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A review by abooknomad
The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
fast-paced
2.5
Reading is both a blessing and a curse. Blessing because, escapism! Curse because the more you read, especially in certain genres, the more difficult it is to feel captivated. And in the case of fantasy-romance, stories are starting to look a little bit too similar.
The Serpent and The Wings of Night was for me a hybrid of ACOTAR (especially ACOMAF), FBAA, and the Hunger Games. Surely there is more to explore in the romantasy genre than unlikely allies growing into lovers in a slow-burn romance, a protagonist who feels wronged by the world and therefore stabs and kills to prove she’s capable and a badass, and a plot based on trials to the death?
I could overlook these overused tropes and character traits if, for instance, the worldbuilding was interesting and the characters layered, but everything in this story felt shallow. I felt like the author wrote this story expecting the reader to already know how vampires, court politics and this particular world worked. There was a lot of showing and not much telling, which led to writing that felt lazy. Political threads that could have made the story more exciting and enriched the characters and their development were overlooked for a fast-paced plotline, where supposedly high-stakes action scenes lasted for about 10 pages each. It was like the author was checking boxes for what would sell best.
The truth is that I was bored 90% of the time reading this book because nothing felt new to me. The only moment of excitement came towards the end when revelations brought to light finally awoke me.
This was not the worst book I’ve read in terms of style, although I’d have appreciated it if some of the cursing was edited out, but it lacked a lot in terms of execution. I’m not saying every author should invent the wheel, but at least give me the bare minimum in storytelling and characterisation.
The Serpent and The Wings of Night was for me a hybrid of ACOTAR (especially ACOMAF), FBAA, and the Hunger Games. Surely there is more to explore in the romantasy genre than unlikely allies growing into lovers in a slow-burn romance, a protagonist who feels wronged by the world and therefore stabs and kills to prove she’s capable and a badass, and a plot based on trials to the death?
I could overlook these overused tropes and character traits if, for instance, the worldbuilding was interesting and the characters layered, but everything in this story felt shallow. I felt like the author wrote this story expecting the reader to already know how vampires, court politics and this particular world worked. There was a lot of showing and not much telling, which led to writing that felt lazy. Political threads that could have made the story more exciting and enriched the characters and their development were overlooked for a fast-paced plotline, where supposedly high-stakes action scenes lasted for about 10 pages each. It was like the author was checking boxes for what would sell best.
The truth is that I was bored 90% of the time reading this book because nothing felt new to me. The only moment of excitement came towards the end when revelations brought to light finally awoke me.
This was not the worst book I’ve read in terms of style, although I’d have appreciated it if some of the cursing was edited out, but it lacked a lot in terms of execution. I’m not saying every author should invent the wheel, but at least give me the bare minimum in storytelling and characterisation.