OMFG CARISSA!!!!! This was so beyond fantastic words do not even come close to describing it. I first off what to thank my favorite, Carissa Broadbent for this e-ARC. As someone who has been a fan since Daughter of No Worlds first released, nothing makes me happier than a new Carissa Broadbent book. It has been so long since I’ve gotten a new book, I feel like I was stranded in the desert, and I have just had my first sip of water in years.

The story starts off a couple months post the chaos at the end of Ashes and Mische is captured by the House of Shadow for the murder of the prince and Heir. Mische is faced with execution or help the Wraith Warden, Asar, with his mission from Nyaxia. This starts Mische on a journey that she can never come back from. Asar is tasked by Nyaxia to bring her husband, Alarus, the God of Death, back to life. Asar is a necromancer, and he has a unique connection to Alarus's underworld and is the only moral able to navigate it. The only kicker is that Atroxus hid all the parts to Alarus's soul with his own power and Asar needs an Atroxus's priestess to retrieve the parts of soul for the resurrection. Mische will change and transform into someone different than the person who we started with at the beginning of this book. Her journey through the underworld and her relationship with herself, Asar, and Atroxus makes for a nail-biting story.

I was so excited for Mische’s story to get some love. I always felt that she was underrated as a character and her human life before turning had the makings of a fantastic character arc to where we see her now. Initially as the book was starting and she was in a cell in the House of Shadow I was thinking to myself okay where this is going. But holy hell would I never be prepared for what I went through. Asar's task leads Mische, Elias, and Chandra into the underworld to collect the parts of Alarus. Mische is faced with many challenges throughout; she is on this trek, firstly, with Chandra who is an elderly priestess for Atroxus. It is hard for Mische to reconcile who she is now and who she used to be when she is around Chandra. Chandra makes Mische feel that she is not good enough for her god and she must do everything in her power to make him lover her again. Mische constantly needs to use her fire and light but the farther she gets down into the underworld the harder it is for her to find it inside her, this has forced her to use her shadow powers. Mische has a continuous inner struggle the entire novel where she is trying to accept who she is now versus who she used to be. Knowing that if she gives up the human Mische version that Atroxus will no longer love her. The theme of the novel very much follows the struggle with change and transformation. In Mische's eyes, her Turning ruined everything in her life and she is damned now. Mische was always taught that she must give give give and never take, that taking was selfish and sinful. Every time she takes, she always beats herself up and worries over what Atroxus will think. I feel like on this journey with Asar, Mische realizes she is more than her god and that there is nothing wrong with her, this is a very slow process. Learning about her childhood and the major events that she experienced on her fall from grace was heartbreaking. She gave up everything for Atroxus and his love was conditional and fleeting and super f*cked up. Even when Atroxus does the worst things she never realized that Atroxus's "love" was not what love was supposed to be like. I loved seeing Mische blossom into the person she was always meant to be, and the ending took me by surprise. This book was a CONSTANT rollercoaster of emotions, and I truly never knew what was going to happen next. I feel like I am going to have to reread the last 100 pages again as it went by so quickly and so much was going on I do not feel like I properly absorbed it all. I am on the edge of my seat for the next installment, and I cannot wait to see where she takes the rest of this series.

Honestly, this book was so full of such an amazing storyline it is hard for me to put it into words that are gracious enough to describe how I feel. Carissa's books have always made an impact on me and are ones that you never stop thinking about. They are profoundly emotional while the fantasy world building is beyond your wildest dreams. Many writers cannot replicate the reader connection to every set of characters she creates and how well developed they are as well. Even in her Novella, it was short, but man did you feel connected to Lilith's story. I feel that my reviews of my well-loved books are never as concise as I want them to be, but I feel the love for them makes the review more chaotic. Carissa Broadbent to me will be one of the greatest writers I have ever had the pleasure to read and is ALWAYS an automatic buy for me. This is truly one of her greatest works and when I think she cannot outdo herself she always does.

5 tear out my heart, yearning stars! An emotional slow-burn build of a story around themes of faith, love, devotion, and brokenness.

“This is the tale of how a chosen one falls.”

The story begins shortly after the events of Ashes, where Mische is captured by the House of Shadow to answer for murdering their prince. Due to her inconceivable ability to harness the magic of the sun, she is saved from death for a different purpose—to descend into the underworld with the feared Wraith Warden to awaken the god of death. As they venture deeper into the darkness of death—with Luce, the goodest ghostgirl in the entire world—Mische is haunted by her past and desperate to redeem herself to her sun god, Atroxus, whose powers extract a price from her every time she uses them.

Mische Iliae, sunshine incarnate with a heart of gold, bearing the scars of her past (and present), and a deep unrequited love for Atroxus. Her “flaws” (read: strengths) don’t lie in brutal strength or cunning, but in kindness and warmth. We grow to understand her through glimpses into her tragic past. Be prepared for an emotional journey of what it means to grapple with devotion and faith.

“It is an injustice, Mische, that this is what you got when you asked for love,” he murmured. “This isn’t what love should feel like.”

And Asar Voldari, Wraith Warden with an impeccable attention to detail (iykyk), an introverted cat of a man and necromancer dedicated to righting wrongs. As a sidenote—the scent of poppies dusted with frost is my new favorite description of a love interest’s scent.

“A girl who can only love broken things, and a boy so broken he can only love what he cannot have.”

TSatHoS had Carissa’s signature snark in the little moments that made the relationships all the more real. AND THAT ENDING!!!! No one is ready!! I have questions that need answering about Asar!!! While I impatiently wait for CoN4, I’m going to reread the first two books for the crumbs of Mische, now knowing everything we do about her history…

Thank you to Carissa Broadbent and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Through the first two books in this series I felt a strong attachment to Mische. Her story was everything I was hoping for. The guilt and shame she struggles with speaks to every woman who has grew up the "good girl" and had to fit the mold of what others needed her to be.

THAT ENDING THOUGHHHHHH. HOLY SHIT. This book was incredible, I loved Mische the second she was introduced in The Serpent & The Wings of Night and was so excited to read her story. You get to see the best and worst parts of Mische and her healing/punishment of killing a Shadowborn Prince. It was an amazing journey to the underworld, Mische and Asar were a perfect duo. Who doesn't love a good vampire grumpy x sunshine story? Now I can't believe I have to wait AGAIN for the next one

It’s both an enormous privilege and an enormous test of willpower to receive ARC copies of popular titles! Obviously, I was so excited to receive this copy months before publication. But on the other hand, I still had to diligently work through my review/reading order before getting to it, all while it glittered like the worst sort of temptation on my nightstand. Whining about having to be responsible and read it only 2 months in advance rather than 4 is quite something, isn’t it? Anyways, on to the actual, you know, review…

This is only tangentially related, but I do love fantasy authors who follow the trend of creating large fantasy worlds and then writing either stand-alones or shorter duologies all connected through this larger setting. In this way, you get the best of both worlds: incredibly detailed world-building, sprawling histories, and grand scale plot lines all while not having to commit to a huge, ongoing series that will leave you dangling for years on end before getting any sort of resolution. This is now the 4th book set in Broadbent’s Nyaxia world (I believe one is still slated to be released this coming spring, so I’ll review it then most likely), and it’s such a pleasure to return to a known entity with all of the greater insight this bestows. And for a book like this, that’s quite important. Not only are we following a character who was a significant side character in the previous duology, but the entire plot revolves around the ongoing conflict in the realm of the gods and the ways in which this pantheon is royally messed up.

Let’s start with the characters, as I always like to do. I very much enjoyed Mische in the previous duology, so I was excited that we were going to follow her story in the next series. That said, I did struggle a bit more to connect to her character than I have with other Broadbent leading ladies. However, this may simply be because Mische is very different than the other “touch as nails” warrior women that so often feature in the other books. Mische’s strengths are much more of the “soft” variety. She literally smiles in the face of danger; not because she’s reckless, but because a hard life has taught her the strength of disarming those more powerful than she is with cheer and optimism. But as the story progresses, the book dives deeper into her past and her relationship with the god she follows. There, we find the darker side of how this approach has developed. Through this storyline, the book tackles some deep themes of abusive cycles, self-defense, and, essentially, large scale gaslighting. It’s tough stuff, and I appreciated the very real conflict Mische feels when confronting the contradictions in her life. There are no easy answers and years of conditioning are not easily thrown off.

While it took a bit to truly understand and appreciate Mische’s character (though now I love her just as dearly as all of the other fantastic heroines in this world!), I immediately loved the romantic interest. I definitely have a type, and it’s the strong, silent, bookish, and too bound up in the rules brooder. Asar was all of this and more! Literally, no notes on him, he was just perfect. I also really enjoyed the grumpy/sunshine relationship between him and Mische. Too often I’ve read versions of this relationship where the “grumpy” one is just a jerk and the “sunshine” one is just an idiot. Neither is true here. Instead, we simply have differences in temperament, but still two characters who share passion, drive, and a growing respect for one another.

As for the plot itself, I really enjoyed this one! It’s essentially a quest storyline, with Mische, Asar, and a few other companions making their way through the depths of the underworld. There’s plenty of action and danger throughout, with each new level uncovering new terrors and deeper traumas that must be explored. I also appreciated the timeline here. This is no quick mission. The story takes place over weeks and even months, I believe. Not only does this make the entire thing feel more plausible and lived, it also lends much needed believability to the growing relationship between our characters. No instalove here! Indeed, it takes several weeks for them to even like one another.

I will say, however, that like “The Serpent and the Wings of Night” before it, this one does end on a massive cliffhanger. It’s gutting! So readers who want a resolved storyline may want to wait for the next book to come out. But, of course, there is no way in heck that I had the type of self-control to hold out for that! We’ve already been over my struggles to wait only a few short months…Either way, fans of Carissa Broadbent are sure to enjoy this latest entry and general romantasy fans should definitely give it a go!

Rating 9: Carissa Broadbent is one of the strongest romantasy authors writing today, and this book highlights once again the true highs the genre can reach!

Review will go live on The Library Ladies blog on Nov. 20

Um, that ending?! Songbird follows our sweet, bubbly Mische into hell... literally. I went into this one completely blind and found the descent into the underworld was so fun. Things start off eery but grow very bizarre, and sometimes it did feel a touch too Alice in Wonderland for my tastes but it was still so unique to experience, and there was action peppered very regularly to keep the momentum up. The book is broken into parts based on each level of the descent too and I loved that! A few things such as Mische's constant guilt did start to feel a touch repetitive, but that could be smoothed out in the final version. The romance is mostly forbidden romance, and their attraction grows as the journey continues. It was honestly so refreshing to read a romantasy where the couple aren't immediately attracted to each other. The spice level was perfect too, it takes quite a while to get there and even then, though it's emotional and impactful, it never overpowers the plot. And oh my gosh I was not expecting THAT ending. It left me so excited for the next book!

If Carissa writes it, I read it, thankyou so much netgalley and tor for the next book in the Crowns of Nyaxia series although I now need serious therapy (like I didn't before lol) . I've been desperate for Mische to have her own book because I was so eager to delve deeper into her story. In contrast to the first two books, this one takes on a darker tone as it explores themes of religion versus nature, grief, life after death, and lost souls.
Mische and Asar are characters brimming with vulnerability, pain, and hope. It was an emotionally charged journey through the darkness of the underworld, but amidst it all, Mische served as our guiding light. She's a resilient and fiercely brave character, despite her belief that she's broken. The epilogue ripped my heart out and I stared at a wall for a few hours after finishing, deeply moving and thought provoking this is Broadbents best yet!

The fact that this is going to be a duology infuriates me. There was no need for that - half of the journey could have been cut out in favor of more character/relationship development. While I appreciate the (possible?) nod to Greek myths and journeys to the underworld (not just hades and Persephone), I am absolutely baffled by the need for this cliffhanger.

This my honest review for a free advance reader copy - I adore this book, the couple, and of course the author. She has consistently proven to write complex characters and incredible storylines. Reading this was such beautifully painful experience. Without giving too much away, rhe ending set stage for a wilder adventure . I can’t wait to read the next one!

Easily one of my favorite books of the year. Everything Carissa writes is pure gold, and this is no different. I loved that we got new POVs and story lines this book but how it still blended the overarching storyline together. I’m sad it’s over but am already rabid for the next book.

I enjoyed Mische’s story even if it did take me a bit to get into it. The first half was slow, and I wasn’t as interested in the overall underworld journey story like I was the plot in the Nightborn duet. I also expected there to be more of Raihn and Oraya, and was bummed they were only merely mentioned at times. Once I got to about the half way point I started feeling slightly more invested in the story. Especially once we started to see that slow burn romance start burning and Mische and Asar’s relationship building. I do wish that we had gotten Asar’s POVs though. I feel it could have made the story even stronger. I Also have to mention Luce, because I just loved her and thought she was a fun additional character.

At the end of the book I didn’t find myself blown away or totally enthralled by the story. It was good, and at times dark and emotional. But it wasn’t my favorite. I’m not entirely sure that I will continue with the next book, although that cliffhanger did make me say “oh shit!”.

How do you review perfection?
I am truly at a loss for words (in the best way). I never thought I could immerse myself in a series like this, but I grew fangs and I'm screaming for more. The standalones are perfection, too.

I love the duology aspect. The switching of the Main Characters and their stories has really captivated me and kept my interest piqued. I love the different houses, and learning how everyone is connected. Mische has been my favorite character leading up to this book, so being able to follow her in this story was remarkable. The Songbird and the Heart of Stone has been my favorite in the series to date! I'm not sure how I can't keep my composure while I waited for the next one.

I loved this book so much. It was a great continuation on the previous duology while also telling an entirely new story. I loved Miche so it was so fun to learn more about her and her past as the book went along. I loved how subtle the romance was and the slow burn, along with the cliffhanger at the end. I can not wait to recommend this book and for the next one to be released. As with any arc there were a few noticeable typos but nothing significant. It was amazing!! Thank you for the opportunity to read it!

Six Scorched Roses is a Beauty and the Beast retelling set in the same world as A Serpent and the Wings of Night. This novella tells the tale of Lilith and Vale. Individually, she is a human with impossible questions, and he is a vampire recluse who has the answers in his blood. Together, they work to find a cure for what ails the townsfolk. A slow romance develops, and within the pages of this book, a love story unfolds. This is a charismatic story with a well-developed plot and two characters who fall in love through letters. Loved this story then, and still love this story now!

3.25 stars! Honestly it PAINS me to give this book and any Carissa Broadbent book a rating under 5 stars. I'm low-key disappointed by this one, and I hate that I am because Carissa is one of my all time favorite fantasy authors. Though it wasn't bad at all, I just expected a bit more.

I was so excited for Mische's book, and her character development did not disappoint. I wasn't really sure how I felt about her in the first two books, though I absolutely loved her in The Songbird & the Heart of Stone. Her personality and growth was amazing. She was a lot more sunshine-y than I expected, which I loved, and she complemented Asar so well. I also liked how the story went into her complex past as an acolyte and how her god chose her.

And Asar. LOVE a scarred man with a tragic backstory. This man was so attractive, and any man that has a dog is immediately on my good side. His and Mische's tension, chemistry, and slow burn were perfection. There was a scene that gave False God by Taylor Swift, and I'm obsessed. I also loved all of the "who-did-this-to-you" energy. I think the author does a great job of making each main couple in her books unique.

However, I was not a fan of the plot and the pacing. It felt like all of the energy went into the character/relationship development. The plot absolutely dragged and felt incredibly repetitive. Honestly it felt like nothing was happening, and the excellency of the characters couldn't save the slow pacing. Somehow it felt like this book had middle-book syndrome even though it's a duology. But after that cliff-hanger, I will DEFINITELY be reading the next one. I have much higher hopes for the plot of the next book.

Thank you so much to Tor for sending me an ARC of The Songbird & the Heart of Stone. As always, my reviews are one hundred percent voluntary and all opinions are my own :)

First of all, thank you for trusting me with an ARC of The Songbird and the Heart of Stone. I know and understand that these copies have grammatical errors and are not the final version, but there were so many that it felt a little overwhelming at times.

As for the story, I really enjoyed it. I loved Mische in the first two books and I was very excited to get her story. It is a sad one, there is no doubt about that. The first 25% of the book were great, I thought it did a good job of prepping us for what's to come and introducing us to grumpy old Asar - who didn't turn out to be so grumpy after all. For the next 50%, I went back and forth. I liked the direction of the plot but often times the parts felt a little big dragged on. I was also a little bit disappointed in the lack of development or backstory we got for all the side characters, including some of the ghosts. There was a little plot twist at one point and it was so quick that I didn't even have time to feel the emotions of it before they were moving on. I also felt like each new section of the afterlife felt a little repetitive of the previous one. Explore, tension, fight the same battle with a ghost, more tension.

I did like the last 25% and once the tension faded away I did really love Asar and Mische, like a lot. I loved the ending and now can't wait to read the next part of their story but I will say that overall this book didn't bring me the same fulfillment that her other books have. I know this is just the first book in a duology and some of my complaints may get addressed in future books so this review may mean nothing at that point.

I am also SO excited to get some more time with one of, who I believe, to be the best characters she has ever written 😏

This book absolutely blew me away. Carissa Broadbent’s genius is on full display. How she made a side character even more compelling than the original lead from the first 2 books? Absolute perfection.

Asar, the disgraced Shadowborn Prince, was the dark, brooding shadow daddy anti-hero I didn’t know I needed. His dynamic with Mische and their descent into the Underworld? So clever and brilliantly done. I adore the way the Descent was described. Absolutely genius.

Huge thanks for trusting me with this ARC! I’m dying to talk to everyone about it once it’s out!

The third book in Carissa Broadbent's Crown of Nyxia series follows Mische, a follower of the sun god who was forcefully Turned against her will and thrust into the life of a vampire. Now, hundreds of years later after her Turning, she finds herself sentenced to death for killing the vampire prince who Turned her. Her only source of redemption in being saved is found in an unlikely ally - Asar, the bastard brother of the man she murdered. Soon Mische finds herself on a journey to the underworld with Asar to resurrect the god of death himself.

I found this book in the Crown of Nyxia to be more compelling then book two and I was very interested in following Mische. I'm glad we got to know a bit more about her background through flashbacks, including the heart wrenching way her sister met her end that most certainly affects Mische now. I am not a usual fantasy reader, but I've found Broadbent's worlds to be more digestible and inviting to read for someone who is not typically interested in the genre. However, that being said while palpable - I did at times find myself and my brain wandering, not quite following the story as closely as I had the first book in the series. I found my brain to be more active in the beginning of the book as well as the end, but having trouble focusing in the middle. Another thing about the story is I found there to be some repetitiveness in the writing with a lot of the chapters ending the same - "being plunged into darkness," or "the darkness swallowed me whole," and "consumed me as the darkness did." While I understand that the setting of the underworld is well... dark, I just felt that ending each chapter with this kind of finite, ambiguous darkness was a little uncreative.

The relationship between Mische and Asar could have also been worked on a little bit. By the time it was "revealed" they had feelings for one another it felt a little out of place based on how it was developed. It just felt very sudden rather then natural that it felt as a reader you were just pulled into this thread of the plot and told, "okay go along with this because this is what's happening." That being sad, I loved the structure of the book and them encountering each "level" or "part" of the underworld. That once again helped me - someone who is not a fantasy reader - stay more engaged with the story then I would have been otherwise. I will definitely reading the next book!

✨ 𝐑 𝐄 𝐕 𝐈 𝐄 𝗪 ✨⁣
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𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥 & 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 by Carissa Broadbent⁣
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First of all, I want to say a HUGE thank you to @brambleromance for sending me a digital ARC of this glorious book. Seriously. Y’all have no idea how much this means to me.⁣
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Holy freaking cow. I was worried that I wouldn’t love the 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘕𝘺𝘢𝘹𝘪𝘢 series as much, once the focus was taken off of Raihn and Oraya, but I definitely should have had more faith in Carissa Broadbent and her absolutely amazing talent.⁣
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This book is wonderfully heart-wrenching and wickedly dark. I found it much darker than the first two books, and I freaking loved that about it.⁣
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At first, I didn’t really see chemistry sprouting between the MCs, but once again, I need to have more faith in Broadbent. She is so freaking good at what she does.⁣
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Not only that, but the writing is so melodic and tragic and beautiful. Much like with the first two books, I felt like I was highlighting the whole damn book. There are so many passages that I want to treasure forever. 🫶🏼⁣
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𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥 & 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 publishes 11/19! You’ve still got time to read the first 2 books if you haven’t already!⁣
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#thesongbirdandtheheartofstone #crownsofnyaxia #carissabroadbent #brambleromance #romantasy #theserpentandthewingsofnight #theashesandthestarcursedking #bookreview #bookreviewer #bookreviewblog #vampirebooks #vampirathon #raihnandoraya

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Mische killed a Prince. Not just any Prince, but the Vampire Prince who turned her into a vampire. So, it isn't a surprise when his sister has her hunted down and them presented to the King of the Shadowborn vampires. What is a surprise is Asar, the illegitmate son of the king, stepping in to save her. But then her makes her join him on his mission into the underworld and she finds out that he has enlisted her to resurrect a God.

Fast paced and heartrending, it makes you believe that everyone should have a chance at redemption. I always enjoy Carissa Broadbent's writing and have yet to find one that I didn't enjoy immensely.