Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - The Serpent and the Wings of Night

Spicy - two scenes not the entire book.
Twisted, dark, cruel relationships. Lots of blood and violence. Vampire society with dueling groups.
Enemies to lovers. Self acceptance.

Content Warnings

kittkat's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

ein träumchen von einem fantasy-buch!! durchweg spannend, echt gutes worldbuilding uuund vor allem äußerst liebenswürdige charaktere.

oraya ist ein mensch, der vom vampirkönig aufgenommen und trainiert wird. (der king heißt vincent; das ist echt der unroyalste/ unvampirischste name überhaupt hahah) sie tritt dann dem kejari-turnier (vampir hunger games) bei mit dem ziel, selbst zu einer mächtigen vampirin zu werden. dort geht sie aus verzweiflung ein temporäres bündnis mit raihn und mische ein und lernt langsam ihre magie zu benutzen. mit der zeit wachsen die drei mehr zu einer gruppe zusammen; am ende kann jedoch nur eine person, den kejari gewinnen… DAMM DAMM DAMM 🤯😱🥵🫨😮‍💨

vielleicht liegts ja nur an den fantasy büchern, die ICH so gelesen habe, aber ich finds einfach nicht soo attraktiv, wenn der mann die protagonistin mobbt (cruel prince) oder wenn er der kolonisator ist, der das ganze volk der protagonistin ermodet (hurricane wars). DAHER war dieses buch absolut entzückend mit raihn als männlicher protagonist - rücksichtsvoll, aufmerksam, einfach ein lieber!!

ich HASSE ihn aber grade am ende von buch 1; er merkt gefühlt nicht mal WIE schlimm und unverzeihlich sein handeln ist😩😤🤬🔪🔪

die romance war SLOW BURN und es war das beste, was dieser story hätte passieren können. no joke, der plot und der slow burn waren einfach so gut, dass ich sogar überrascht war, als der spice losging. ganz anderes gefühl als wenn man nervös darauf wartet.

SIDENOTE: mische ist mein ganzes leben, ich liebe sie so sehr, ich will mit ihr zusammen ziehen und mein leben für sie geben. SO EIN SONNENSCHEIN!! leider bisher viel zu wenig aktiv im plot mit dabei ☹️.
SIDESIDENOTE: sprecherin von audible hat eine atemberaubende performance hingelegt! bisher vielleicht sogar das beste hörbuch, das ich jemals gehört habe 👀

Content Warnings

blacksphinx's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

On one hand, this is the first time when reading a fantasy romance that I've actually cheered the main couple on. The other hand is that an author who cannot write an action scene has chosen to write a five-phase combat tournament and it is grating. (I am side-eyeing every named editor who didn't catch the glaring continuity error in the first chapter.)

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fluffy_comet's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

It just fell flat at the end.

The forced marriage plot

was deeply frustrating, and the fact that all these two has to do was COMMUNICATE THE BAREST AMOUNT to avoid

another deadly war

was kind of infuriating at the end. The writer's grammar leaves much to be desired and I swear to God if she does the triplicate thing over (and over and over) in the next book I *will* DNF it. Loopholes and editing problems abound: you're telling me a 20 year old living in vampire territory isn't worried about her period? Also certain sentences/descriptions are repeated in the book in difficult situations, ie: he pissed himself, bleeding is bad, etc.

Enjoyable read though, but it was very much a "kinda want to see what happens" vibe that drew me to ordering the next book, not a "I need to know what happens NOW".

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crybabybea's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I gotta stop reading romantasy. I feel like the subgenre just doesn’t work for me because it always feels like the author has to try and shove so many different elements in, to the detriment of the quality of the work. The world-building, plot, characters, and romance are all underdeveloped because of how much has to be fit into the book. Everything takes a backseat to the romance more often than not, because the author wants to get to the sex scene within the first book. They always end up longer than they need to be because of it as well. Granted, this is on the shorter end of romantasy at 450ish pages, but the next one is over 600 pages. It’s just not enough payoff for a book that long. I feel like it actually takes an incredible amount of skill to write a good romantasy where all elements stand on their own (and seemingly takes a great editor as well cause whew every romantasy I have read needs serious editing). I actually love fantasies with romantic elements as I’m a big YA fan, but I have yet to find a romantasy that doesn’t feel lackluster and overhyped.

This book falls into all of the issues I usually have with the genre. The fantasy doesn’t hold up if you look at it for too long. I understand it’s one of those books that people want to “turn their brain off” and read, which I have no issue with, but this book almost feels like you have to turn your brain off to read. You have to read it not really understanding the point of the plot or really anything about the world at all. The world-building is muddy at best, and oftentimes the narrative just doesn’t make sense. I still don’t understand the point of the Kejari tournament, why it’s happening now, how the world works politically, or the difference between the vampire clans. The magic also isn’t explained well and it’s not clear who can do what magic (is it a racial thing? is it only certain vampires? idk) or what the consequences of the magic are. It just doesn’t feel well thought out and it’s only dragged down more by the author’s bland writing and habit of telling vs. showing.

The writing itself is just… meh. There’s nothing special about it. I don’t think all writing has to be poetic or use flowery language (and in fact some authors force it to the point that it’s cringey ~~cough When the Moon Hatched cough)~~ but the writing here just has no substance. Like, it’s fine but there is nothing about it that is memorable or that encourages me to pick up more by this author. It’s also written in first person POV, but the narration doesn’t match up with the voice of the main character, and it actually makes it hard to connect with Oraya as a character. We don’t get a lot of time in the narration before we are plunged into the Kejari (about 30 pages or less of setup), so we go into the story not really having an idea of who the characters are or what the purpose of the plot even is. It felt very YA, which is fine but… I thought this was not YA for a reason. The only thing that differentiates the writing from a YA book is the overuse of cursing to seem edgy as well as a sex scene. Which, even the sex scene is just bland and boring. There were multiple times I was wishing this book had more editing. At one point the author repeats the same "surprise" and the characters act like they weren't aware even though the same thing was said like 200 pages prior.

I did like the action scenes and felt they had nice pacing and were detailed enough to be understood but not too detailed that they dragged on.

The characters aren’t well developed over the course of the story. We have a very, very narrow cast of characters, which should mean we get intimately acquainted with them, but we just don’t. They fall into their respective tropes and don’t venture outside of them. The author tries to do a “found family” type thing with the main 3 characters but it just doesn’t work because we don’t get to know them well. There are beats of the story that are clearly intended to be emotional but I just don’t care about the characters enough to worry about them. The beginning setup for Oraya’s relationships was good, but

then the author kills off one of two characters that she cares about before the tournament even starts with little fanfare. Her death happens off-page and Oraya never really feels much about it.

I actually found Vincent to be the most interesting character by far, and hoped to see more of an exploration of he and Oraya’s relationship.

I did like the ending. Even though it was similar to other plot beats I’ve read in similar books, I did find myself at least a bit connected to the romance at the end.

This is compared to The Hunger Games (and I understand why) but I would probably compare it more to The Cruel Prince and the later books of ACOTAR. The plot points were almost exactly like The Cruel Prince but with less developed enemies to lovers. I don't think the political strife or intrigue is enough to accurately compare it to The Hunger Games.

Like other romantasies, it’s good for an easy, light entertainment read. If you’re a high fantasy fan and want deep world-building, complicated magic, and political intrigue, I think this is just meh.

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ladydeathnesta's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I absolutely love this book! It’s near perfection and it’s beautifully devastating 🖤

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