Friendly warning that this review will contain spoilers.
The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
My Rating out of 5: ☕☕☕☕
What I am sipping: Iced Coconut Cold Brew
About: “The adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king, Oraya carved her place in a world designed to kill her…To survive, Oraya is forced to make an alliance with a mysterious rival.
Everything about Raihn is dangerous. He is a ruthless vampire, an efficient killer, an enemy to her father’s crown… and her greatest competition…but their blossoming attraction could be her downfall, in a kingdom where nothing is more deadly than love.”
— Description from the Amazon listing for The Serpent and the Wings of Night
Humans = Prey is the first thing I wrote down as I started the journey that is this book. This simple but incredibly complex equation would go on to adequately describe a primary conflict in the story.
“The king did not know then that his greatest love would also be his ruination–nor that either would come in the form of a tiny, helpless human child.” Page 1. Oh boy do I have a lot to say on the king and his relationship with his daughter. We are told that the king, Vincent, takes Oraya when she is a child and sort of rescues her from a destroyed village and adopts her as his own. But the whole time Oraya is a child and then teen into adult, she is treated with a ‘tough love’ mentality. Even to the point of him forcing her to kill her first love. (Whether or not he deserved it is another story). There were moments that I was shocked, from things he said to her or by his actions. Upon learning the truth, or part of it, at the end of this book, I can see a little of his reasoning to be tough on Oraya. But still, I wanted to protect Oraya from some of the hurtful words spoken to her from her father. Broadbent did a fabulous job of letting their readers into Oraya’s conflicted thoughts about him. She would oftentimes blame herself for any misgivings, a crime that I commit from time to time. But despite all of this, Oraya loved her father deeply. It was nice to find a relatable character as far as thinking too harshly on oneself.
While staying on the topic of the king, there is a clever hint to the future / outcome of Book One in the very beginning of the story that I appreciate: “Hundreds of years later, historians and scholars would look back upon this moment. This decision that one day, would topple an empire.” Page 3.
A really creative aspect are the Hiaj and Rishan. Hiaj are vampires that have wings thin like paper. Whenever I pictured the Hiaj I pictured the wings similar to a bat. Rishan vampires have feathered wings and I thought of angels. I have read books with bat people (romantasy readers you know what I mean) but I think Broadbent was unique because they showed us two different classes of vampires. Each one had their own histories and traumas. It gets even more descriptive with markings and curses. This was a fun treat.
Onto the subject of Ilana. Ilana is the older and sassy human friend of Oraya. “I honestly didn’t know how the old bat had survived this long, but I was grateful for it. The humans I had seen in the slums this morning were nothing like me, and the vampires that surrounded me even less so. Only Ilana lingered somewhere in between, just like I did.” Page 13. Oraya was planning on entering the Kejari, a tournament honoring the Goddess of Death, Nyaxia. She wanted Ilana to be safe while she was away. One thing to remember is that Oraya is constantly killing those vampires who are hunting humans there but seems to be the only one doing so. She then insists that Ilana goes to that same district, “protected district” to be safe. Ironically I wrote: “I bet she dies first” after Ilana agrees to leave. We later learn that Ilana is inevitably captured and put into the Kejari and ultimately dies. I cannot help but feel that Ilana was a character that was added subsequently. She represents the human side in Oraya but seems to be more of an after thought rather than a forefront side character, which may have been the point. I cannot help but feel that her death may have been more powerful to readers if she had died in a later point or even a sequel book. It feels that we were not acquainted enough with Ilana to fully grieve her. Additionally, it feels that Oraya’s character lacked the grief response that we would have expected. Oraya has been a tough cookie and has learned to harness her emotions and though we do hear of inner thoughts about it, I would just expect a little more. Otherwise it feels like: why include this character in the story? We did not really know her well, her death seemed like it was passed over, it affected Oraya but not as much as I thought it would.
The other characters in the story also sat with me. Especially Ibrihim. Poor Ibrihim. I think I was more hurt when he died than Ilana. A big part of me wishes that Ibrihim was kept alive in the story. I could have seen him playing a major role in the other books or perhaps having his own spin off.
Now onto the action: the Kejari, “a tournament with the ability to change everything. Until I won, and it freed me. Or I lost, and it damned me.” Page 20. This tournament only happens every hundred years and anyone who enters is put through various deadly tasks. If you won this tournament you were able to ask Nyaxia for a gift. I found the scenes of the Kejari to be very detailed the entire time. Even after the battle scenes in the rooms or exploring the area, I liked reading. Without completely spoiling the end of this book, the result of the Kejari—wow, just wow, bravo, throws roses and bows. What a great way to end the first book while making you desperately want to read the sequel to find out what happens next.
And our love interest? Raihn, a handsome and “built different” vampire whose body still has that human build. Our enemies-to-lovers dynamic built up to steamy scenes and left me wanting more. I found myself liking him instantly and he was a well-rounded character with traits and an emotional past.
Overall, The Serpent and the Wings of Night was an exciting and emotional start to this series. I especially enjoyed the worldbuilding surrounding the vampire houses and the intensity of the Kejari itself, which kept me interested the entire time. Oraya was a strong and relatable main character, particularly in the way she struggled with belonging and identity in a world where she was constantly reminded she was different. While there were moments where I wished certain side characters had more development, others stayed with me long after finishing the book (looking at you, Ibrihim).
The ending left me with a lot of questions about what comes next and definitely made me want to continue the series to see how alliances, loyalties, and relationships change moving forward. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy deadly trials, vampire politics, morally complicated characters, and slow-burn tension mixed with high stakes. I am very much looking forward to continuing Oraya’s story in the next book.
Broadbent, Carissa. The Serpent and the Wings of Night. Tor Publishing Group, 2024.
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