The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King

Crowns of Nyaxia #2 (Nightborn Duet #2)

By Carissa Broadbent

*Part of the Crowns of Nyaxia universe*

*Can be read as a duet with The Serpent and the Wings of Night*

TheStory

After the Kejari, Raihn takes over as the Nightborn king and Oraya unwillingly works alongside him. The two and their court work to put the Rishan vampires back in control, though due to the betrayal in the previous book, the two have become enemies once again. 

TheReview

If you read the first book in this duet, there shouldn’t be any spoilers.

Starting over with the slow burn once again, the reader gets to watch the two once-lovers work through their issues, downfalls, hatred, and feelings all while being in forced proximity. Really, just the perfect tropey-mishmash.

But… here for it. 

This book holds a greater focus on the war and strategy aspect while still giving the reader bits and pieces of “romance” here and there. Definitely more heavily focused on the politics and wartime drama than the first book, though. 

The ending battles drag a bit but bring the whole story to a nice, final conclusion - right alongside Raihn and Oraya’s relationship.

The best part of this duet was Raihn and Oraya’s romance. I loved every bit of their story. Particularly loved Raihn’s moral greyness with no apologies and no qualms from Oraya about doing what needed to be done. 

A huge fan of this duet overall. Carissa Broadbent is now in my top favorite authors. I loved her story telling AND writing style, which can be difficult for some authors to do both well. 10/10 - highly recommend. 

TheRating

Storyline: 4/5

Characters: 4/5

World Building: 5/5 

Writing: 5/5

Overall: 📘📘📘📘

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Crowns of Nyaxia Series

Nightborn Duet

Shadowborn Duet

The Serpent and the Wings of Night

Crowns of Nyaxia #1

(Nightborn Duet #1)

The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King

Crowns of Nyaxia #1

(Nightborn Duet #2)

The Songbird and the Heart of Stone

Crowns of Nyaxia #3

(Shadowborn Duet #1)

The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk

Crowns of Nyaxia #4

(Shadowborn Duet #2)