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

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.)

Content Warnings

jnterhune's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Took some getting use to, I was unaware it was a vampire story (my first one also) so that took some adjusting, but overall was hooked and enjoyed the story. Love the characters, loved the trials, found it very original and a fun read!

Content Warnings

spatterson7's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Content Warnings

meeklovestoread's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

My feelings for this book are kinda complicated. Okay, so I'm just now getting into fantasy and have started with the new subgenre of fantasy romance (or romantasy) to get a feel on how fantasy books work before I started diving into more complex books and I heard this book was a good romantasy book to start off with. And the way, people were talking about this, I was so excited! I had just read Powerless just a few weeks ago so I was itching for another fantasy romance.

Now for the first 30 pages, I was LOVING it! I loved the setup of the book. The graphics included when we move to the next part or chapter and as well as the establishment of the relationship between Oraya and her dad. Then I put the book down for an hour or two and then came back to it and I don't know why but all of a sudden the vibes were off for me (but it could've just been a me thing though cuz that's been happening lately).

I read this book in two days and after reading this book. I will say that I did enjoy it overall, however I do have a few complaints. I've heard other creators praise Carissa for her fast-paced writing and how she doesn't place any filler content in her books. And while this is true, I actually think her fast-paced writing proves to be a detriment to her books (well at least this one because it's the first one that I read from her). I enjoyed her writing; it was easy enough to understand but sufficient enough for a fantasy.

However, my major qualms with this book are that everything happens so quickly that you don't have time to get attached to the characters or the things that are happening to them (more on that later). Like I think in the first 50 pages, a character passes and this character is made out to be very important to the main character, Oraya, but because the author never gave us time to witness Oraya's relationship with this character her death seemed pretty lackluster. I liked this character despite how short-lived her presence was, but even I can recognize that their death wasn't as impactful as it could've been.

That leads to my next point. Aside, from the relationship established between Oraya and her dad, Vincent, no other relationship is fleshed out in this book at all. Oraya literally possesses no meaningful relationships with any of the other supporting characters in this book. At least none that were impactful. Mische, for instance, Oraya only has a few subtle interactions with and then we don't see her (Mische) for the rest of the book. No meaningful connection was established between them for me to genuinely FEEL for Mische or their somewhat friendship.

There was an instance where Mische gets severely injured by the Nightfire which renders her completely incapacitated and therefore she can no longer compete in the trials. Raihn takes her to a safe house and one day he wants to go down and see her and Oraya wants to come along and whatnot. Which I get why for story purposes, but the author hasn't done a good job of illustrating a bond between Mische and Oraya for me to care and for me to feel like they're actually friends that care for one another.

It's literally Mische bubbly personality that made me care about her. This is a similar issue with Raihn's friendship with Mische. Just a lot of telling and not showing. The author points out that they have this extremely deep loving friendship and I do see that in tidbits, but it's not enough to make me believe that they're "for-lifers", you know.

Also, if you read this book we're introduced (told mostly) about this character called Ibrahim. His whole character was a missed opportunity. She could've done SO MUCH more with him, but she didn't.

I teared up a bit when he died. All the struggles he went through just to die in the end. At least he went out kicking.

Now, the relationship we've all been waiting for: the romance! Honestly, when I was reading the book, I knew who the love interest was going to be because fantasy books (romance books in general) tend to be pretty formulaic when introducing their male love interest. However, if it wasn't for my prior knowledge of romance books and tropes and whatnot, I lowkey wouldn't have known who the love interest was because I kid you not I was HALFWAY through the book, HALFWAY, and not a single lick of romance was happening between the two characters. So, if you're going into this book expecting a big romance subplot, don't test your luck with this one cuz that's not what you're going to get. I'd say the romance happens about 70% in.

Now, I don't mind a slow burn, however this was done very poorly. From my experience, the lore with slow burns is that it provides little instances of tension between the characters as the story moves along that tension just progresses into something that can't be contained any longer. I think Powerless by Lauren Roberts executed that beautifully, and maybe I went into this book with the wrong expectations but I was expecting something like that. And got this, instead. The romance isn't terrible; it's actually pretty sweet actually (until it's not), it's the buildup that was completely lackluster. Like for most of the book, their connection seems strictly platonic, like yeah they get a little closer but not to the point where I think a romantic connection should've ensued.

The only reason I was feeling the romance was because I really liked Raihn (he's literally sweetheart once you get a decent way in), but even liked him took some time because the "romance" between them wasn't overt enough for me to believe they actually establish a meaningful connection. So, when what happens happened at the end

where Oraya literally sacrifices her wish from the goddess to bring Raihn back just so he could betray her cuz apparently, he was the Rishan heir and then kill her dad right in front of her and then overtake Obitrates. I was just like "😑". Oraya you're so STUPID! There was not nearly enough relationship build-up between them for me to believe that this girl was willing to sacrifice all she ever wanted and fight her father's conditioning for HIM! Like Carissa being so for real!

Needless to say, the romance did NOT eat in this one. It was barely a nibble. But not gonna lie, I was tearing up when what happened happened. It wasn't heart-wrenching or anything cuz the romance was so lackluster, but it did what it had to do.

In addition to the romance, this book also had issues with characterization. Oraya didn't have much of a personality aside from being fearful of her human weakness and Raihn, ughhh, it takes so long for me to connect with him because the author didn't develop his character enough. I think this is the type of story that could've benefitted from it being dual POV.

Also, for a book that doesn't dedicate its time to the romance you'd think it'd dedicate it's time to the plot, which is the trials. But no! We get only one chapter of each trial and that left me feeling pretty underwhelmed. I wanted more. And maybe it's just me, but I found myself confused about what was happening sometimes during the trial chapters.

Now, I know I've been speaking pretty negatively on this book, but I'm gonna say that the last 70 or so did what they had to do! It was WILD! It was crazy! It was what I needed to happen. And I really liked the ending, I think it sets up well for the second book. However, I do still have my grievances.

Okay, this may be an unpopular opinion, but I liked Vincent. I thought he was interesting and I truly felt his relationship with Oraya MADE this book because they were the only meaningful connection in this book. And I'm pretty heated that she (the author) killed him. Now, Oraya literally has no one and nobody to really answer her questions. She's a half-vampire. How?! I hope Vincent left some journals in or something cuz I'm really gonna miss him. And I need answers.

Also, to highlight the point I made earlier about her books being fast-paced. I've also heard that Carissa is also commended for the fact that she doesn't add many needless descriptions in her books. And that nondescriptive form of writing may work for others, but it didn't work for me. I actually think by her not being more descriptive proves to be another detriment to this book. This book needed more descriptions. I found myself trying to imagine what the characters were wearing because besides leather and that one purple dress Oraya was wearing no outfits are described in this book. Barely any descriptions were added on what the world looked like or the buildings or where the characters were at so I found myself struggling sometimes with the settings.

Speaking of the world, my biggest qualm with this book is that although I very much so enjoyed this world and the lore behind it, I still found myself asking A LOT of questions that weren't answered. The world-building and magic were very underdeveloped. I found myself asking, how did the vampires breed? How could they get sick or drunk? Why did they need sleep? How exactly are they killed? Do all vampires possess the same magic abilities? What decides that a vampire is the strongest? Is it their age? And most importantly how does the magic work in this world? How come Oraya has magic, but she's only a human and if humans can possess magic then why don't they use that to protect themselves from the vampires? Why is the house of blood so exiled from the rest of the houses? What type of curse do they have? What exactly is Nightfire?

The way we find out Oraya is half vampire and half human and nobody in this book seems to be gooped or gagged by this is weird writing to me because the existence of someone being a half vampire and half human was never introduced up until this point. We learned that vampires can either procreate or be turned. And we also learned that 2/3 tend to die when they're turned (wonder why? that's never explained). So, why aren't more people surprised that Oraya is half vampire, half human?! And how do they exist? And what makes them different from a human and a vampire?

I'm also confused on how "demons" work in this world. Wish that was explained more. All these questions, gone unanswered even as I finished this book.

Now I know all I've done is criticize this book but I really do want to say that I did still really enjoyed it regardless of the execution. This was my first vampire fantasy and it really showed me how much I love reading about them the best. I thought the world was really fun to read about and I was curious about all the houses and the politics as well as the war between the Rishan and Haiji vampires. I really wanted to know more about Raihn's back story. And reading about Nyaxia's story was so much fun, hope we get more of that as well as a more cohesive and chronological version of events. Like I said, despite my qualms I still really enjoyed this book, and crazily enough I haven't been able to get into a single book after reading this one. So, I went on and started the novella which is crazy considering I didn't think I was gonna continue this series, but it seems like my brain won't let this world go so I will be continuing onto book 2 after I finish the novella and hopefully book 2 fixes most if not all the things that were wrong in book 1. Still excited considering I hear a lot of people say that they really enjoyed book 2!

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️.5/5 (only one scene, it's chapter 44 if you want to skip it)

Note: There is a glossary at the back of the book (and i didn't know that until i finished😭; so i guess that's good if you're confused about the places and names; again wish i knew this beforehand, but glad she added it)

Content Warnings

theresamothinmyroom's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Content Warnings

juliesleseecke's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

shinyfox's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

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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