If you’ve spent any time on BookTok or lurking in fantasy subreddits lately, you’ve seen the cover. A crown of thorns, dark feathers, and a title that sounds like a gothic fever dream. Honestly, Carissa Broadbent’s The Serpent and the Wings of Night shouldn't have been the massive breakout hit it was. The "deadly tournament" trope is older than most of its readers. We’ve seen the "human girl in a world of monsters" thing a thousand times. But here’s the thing: Broadbent actually did it right.
She took a tired skeleton and gave it a pulse.
Oraya is a human. That's her first mistake in the Kingdom of Night. She's the adopted daughter of the vampire king, Vincent, which sounds cool until you realize she’s basically a snack living in a house full of predators. To stop being the prey, she enters the Kejari—a legendary tournament held by the goddess Nyaxia. If she wins, she gets a wish. If she loses, she’s dead.
Then comes Raihn. He’s her rival. He’s a vampire. He’s also the guy who makes everything complicated because, of course, they have to team up to survive.
The Kejari Isn't Just Hunger Games With Fangs
Most people compare this book to The Hunger Games or A Court of Thorns and Roses. It’s a lazy comparison, even if it’s technically accurate. While the Kejari provides the structure, the real meat of the story is the suffocating atmosphere of the House of Night. Broadbent builds a world where magic feels heavy. It isn't sparkly or whimsical; it’s ancient, bloody, and transactional.
Oraya’s relationship with her father, Vincent, is probably the most fascinating part of the book. It’s toxic. It’s loving? Sorta. He’s a monster who slaughtered her entire village but decided to keep her. He raised her to be a survivor, but in doing so, he stripped away her ability to trust anyone. When she meets Raihn, the conflict isn't just "should I kiss the enemy?" It's "can I even exist in a space where I don't have a knife at someone's throat?"
The tournament itself happens every hundred years. It’s five trials. Each one is designed to weed out the weak, and since Oraya is the only human, the stakes aren't just high—they're impossible. You’re constantly waiting for the moment her "secret power" kicks in, but Broadbent is smarter than that. Oraya wins through grit, preparation, and being a massive nerd about vampire politics.
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Why Raihn Works When Other Fantasy Love Interests Fail
Let's talk about Raihn. He’s a Rishe—the "turned" vampires who are often looked down upon by the Hieba, the "born" vampires. This distinction matters. It gives Raihn a layer of humanity that someone like Rhysand or Xaden Riorson sometimes lacks. He remembers what it was like to be weak. He remembers the sun.
His chemistry with Oraya works because it’s built on shared trauma and actual conversation. They aren't just staring longingly at each other across a battlefield. They are arguing about strategy. They are cleaning each other's wounds. It’s a slow burn that actually feels earned.
When they eventually form an alliance, it’s out of necessity. The Kejari is designed so only one person can win. This creates a ticking clock that underlies every romantic moment. You know that at some point, one of them has to die, or they have to find a way to break a system created by a literal goddess.
The Politics of the House of Night
The world-building here is dense but not boring. You have the House of Night, which is split into different factions. The Hieba are the aristocrats—the vampires who think they are gods. The Rishe are the ones who were changed, often against their will.
- The Hieba: Cold, ancient, obsessed with bloodlines.
- The Rishe: Scrappy, desperate, and often more dangerous because they have everything to prove.
- The Humans: Mostly cattle, unless you're Oraya.
Vincent sits at the top of this mess. He’s a fascinating antagonist-slash-mentor. He’s the Serpent. He’s ruthless. But his love for Oraya, twisted as it is, feels like the only real thing in a world of illusions. The way Broadbent handles their dynamic is why the ending hits so hard. No spoilers, but the betrayal in this book isn't a "gotcha" moment; it’s the logical conclusion of every choice made in the first chapter.
What Most Reviews Get Wrong About the Pacing
You’ll see some critics complaining that the middle of the book drags. Honestly? They’re missing the point. The "slow" parts are where the emotional foundation is laid. If you skip the quiet nights in the library or the training sequences, the final trials don't matter.
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Broadbent uses the downtime to explore Oraya's psyche. She’s a girl who has been told her whole life that she is nothing. She has to unlearn the "human" fear that Vincent drilled into her while still holding onto the empathy that makes her different from the vampires. It’s a delicate balance.
The prose is also significantly better than your average Kindle Unlimited find. It’s evocative without being purple. She describes the blood-red moon and the feeling of wings cutting through the air in a way that feels visceral. You can smell the copper and the old stone.
The Crowns of Nyaxia Series as a Whole
The Serpent and the Wings of Night is just the beginning. It’s part of the Crowns of Nyaxia series. The sequel, The Ashes and the Star-cursed King, finishes Oraya and Raihn’s primary arc, but the world is expanding.
There are also novellas like Six Scorched Roses, which you absolutely should read. It follows a different couple (Lilith and Vale) and gives a lot of context to the medicine and the "thirst" that drives the vampire biology in this world. It’s shorter, punchier, and arguably even more romantic than the main book.
Is It Actually Worth the Hype?
Yes. But with caveats.
If you want high fantasy with twenty different maps and a linguistic system that requires a glossary, this isn't that. This is "romantasy." The romance is the engine. The world-building is the fuel. It’s a book for people who liked The Hunger Games but wished Katniss had more agency in her romantic life and maybe a few more monsters to fight.
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It’s also surprisingly dark. There’s a scene involving a "blood-well" that is genuinely unsettling. Broadbent doesn't shy away from the fact that these people are killers. Raihn isn't a "soft" boy. He’s a soldier. Oraya isn't a "damsel." She’s a survivor who is willing to do some pretty horrific things to stay alive.
Practical Steps for New Readers
If you're ready to dive into the House of Night, don't just jump in blindly. The reading order matters if you want the full emotional payoff.
- Read The Serpent and the Wings of Night first. It’s the foundation. Everything starts here.
- Pick up Six Scorched Roses. Some people say skip it, but they’re wrong. It introduces elements of the "vampire plague" that become very important in the second main book. Plus, Vale is a great character.
- Then go to The Ashes and the Star-cursed King. This wraps up the first duology. It’s heavier on the politics and the fallout of the first book's ending.
- Follow Carissa Broadbent on social media. She’s actually really transparent about her writing process and the future of the Nyaxia world, including the newer books like The Slaying of the Vampire Cowardly Lion.
The biggest mistake you can make is expecting a light, fluffy vampire romance. This is a story about grief, the weight of parental expectations, and the cost of power. It’s messy. It’s bloody. And yeah, it’s pretty great.
If you've been burned by overhyped TikTok books before, I get the skepticism. But Oraya's journey is different. It feels like a story written by someone who actually loves the genre and wants to see it do better. Stop waiting and just start the first chapter. You’ll know within ten pages if you’re in or out.
The most actionable thing you can do right now is check if your local library has the "Black River" edition. The formatting and the extra artwork in the newer hardcovers really add to the experience of the world. Once you finish the first one, give yourself a day to process that ending before jumping into the sequel. You're going to need it.