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selene_evenstar 's review for:
The Fallen & the Kiss of Dusk
by Carissa Broadbent
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a solid, if predictable, entry in the Crowns of Nyaxia series. The end of the Shadowborn duet is not too Shadowborn judging by the scenery, but our leads are decent enough and after overcoming some pacing issues in the first third, the plot picks up and ends on a high note with multiple action-packed, high-stakes sequences.
I am not sure if I had gotten too used to the plot structure Carissa Broadbent uses by now - super high-stakes, sent on a mission by the gods/for the sake of the gods to retrieve X/Y/Z artifact and ascend/descend/save the world/kill a god - but at this stage it is becoming a tad bit repetitive for me. Maybe this is why I struggled in the beginning of this novel - the plot was dragging, and ironically, the pace picked up after we left the Shadowborn lands.
I continue to uphold the opinion that Mische and Asar are much better and likeable protagonists than Oraya and Raihn. I unfortunately did not see that much development in Mische - she continues to be a bit infantilized by the author even though she has literally been to hell and back several times and one would expect her to obtain a bit more gravity and poise throughout her heroic ordeals. Still, she did not annoy me too much - it was easy enough to suspend disbelief that a 70-year-old vampire would behave that way in the context of the novel - at least she wasn't a cocky ultra-powerful know-it-all with the mouth of a drunken sailor which at this stage forces me to DNF a book. The one negative that stood out to me regarding Mische and her musings was how surprisingly little thought was put towards the destruction of the underworld and so many of the souls inhabiting it. Yes, she did mention it several times, but I honestly expected a bit more from an empath like her, who is so deeply connected to the underworld - not just 2 sentences of reflection/pity and then back to bed with Asar.
Asar is the highlight of this novel no doubt, he carries the whole plot and emotional turmoil on his Shadow-Daddy shoulders - why a multi-century vampire falls in love with this girl, I cannot tell you, but fall hard he does. Asar's total obsession with Mische knows no bounds. He almost kills himself, and destroys the world to bring her back from the dead several times. If that ain't romance, not sure what is...We learn more of his tragic backstory and how flawed of a character he is. Still, he fights to do good, even with the cards he's been dealt. He is what I suppose should be called Shadow-Daddy, yet he is at no point rude or snarky, he remains dignified and at peace with the sacrifices he must make in order to bring Mische back/save the world. His quiet resolve grounds him in reality and (as opposed to Raihn) he mostly acts his age, which is always a welcome surprise in this genre (stop making beings that have been around for centuries act like teenagers, romantasy authors)!
The side cast is filled with cameos, which, while necessary to advance the plot, and I suppose to make fans happy, do not bring too much to the table character-wise. Vincent is especially a missed opportunity - I was so happy to see him in the last book, but the author has turned him into a bit of a sap, though there is still some of the old cold-blooded Vincent in there. A big highlight for me were the gods - all of them were deliciously devious and utterly enjoyable to read. I wish Broadbent could write a book just about the gods and their machinations behind the scenes, cause they are so much more interesting than 80% of the main cast so far. I am excited to read more about them in the upcoming two installments, and expect a bloody all-out war with many gods dead in the end.
Minus the pacing issues faced in the beginning, the book was quite enjoyable to read - there were sweeping set-pieces and high-octane action sequences throughout to keep you glued to the page. Especially towards the end the author uses a lot of short, to-the-point chapters to really up the tension, which works wonderfully. I loved the advancements of the lore, and how fleshed out the world of Obitraes is becoming. This is the book where we have had the most direct interactions with the White Pantheon, as well as see Nyaxia's scheming evil nature - this made the world a lot more intriguing and dangerous - the stakes have never been higher. Sometimes, the logic of the world crumbles, or the magic is not too well-explained (how many glyphs did these people write and how did they work exactly, among other glaring issues with the power imbalance between vampires and humans and the inner workings of the underworld) but I hope the author works even more to close these gaps in the last 2 books of the series. Overall, while this is not a masterpiece by any means, it is well-written, in a well-developed enough world, with likeable and flawed characters. I was surprised at how little of Septimus we saw in this book, given that he will highlight the next one, but he is quite the interesting character, so I await with interest what Broadbent has in store.
I am not sure if I had gotten too used to the plot structure Carissa Broadbent uses by now - super high-stakes, sent on a mission by the gods/for the sake of the gods to retrieve X/Y/Z artifact and ascend/descend/save the world/kill a god - but at this stage it is becoming a tad bit repetitive for me. Maybe this is why I struggled in the beginning of this novel - the plot was dragging, and ironically, the pace picked up after we left the Shadowborn lands.
I continue to uphold the opinion that Mische and Asar are much better and likeable protagonists than Oraya and Raihn. I unfortunately did not see that much development in Mische - she continues to be a bit infantilized by the author even though she has literally been to hell and back several times and one would expect her to obtain a bit more gravity and poise throughout her heroic ordeals. Still, she did not annoy me too much - it was easy enough to suspend disbelief that a 70-year-old vampire would behave that way in the context of the novel - at least she wasn't a cocky ultra-powerful know-it-all with the mouth of a drunken sailor which at this stage forces me to DNF a book. The one negative that stood out to me regarding Mische and her musings was how surprisingly little thought was put towards the destruction of the underworld and so many of the souls inhabiting it. Yes, she did mention it several times, but I honestly expected a bit more from an empath like her, who is so deeply connected to the underworld - not just 2 sentences of reflection/pity and then back to bed with Asar.
Asar is the highlight of this novel no doubt, he carries the whole plot and emotional turmoil on his Shadow-Daddy shoulders - why a multi-century vampire falls in love with this girl, I cannot tell you, but fall hard he does. Asar's total obsession with Mische knows no bounds. He almost kills himself, and destroys the world to bring her back from the dead several times. If that ain't romance, not sure what is...We learn more of his tragic backstory and how flawed of a character he is. Still, he fights to do good, even with the cards he's been dealt. He is what I suppose should be called Shadow-Daddy, yet he is at no point rude or snarky, he remains dignified and at peace with the sacrifices he must make in order to bring Mische back/save the world. His quiet resolve grounds him in reality and (as opposed to Raihn) he mostly acts his age, which is always a welcome surprise in this genre (stop making beings that have been around for centuries act like teenagers, romantasy authors)!
The side cast is filled with cameos, which, while necessary to advance the plot, and I suppose to make fans happy, do not bring too much to the table character-wise. Vincent is especially a missed opportunity - I was so happy to see him in the last book, but the author has turned him into a bit of a sap, though there is still some of the old cold-blooded Vincent in there. A big highlight for me were the gods - all of them were deliciously devious and utterly enjoyable to read. I wish Broadbent could write a book just about the gods and their machinations behind the scenes, cause they are so much more interesting than 80% of the main cast so far. I am excited to read more about them in the upcoming two installments, and expect a bloody all-out war with many gods dead in the end.
Minus the pacing issues faced in the beginning, the book was quite enjoyable to read - there were sweeping set-pieces and high-octane action sequences throughout to keep you glued to the page. Especially towards the end the author uses a lot of short, to-the-point chapters to really up the tension, which works wonderfully. I loved the advancements of the lore, and how fleshed out the world of Obitraes is becoming. This is the book where we have had the most direct interactions with the White Pantheon, as well as see Nyaxia's scheming evil nature - this made the world a lot more intriguing and dangerous - the stakes have never been higher. Sometimes, the logic of the world crumbles, or the magic is not too well-explained (how many glyphs did these people write and how did they work exactly, among other glaring issues with the power imbalance between vampires and humans and the inner workings of the underworld) but I hope the author works even more to close these gaps in the last 2 books of the series. Overall, while this is not a masterpiece by any means, it is well-written, in a well-developed enough world, with likeable and flawed characters. I was surprised at how little of Septimus we saw in this book, given that he will highlight the next one, but he is quite the interesting character, so I await with interest what Broadbent has in store.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Violence, Grief, War