The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King (Crowns of Nyaxia Book 2)

Product Information

We'll rip apart the worlds that subjugated both of us, and from the ashes we'll build something new. The way he always looked as if his heart would stop beating once again when Oraya even so much as got a scratch. We still don't know what he did to get that medicine to heal her wings. If he was mortal, I would have assumed he gave away half his lifetime for it. This was a very good romantasy, filled with vampires, competition, fight for a kingdom, secrets, battles and betrayals. There is never a dull moment! The plot was well balanced, with the right amount of action and all the missing lore we didn't get in book one. The twists were a little predictable (the wing thing was so cool, though), but I enjoyed myself nonetheless. I am queen just as much as he is king. When we’ve reclaimed our kingdom, I intend to rule beside him as such.”

Secondly, I hated how Oraya gave everything she had worked so hard for up to save Raihn’s ass ONCE AGAIN. I already talked about how the author used the plot devices of the first book in this one but I have to mention this again. ORAYA BE SERIOUS RIGHT NOW, THIS ISN’T YOU. I can somehow justify your stupidity once but twice? This is too much. The House of Night, too, is surrounded by enemies. Raihn’s own nobles are none too eager to accept a Turned king, especially one who was once a slave. And the House of Blood digs their claws into the kingdom, threatening to tear it apart from the inside. i enjoyed oraya's character more in this one (she kind of glowed up throughout the story, yay!), all of the characters, actually--they felt remarkably multifaceted, which i think is where carissa shines. the world building was decent, even if the settings are lovely, but her characters are funny, likable, and still complex. This series is the definition of an amazing slow burn, and the author managed to do it in both books, which made Rhain and Oraya’s romance even better. They are both layered and have complex emotions that create a tumultuous relationship, but one that is sooooooo good. There is no insta-love here, only raw and confused feelings, hurt, angst, and despite all that happened at the end of the first book, honesty. Rhain and Oraya both have to work hard to rebuild the trust that was shattered and seeing them tiptoe around each other while feeling such intense emotions and trying to stifle their urge to jump into bed together was a pure delight.the way Oraya was shook after all the events that took place near the end of the previous book. she just broke after all that. but then, she rose from the ashes and then slowly claimed herself, and everything that was meant to be hers. i loved her so much. When certain aspects of his past came to light, my heart couldn’t help but bleed for him. But you hate him for what he did to Oraya, because of the hold he had on her soul for so long. But the understanding that washes over you because of what he went through is what you call character development.

Vincent - ”I will not lie to you, little serpent. I was expecting to kill you that night. But what I was not expecting was to love you so devastatingly much.” Although gone, Vincent does not leave us or Oraya in book two. Personally my favorite character from book one after being the most interesting and compelling. Vincent’s story and past gets peeked into as Oraya struggles with her love and hatred for her father and his actions. There he is." He is perfect and I'd gladly bow for my powerful king. He is flawed and imperfect yet he tried his best for his kingdom even though they treated him as an usurper king and betrayed him. He proved all of them wrong. His growth in this book was commendable. He was so conflicted about his role as a Nightborn king and felt the burden of it because nobody was ready to accept him as a king but he appreciated his strengths and even his weakness and fought for his kingdom. And I loved how he was so patient with Oraya and made her feel safe and loved with his thoughtful and sweet gestures.

Vincent the king, who would kill my whole family in the name of power, who would slaughter an entire race, who would lie to me for nearly twenty years about my blood to protect his crown. I wanted to capture him like rainwater. I wanted to savor him like blood. I wanted him to open me and touch everything within me that I’d hidden away from the world. Love is a sacrifice at the altar of power.In the wake of the Kejari, everything Oraya once thought to be true has been destroyed. A prisoner in her own kingdom, grieving the only family she ever had, and reeling from a gutting betrayal, she no longer even knows the truth of her own blood. She’s left only with one certainty: she cannot trust anyone, least of all Raihn.The House of Night, too, is surrounded by enemies. Raihn’s own nobles are none too eager to accept a Turned king, especially one who was once a slave. And the House of Blood digs their claws into the kingdom, threatening to tear it apart from the inside.When Raihn offers Oraya a secret alliance, taking the deal is her only chance at reclaiming her kingdom-and gaining her vengeance against the lover who betrayed her. But to do so, she’ll need to harness a devastating ancient power, intertwined with her father’s greatest secrets.But with enemies closing in on all sides, nothing is as it seems. As she unravels her past and faces her future, Oraya finds herself forced to choose between the bloody reality of seizing power – and the devastating love that could be her downfall. The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King (Crowns of Nyaxia, #2) by Carissa Broadbent – eBook Details With no trials to go through, the plot focuses a lot on the action and political side of the story, but it also gives us Oraya and Riahn's fans the thing we were left craving since the infamous end of The Serpent and the Wings of Night, which is, well...more Oraya and Riahn.

the only travesty is that we didn't get more of this bc forget Raihn's grovelling, forget Oraya's badassness. i loved that, but THIS. this is what made the book for me. it was the part that made me sob uncontrollably. whether or not Vincent was alive/dead, it made no difference because he was always with Oraya, in her mind, whispering thoughts. Even young, I knew a wounded pride was better than a wounded body. Better to be ashamed and alive than overconfident and dead. I'd die to know her personally and have her write little daily snippets just for me, because she's just that good. I have the softest spot for quotable authors, and she's a total champ in this department. To my gorgeous and lovely friends Lyra and Vio. I had so much fun reading this book with you 💗 we were crying, screaming and fang-girling in our group and It was chaotic but I enjoyed every minute of reading this book with you. Can't wait to do more BRs with you and I love both of you so much 🫶i can't wait for Mische's story (i think it's almost guaranteed that it's gonna be Mische's? and I NEED IT gimme gimme gimme) Oraya has so many conflicted feelings when it comes to Rhain and Vincent, and that made her SO relatable. It’s so much more complicated than grief and hate. She hates Rhain for his lies and the fact that he killed Vincent, but at the same time she knows that whatever they shared during the tournament was real, despite all the other lies and half-truths. She is rational enough to see that he did care for her then and still does now. She knows that, and it makes it harder for her to hate him, which in turn makes her angry at herself for not being able to simply hate him and kill him. I mentioned it before, but Oraya’s feelings when it came to Vincent were conflicted too. She was grieving the loss of her father, but on the other hand, she started to realize just how much he lied to her and how much he controlled her and prevented her from achieving her full potential. She started to see that she’d been living in a cage, and she hated him because of that, making her grief even more intense at times. I love that this book showed that it is possible to grieve part of a relationship, while also being angry at the person, grief is not just one sad emotion that erases everything else, it’s a process and it’s messy.

i absolutely adored the overlapping storylines. you could see that in the first book, but i think moreso here. it keeps interest and allows the reader to understand the different characters more than you might have been able to with limited points of view. I wanted to capture him like rainwater. I wanted to savor him like blood. I wanted him to open me and touch everything within me that I had hidden away from the world.” Oraya the things I would do for you…🧚‍♀️this book was pure cunt! the passion!! the electricity!! i love this series to the depths of my soul. i was a completely different bitch prior to reading this series. i can’t comprehend that none of it was real and that i’m simply expected to move on with my life 😖💔