Book details
The The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King (Crowns of Nyaxia #2) by Carissa Broadbent
Published 14 April 2022 by Nasyra Publishing
★★★★★
Love is a sacrifice at the altar of power.
In the wake of the Kejari, everything Oraya once thought to be true has been destroyed. A prisoner in her own kingdom, grieving the only family she ever had, and reeling from a gutting betrayal, she no longer even knows the truth of her own blood. She’s left only with one certainty: she cannot trust anyone, least of all Raihn.
The House of Night, too, is surrounded by enemies. Raihn’s own nobles are none too eager to accept a Turned king, especially one who was once a slave. And the House of Blood digs their claws into the kingdom, threatening to tear it apart from the inside.
When Raihn offers Oraya a secret alliance, taking the deal is her only chance at reclaiming her kingdom–and gaining her vengeance against the lover who betrayed her. But to do so, she’ll need to harness a devastating ancient power, intertwined with her father’s greatest secrets.
But with enemies closing in on all sides, nothing is as it seems. As she unravels her past and faces her future, Oraya finds herself forced to choose between the bloody reality of seizing power – and the devastating love that could be her downfall.
Review
Spoilers for Book 1! Please proceed with caution
I’m so happy I chose to read The Serpent and the Wings of Night when I did, it just meant I didn’t have to wait as long to read The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King LMAO. I picked this one up directly after I finished Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (5/5 stars omg) because I just KNEW this would be as incredible and would stop me from going into a slump.
Just like the first book, the story circles Oraya – an adopted human (?) child of the Nightborn vampire king, one of three vampire houses. In the first book, Oraya had entered a tournament held by the death goddess Nyaxis called the Kejari. Winners of the Kejari are granted a wish, to give them the power to do anything they want, and Oraya wanted that desperately. She ended up winning, and surprised everyone – including herself – by wishing that Raihn had won, and hadn’t died as a result. Events unfolded extremely quickly, and Oraya was left feeling incredibly betrayed and despondent as everything seemed to crumble around her.
Everything flowed so smoothly, and I absolutely adored reading it all. Just like the first book, this is PRIME fantasy romance. The duet has been so well-balanced, and I thought the plot and execution was perfection! We got to see more worldbuilding in this one, and I was happy to get a better understanding of the politics and the world itself hehe, I also loved getting to understand the magic system a bit better and to see how things worked!
It was so beautifully heartbreaking to watch Oraya and Raihn as the story progressed, Oraya’s character went through even more development and she grew SO MUCH. The conflicts were so genuine (rather than those created by miscommunication) and I really loved watching the angst and tension as we got further into the story. The pacing was fantastic, and it both hurt me and gave me joy to see how far Carissa took the grovelling and anger/sadness, and I thought it was just so beautifully crafted.
I do believe this is the end of Oraya and Raihn’s story, but I also read that there were more books planned for the same world but focusing on different characters! I’ve absolutely loved the series so far, and I can’t wait to see what comes next from Carissa.
About the Author
I’ve been concerning teachers and parents with mercilessly grim tales since I was roughly nine years old. Since then, my stories have gotten (slightly) less depressing and (hopefully a lot?) more readable. Today, I write fantasy novels with a heaping dose of badass ladies and a big pinch of romance.
When I’m not writing, I’m working at my day job in cybersecurity marketing, watching too many movies, or drawing. I live with my fiance, one very well behaved rabbit, one very poorly behaved rabbit, and one perpetually skeptical cat in Rhode Island.
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