I didn’t think it could get better… i was HOOKED. carissa broadbent never misses and i loved everything about this read

This book was beyond words that I have. It was beautiful and heart wrenching and everything. It took me a little while to get into it, but once I was in I was invested. This book was the slowest of burns but so so worth it. My girl Mische, was light and joy and trauma all mixed into one. I throughly enjoyed the development of her character and I CANNOT wait to read the next book. Also an exiled, necromancer prince, say less.

“Perhaps that’s why you would be so perfect for each other. A girl who can only love broken things, and a boy so broken he can only love what he cannot have. A perfect match.”

Everything that Carissa Broadbent writes is pure MAGIC. From the worlds she builds, to the emotion she pours into every sentence, I was enamored with this story from beginning to end. Let’s be real, I should have been prepared after Six Scorched Roses (a 187 page novella) shook me to my core and left me sobbing.

Everything about this book was fascinating to me. The complexities of the characters and their relationships to understanding their motivations and traumas. You’ll see a different side of Mische in this book and her underlying story was so engaging. Asar and his perfect foil to Mische made my heart ache. Then sweet Luce stole the show!

I wish I had recorded myself reading the epilogue because I’m sure my face was priceless. I need the next book now!!!

Simply put, I loved Mische and Asar’s story, and you will too!

This book is part of the Crowns of Nyaxia series (The Serpent and the Wings of Night), told from Mische’s pov and you must read the first two in the series first even though the first two are more like a duet.

Thank you so much Tor Bramble and Netgalley for the ARC! The Songbird & the Heart of Stone comes out November 19!

I have read all of Carissa Broadbent's books so I feel like I have a good sense of her writing and her books. That being said, this was a very tough read. I had a very difficult time getting through this. The only reason I finished was because I was given an ARC, and I felt like it was my duty to finish it and honestly review it.

Here are my biggest qualms:
-There was way too much description. I felt like I was being talked at and not actually reading. Every chapter and every page I swear she was describing something, and it wasn't described very well. It was too... fantastical...I know it's literally a fantasy book, but it was all too hard to picture. I eventually gave up trying to picture things as she intended and just went with the first thing my mind came up with and rolled with it. I just stopped caring because it was too much.
-There wasn't enough lead-up with the romantic story. It felt like we went from 0-100 all of a sudden with not enough meat to their story. There wasn't enough conversation happening between them to justify their love for each other in my opinion. And this relates to the qualm I stated previously where there was so much description happening there wasn't enough time for conversation.
-It was VERY repetitive. Even though the plot was moving, it felt like it was just going in circles. It was the same thing over and over again but in slightly different fonts each time. I had zero interest in the plot about 90% of the time. The same conflicts kept happening repeatedly. Like "oh no not again" (I say with a lot of sarcasm). I felt like the whole plot of this book could've been condensed to like half of the book and then added more. I don't know it was just too much of the same thing.
-I didn't connect at all with the characters. I like Mische and what the author was trying to portray through her, but I just didn't have enough of a connection with her to care. The same goes for Asar. I think my displeasure of the rest of the book bled into me not really caring about them as characters.

There were some beautifully written lines in there, but it all got overshadowed by all the issues I had with the book. I was very underwhelmed and it was very hard for me to get through. I'm not sure if I will pick up the next book. Book #2 of this series fell flat for me too, so I think I am just going to lay it to rest now.

Thank you, NetGalley for giving me an ARC and allowing me to give my honest review.

Until next time,
Abigail

DNF'ing for now

I was so excited for this, having loved the first two books. But there is something about this that I am not connecting with. Even with the romance taking the back seat--which is fine, it is a fantasy, afterall--it's just so dreadfully boring. Every single page, paragraph, sentence was a description of a new place. and listen... I get it. They're traveling through the underworld, whatever. But it was very boring when it's the onlyyy thing happening. Every chapter seems to end with "And we were falling through the world of nothingness" like we get it. I could not bring myself to care at all.

Truthfully, I wish it had been written in third person. Being in first POV with Mische feels like if A Court of Silver Flames had been in first person. It simply would not have worked. I just didn't connect to Mische as much as I'd hoped.

Hoping to finish in the future and hopefully rewrite the review. I am still grateful for the arc!

I love this series so much! I was so excited to be bake to read the 3rd book early. It was a little different than the first 2, due to the main character change, but I still really enjoyed it. I liked getting to know Miche’s story a bit more! I would highly recommend!

Ok folks. This is my 6th Carissa Broadbent book. I feel that makes me, at the bare minimum, knowledgeable about her writing style. And as with the other five books, this is MID. The diehard fans of The Crowns of Nyaxia series will rave this books praises all over every social they can of course, but I am here to dissent. Should you read it? Sure, if you like a predictable, sort of nonsensical fantasy romance. If you are a fan. Or, if you liked the first two enough.

This book follows Mische and her perilous journey through the underworld with a grumpy, controlling, cagey vampire whom she, you guessed it, falls in love with.
What I liked:
• It is fairly easy to read. I found myself wanting to finish it quickly, but I am still trying to determine if that is because I was invested in the story or because I needed out of the Nyaxia universe.
• The underworld’s sanctums were an interesting twist to the typical underworld myth
• LUCE the skull-headed dog
• Broadbent’s handling of Mische’s trauma; her grooming for a god starting at 8 years old, her coming to terms with how that grooming altered her view of the world and herself, and how she finds her voice, her power, and her journey to self-acceptance.
• Like her other books, it hooks you in.
What I didn’t like:
• Even though I am hooked in, if I pull back and really think about the plot and characters, it gets flimsy and confusing.
• One word, REPETITIVE. Every fight scene was identical. Every chapter ended in “and then the darkness took me” DUN DUN DUN…, and I swear if I had to read about how Mische was taken by surprise at how well she knew Asar one more time, goodness. The repetitiveness of Broadbent is something I have noticed in her books and something I consistently take issue with.
• Speaking of fight scenes or action sequences, they are hard to follow! I read with a movie in my mind, and if a placement of an object, the physical space, or character movement doesn’t make sense, I get thrown off and have to go back to reread to figure it out. I noticed I had to do this quite a bit.
• It was very confusing at times and I have many questions that are still unanswered (SPOILERS):
o The underworld’s gates (why are there so many, why are they in need of regulation, why do souls/ get lost, why is Asar in charge of all of this?)
o The random wraith-lady that is friendly and has underworld magic powers and shows up just in time with a cute little cottage in the center of the underworld with wraiths that work for her and make magic food and sheer “clings to her bare skin” silk nightgowns. Bro what?
o Who the gods are, why they care, and where they come from?
o What the hell is the magic tether that was mentioned 8 million times, between Asar and Mische…I assume mates? But also, what? They just have this crazy visceral magic connection that no one really talks about. Just, casually? I kept thinking I had missed something. Maybe I did?
o The entire subplot with Elias and Chandra. WHY?
• Asar and Mische have no chemistry, until, they do.
o And when they do finally “do”, it is in the most inopportune, strange moment that really threw me.
3.5 stars for me. I didn’t hate reading it. But I also am not raving about it. Standard Carissa Broadbent and I am sure, a huge bestseller BookTok sensation to come.
Thank you NetGalley for letting me read more Books!
Advanced Reader Copy, publish date 11/19/2024

Carissa Broadbent proves yet again why she’s one of my favorite authors. I love the way she writes relationships more than anything. They always feel so believable and authentic.

I’ve read the first 2 books in this series, the novella, and Slaying the Vampire Conqueror, so I love this world. I thought it was so creative to bring this story into areas we haven’t explored yet: the underworld and necromancy. The underworld and the surrealness of it all can be a hard concept to tackle, but I thought she did a fantastic job painting a picture.

I loved Mische in the first 2 books, so it was wonderful to hear more of her story. I thought that both Mische’s and Asar’s story arcs were great and I’m excited to see what the next book brings!

I had to do a reread of the two before this to catch up what I forgot about but UGH THIS WAS SO GOOD AND IM SO HEARTBROKEN I HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE NEXT 😭😭😭😂😭😭😭

Well, Mische was my favourite in the first duology, so of COURSE I love this one. Carissa has a way of pacing that literally makes me HAVE to read the next chapter. I often find it harder to read my e-reader than physical or audio books, but I found myself falling asleep with the kobo in my hand for this one. The slow build is delicious!

Incredible!!! Such a well crafted novel. You could feel the tension on every page. Loved the Inferno esk descent and Asar and Mische’s forbidden love story

Carissa Broadbent can do no wrong! Her books are so good I can barely put them down. I love the interconnected worlds and the world building has been done so well. Loved it!

This may truly be my favorite book Carissa has ever written, and I’ve read them all!

I don’t know how I’m supposed to read anything else and have it measure up to the expectations I have after reading this.

“Do not be afraid of death, Dawndrinker. Make death afraid of you”

Carissa has a way of making you feel like you’re actually in the world she’s writing, I could picture everything she was describing in vivid detail. This book is strongly focused on faith and the religious beliefs of the gods followers, rather than politics like the first two books.

I felt more connected to the characters in this book, although I truly love Oraya and Raihn, Mische and Asar were just so complex and we really saw them grow and develop.

Mische is grasping to her humanity and the love she deeply wants to be deserving of from Atroxus. Mische truly feels that love should be pain and sacrifice, she’s willing to bleed and burn just to stay in the light and being deserving of being a dawndrinker. After being captured for murdering the shadowborn prince that stole her humanity she finds herself at the mercy of Asar the bastard wraith warden and now heir to the shadowborn kingdom.

Asar wrath warden to the prison world Morthryn and now heir to the shadowborn kingdom needs Mische to complete a task bestowed upon him by Nyaxia, goddess of vampires. Asar is such a complex character. Asar and Mische are both self sacrificing to the point of damning their own souls to help others. Asar has to write a wrong he committed in his past, little does he know so does Mische. Asar truly starts out so incredibly broken, and to watch him open up to Mische, Carissa truly had me feeling all of his emotion despite not getting his pov. Which I truly hope we get in the next book


To Misches surprise she finds herself in Morthryn awoken by Luce (who happens to be one of my absolute favorite characters in this book, you will absolutely fall in love with her) who brings her to Asar only to find out he’s a Necromancer. They begin their long journey to the underworld, many hard and what should be impossible tasks lie ahead of them. Asar tries to help Mische realize that light and dark can truly coexist despite Mische clinging to her humanity and trying everything not to give into her vampire nature. The journey through the realms of the underworld was absolutely fascinating and the way Carissa describes it really keeps your brain working.

As they’re making their journey the god Mische truly thought abandoned her comes with a new command Mische is to fulfill from Atroxus. The secrets, the ghosts of their pasts and the betrayal run deep, but can the love they find for one another run deeper.

“You asked what love should feel like.”
“It should make you think of nothing else.”
“It should make you see stars.”

“I’m patient.”
“A man can’t rush worship.”

I’m not going to lie, this was not a happily ever after. It ends on a gut wrenching cliff hanger. We also get an appearance from a beloved character we all miss. Until the next book I will absolutely be doing a re-read because this is one of those books that has so much attention to detail it’s worth examining every single page again.

Thank you so much to Tor Publishing | Bramble, Carissa Broadbent and NetGalley for allowing me to read this pre-release in exchange for my honest review.

Eeeeek! I was so excited to get my hands on this book and it was everything I hoped for and more! I'm always nervous for sequels that switch characters but I love Mische. It's a beautiful story, if you loved the other books in this series you won't want to miss out! I'm so excited for release so I can put a staff pick sticker on it right away!

First off, I would like to thank @netgalley & @carissabroadbentbooks for the ARC. I was so excited that I got approved to read this book.

I. Am. Speechless.

The ending of this book had me in TEARS!! I was completely shocked and wasn't expecting that
"surprise" at all!! The tears kept coming and coming.
I need a full week to truly process what I just read. All I can say is that I need the next book ASAP.
Carissa knows how to rip my heart out and she definitely delivered with this one.

I also can't get over how Asar is the PERFECT match for Mische. Asar has a way with words, that's for sure.

Make sure you get your hands on this book when it releases in November!! You definitely don't want to miss out on this masterpiece!

Okay Carissa! I’ve been dying to get back into this world after reading and loving the first two books (and novella) forever ago. A part of me was so sad and a little worried about how the series would continue without Raihn and Oraya at the center but I shouldn’t have been worried at all. Broadbent made me love and care for Mische even more. Asar and Luce were such great additions to this storyline. I so badly wish we would have had Adar’s pov too just cause I’m dying to know what his internal thoughts are after hearing his external words. But maybe the next one will be based on how this one ends?! My fingers are crossed!! That man… ooo I love him. This journey is wild and intense with so much coming from so many sides. It felt a little like the same build up over and over in terms of the action packed parts but I loved the actual journey through each level. I find Broadbent’s writing style to be so beautiful and comfortable within a world that is so complex and intriguing. I love this series and I’m already so excited to see what is next.

Thank you endlessly to Bramble for the physical arc and to NetGalley and Bramble for the e-arc.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for an eARC copy of The Songbird & the Heart of Stone in exchange for an honest review.

Mische would consider herself loyal. Loyal to Raihn, to Oraya, and most of all to her god. She dedicated her entire being to the god of the sun from the time she was a child. Becoming his bride solidified safety and purpose in her life. She thrived on helping others with her magic and the feeling of knowing she had pleased him made her soar. That is why falling from his grace was more devastating than Mische could imagine. After involuntarily being Turned, Mische was thrown into prison for killing her Maker. She did not regret what she had done. She wore her grief in the wounds on her body from still attempting fire magic in her new state. Vampires and sunlight do not mix. As Atroxus' favor grew increasingly distant, the wounds became deeper than surface level. That is why when an opportunity to aid the Wraith Warden brought her god's attention back into her life, she seized it with everything she had. Mische was willing to descend into the deepest parts of hell if it meant she could rise again. But along the way, she may realize that the one she loved so much may just be the very one who outcasts her there.


**Spoilers**

I really liked Mische in the original series and was excited to see more of her story. Growing up in a profoundly religious lifestyle, I identified with the yearning and unnatural need to do right by an authority figure. To be so grateful for the carrot given to me that I did not see the rot and string it was tied to. Mische's discovery of letting go to gain better was inspiring to read. I understood the desire to hold on so tightly to what is known, even if it is causing physical harm. To strip back the fear-mongering of the unknown and realize it isn't so scary. It's freedom. I enjoyed the build of the relationship with Asar. I wouldn't define them as enemies to lovers, but they definitely fit the forced proximity trope. I liked that Carissa wrote these characters as broken. Two broken individuals who, despite trying to fix everything they destroyed, did not expect the other person to be whole for them. They accepted that they could be shattered pieces of a mosaic together. I appreciated the idea that sometimes other people don't need to be fixed to be what you need. Sometimes they need to accept all of who they are, their past, and their steps for the future. I also expected this to be a standalone, so I was surprised at the ending but excited to continue the story!

I am extremely grateful to have received an ARC of this book. I fell in love with this series from book 1 and haven't been able to stop talking about it since. I loved Mische's character in the first two books and enjoyed learning more about her backstory. Untangling her trauma and her past was utterly heartbreaking. The themes of light and dark between her and Asar were beautiful and tragic. I couldn't put it down, and I was holding onto every word until the very last page.
5/5 for me!

Love this book. The journey you go through with Mishe and Asar is breathtaking. There were times I had to put the book down just to come back to reality. Amazing work, Carissa Broadbent. Thank you Netgalley and Bramble for the privilege of reading it before it is released.

I'm so so so grateful to have received an ARC of this books. It's one of my most anticipated releases and I got SO excited when I saw I was approved. I love Mische. She's so sweet and tries so hard to be okay despite her trauma, which is always one of my favorite character tropes. I loved her arc and growth and how it ended. Asar was amazing too. He tried so hard to be grumpy but couldn't actually commit.

It did take some time for me to really get into this, even though I love everything I've ever read by Carissa Broadbent. I'm just not partial to journeys, so this had me a little bored until 60%. Around the 60% mark, it really picked up for me and I couldn't wait to finish it. And the ending--I'm so excited for the second book to see what's going to happen with these two!