Carissa Broadbent
Tor
4 June 2024
608
Paperback
Fantasy Romance
Bought Copy
Love is a sacrifice at the altar of power.
In the wake of the bloody tournament known as the Kejari, Oraya is now a prisoner in her own kingdom and grieving the only family she ever had. She’s left with only one certainty: she cannot trust anyone, least of all Raihn, the vampire who betrayed her.
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 has dug 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 seeking her revenge against the lover who betrayed her. But to do so, she’ll need to harness an ancient power, intertwined with her father’s greatest secrets.
With enemies closing in on all sides, Oraya finds herself forced to choose between the bloody reality of seizing power – and the devastating love that could be her downfall.
Having loved The Serpent and the Wings of Night, I was keen to see what The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King would have to offer, and overall I wasn't disappointed. The story continued well, and I enjoyed seeing the development of the relationship between Oraya and Raihn as they dealt with the blood-thirsty political fallout from the end of the first book, and their complicated feelings towards each other. The pacing of the book was good, without any dull moments, and there was plenty of action and intrigue. If I had one niggle it was with some of the prose in the sexual scenes, which I occasionally found a little purple and cringy. But that was only a minor annoyance and didn't affect my general enjoyment of the book. This second volume brings Oraya and Raihn's arc essentially to a close, but I understand secondary characters will step up into the main roles in future volumes, and on the strength of the first two books, I would certainly be willing to keep reading to see what the rest of the series has in store. I am giving this second book 4.5 stars. I perhaps didn't love it quite a much as the first volume, but it was still a fun read, and I recommend the series to adult fantasy romance fans.
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