A review by bzliz
The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent

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

4.0

This was a great sequel though it was doing A Lot and probably could’ve been two books. The headway made by our main characters and their respective squads felt earned rather than extremely convenient. There’s also great spicy scenes (be warned of blood play because it’s vampires) and they don’t feel gratuitous.  

Some dialogue felt clunky and heavy handed with reveals that shocked no one (re: Mische in the wedding party scene). The refusal/inability of Oraya and Raihn to discuss feelings went on for too long in my opinion and it was no longer serving a purpose by the time confessions were made. The buildup to the final battle was well done but
the additional human army was pretty damn convenient and also apparently not a problem for vampires who have always had trouble holding themselves back from human blood.


Overall I’m glad I read this and I’m interested in reading more from this author in the future. Mind the content warnings!

Content warnings:
Blood, body horror, death, gore, injury, murder, violence, fire injury (on page):
Vampire battles that get pretty gruesome. If you cannot handle lots of serious injuries with characters on the brink of death, this isn’t the book for you. Blood is also shared in sexual encounters.

Grief (on page):
Oraya must grapple with her father’s death at Raihn’s hands and is also overtaken by his memory at points in time. She has complicated feelings about him because he was her father but he also shielded her from the truth about many topics for his own continued benefit.

Sexual content (on page):
Oraya and Raihn share a few intimate scenes ranging from sweet and loving to down and dirty. They are explicit but not vulgar.

Emotional abuse, domestic violence, physical abuse: (off & on page):
Raihn and probably everyone under former King Neculai’s rule suffered greatly. Much of the violence was implied through mentions of bruises and trauma. Raihn still suffers residual emotional trauma through exposure to Neculai’s cousin and the nobles looking down on him for the dehumanizing events they participated in at his expense.

Alcohol (on page):
Alcohol is specifically used as a tactic to get information out of Oraya’s cousin Evelaena about her father and his violent rise to power.

Child death (off page):
Evelaena relays the story of Vincent’s ascent to power by killing his family including the children which she survived by chance.

Death of parent (off page):
Vincent was killed in the previous book and Oraya spends most of the book dealing with the aftermath of that event.

Infidelity (off page):
Vampires don’t seem to adhere to bonds of fidelity but Raihn specifically had an affair with Queen Nessanyn as they were both victims of King Neculai’s violent tendencies. I mention this because of the emotional bond forged there and because it was significant in shaping Raihn’s life.

Rape, sexual assault (off page):
It is strongly implied Raihn was regularly sexually abused by Neculai and his court/nobles. Oraya’s first sexual encounter is mentioned again which began consensually and turned into rape (her explicit words say this). The experience is not rehashed in this book but is referenced a few times.
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