s protection.

Rape (off page, mentions of):

Raihn mentions raping Oraya as part of an act of bravado to keep her alive and safe while others call for her death. There are implications that Vincent may have raped the former queen.

Content Warnings