atipsybookworm 's review for:

The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent

4.5

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: N/A

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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So listen. The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King had me pacing my living room like a feral raccoon with too much caffeine. We dive right back in with Oraya, who is now technically queen but also basically living in the middle of a vampire soap opera where everyone’s armed and no one believes in therapy. She’s tied to Raihn (in more ways than one 👀), who is giving full tortured-but-loyal vampire husband energy, and the two of them are supposed to rule together. Emphasis on supposed to.

Because Oraya? Homegirl is stubborn with a capital S. Like, Raihn could literally set himself on fire to prove his devotion and she’d be standing there like, “Hmm. Suspicious. Probably a trap.” I wanted to throw a pillow at her about six times—but then two pages later I’d be like, okay fine, I get it, her trauma is showing.

Meanwhile the political drama is absolute chef’s kiss chaos: backstabbing, scheming, alliances that last about as long as a TikTok trend. It’s messy, bloody, and somehow still hilarious because Raihn’s snark game never fails. Every time they traded barbs I felt like I was intruding on the world’s angriest, most romantic couples therapy session.

Did I yell at them to just TALK TO EACH OTHER ALREADY? Yes. Did I also devour every page like it was my last meal? Also yes. This book is basically enemies-to-lovers meets co-rulers-who-need-marriage-counseling meets “please stop stabbing each other for five minutes so you can kiss.”

By the end, I was mad, swooning, emotionally wrecked, and already desperate for more. 10/10 would crown Raihn, drag Oraya to therapy, and still re-read the whole bloody mess again.