The Serpent and the Wings of Night

Author: Carissa Broadbent

Narrator: Amanda Leigh Cobb

The first in an ongoing new series by bestselling author Carissa Broadbent, this novel is dripping with dark, gothic sexiness. Oraya, the adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king, is desperate for safety. It’s the driving force behind every action she takes, for herself as well as for the people who live in the supposedly-safe human district of her city. By day she attends her father and trains, by night she hunts those who hunt her kind, bringing down vampires who do not fear the dark as much as they should. Then the Kejari starts, an ancient competition for the favor of the goddess Nyaxia, and Oraya’s world is changed forever. 

Unfortunately, the environment proves to be incredibly brutal and filled with vampires who are driven at times to extreme hunger and bloodlust. On top of that, she must team up with at least one other contestant for one of the trials and though she trusts absolutely no one she is forced by circumstance to seek the help of Raihn, a powerful male vampire from a rival house, and his friend Misha, a willowy and mysterious magic using female vampire. Through the various trials, both on and off the playing field, she learns more about herself and her family than ever before. She also finds herself drawn inexorably towards Raihn and starting a friendship with Misha, despite her better judgment. 

This novel is a rivals-to-lovers dark gothic romantacy, the descriptions of the city and the palaces are well-detailed and very atmospheric and the push-and-pull between the MCs is really well done. Oraya is a bit of a brat, and Raihn seems long-suffering at times, which I think goes really well with their backstories. There’s a little bit of spice at the end of the story, just one scene, with most of the romance being set in between the copious action. I really liked this novel, the characters were engaging and the action was well-written. The universe that the author created is rich and I’m excited to come back to this in the next novel.

Narrator Amanda Leigh Cobb did a phenomenal job with the performance for this audiobook. Her accents and characterizations were on-point.