- Goodreads
- 4.2
- pages
- 480
- December
- 2021
A paranormal romance where danger and supernatural passion collide in a world of ancient magic and forbidden connection. Two souls bound by fate and danger discover their bond might be their only salvation. Love here means accepting the darkness within and without.
What is The Serpent and the Wings of Night about?
Oraya is human in a world of vampires. Raised by the Nightborn King, the most powerful vampire in the House of Night, she has spent her life as the only mortal in a court of predators. She trains in secret, fights to survive, and carries silver stakes everywhere she goes because trust is a luxury she cannot afford.
When the Kejari, a legendary tournament held once a century by the vampire goddess, opens, Oraya enters. The prize is a wish from the goddess herself, and Oraya wants the one thing she has never had: true safety. To survive the tournament, she forms an alliance with Raihn, a turned vampire with his own reasons for entering. He is powerful, charming, and everything she has been taught to fear.
Their alliance is practical. The attraction is inconvenient. And the tournament is brutal, a gladiatorial competition where vampires, humans, and Turned fight in increasingly deadly trials. As the Kejari strips away pretence, Oraya and Raihn are forced to confront what they really want, from the goddess, from each other, and from a world that has no place for what they are becoming together.
Read it if you want
Broadbent writes fight scenes with kinetic precision. The tournament structure provides natural escalation, and each trial is inventively brutal. Oraya's combat style, a human fighting supernatural beings through preparation, cunning, and sheer refusal to die, makes every victory feel earned.
The Oraya-Raihn dynamic is enemies-to-allies-to-lovers executed with confidence. The distrust is real (she is human, he is vampire, the power imbalance is literal), and the shift happens through action and shared vulnerability rather than manufactured proximity.
The vampire world-building is fresh. The Houses, the hierarchy between born and turned vampires, the goddess mythology. Broadbent builds something that feels new in a saturated subgenre.
The spice is well-placed and explicit, and it works because the emotional stakes are established first.
Content warnings
Show the content warnings
Graphic tournament violence including death. Vampiric feeding and blood drinking. A human protagonist in constant mortal danger from supernatural beings. Power imbalance in the romance (vampire and human). A controlling parental figure who is also a predator. Explicit sexual content. Themes of captivity disguised as protection. A character's entire sense of identity is challenged.
Full plot and ending (spoilers)
Raihn wins the Kejari, and uses his wish not for personal gain but in a way that directly affects the political balance of the House of Night. His true agenda was never just the tournament; he has been building toward a revolution against the Nightborn King.
Oraya's relationship with her adoptive father, the Nightborn King, is revealed to be more complicated and more sinister than she believed. His protection was also control, and his love for her was possessive rather than paternal.
The ending upends the romantic resolution. Raihn's radical actions put him in direct conflict with the king who raised Oraya, forcing her to choose between the father she has always known and the lover who betrayed her trust for a cause she might believe in.
Where it sits in The Serpent and the Wings of Night
The Serpent and the Wings of Night is the first book in the Crowns of Nyaxia series. Followed by The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King. The series is set in a larger world with planned additional duologies featuring different couples.
- 1The Serpent and the Wings of Night2021
- 2The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King2023
- 3The Songbird and the Heart of Stone2024
- 5The Lion & the Deathless Dark2026
The Serpent and the Wings of Night: FAQ
How spicy is The Serpent and the Wings of Night?
The Serpent and the Wings of Night is rated 3 out of 5 on our heat scale, which we call spicy. The Spice Guide explains what each level means. Spice Guide
Is The Serpent and the Wings of Night a standalone?
No. The Serpent and the Wings of Night is book 1 in the The Serpent and the Wings of Night series by Carissa Broadbent. It is the place to start. The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King comes next. The Serpent and the Wings of Night reading order
What are the content warnings for The Serpent and the Wings of Night?
Graphic tournament violence including death. Vampiric feeding and blood drinking. A human protagonist in constant mortal danger from supernatural beings. Power imbalance in the romance (vampire and human). A controlling parental figure who is also a predator. Explicit sexual content.
How long is The Serpent and the Wings of Night?
The Serpent and the Wings of Night is 480 pages. At an average pace that is roughly 11 hours of reading.
When was The Serpent and the Wings of Night published?
The Serpent and the Wings of Night was first published on December 1, 2021.
Is The Serpent and the Wings of Night OK for teens?
No, it is written for adults. At 3 out of 5 it has explicit scenes on the page.
