Review--The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent

 

This new hardcover edition of the bestselling The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King features new case art, a detailed map, and a never-before-seen bonus chapter!

From the New York Times bestselling author Carissa Broadbent, comes The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King, the gutting second installment of the Crowns of Nyaxia series, full of heartbreak, redemption, blood intrigue and heart-pounding action.

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.

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.

Carissa Broadbent brings an end to The Nightborn Duet with The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King in her amazing fantasy series! This was an exciting installment and picks up where we left off in the first book--the novella acts as an intermission sort of read as it introduced characters who pop up here, which was fun to see who they were and where they came from and the roles they played in the story. This was a book that started with a bang and ended with one too and never let up on the enthralling storytelling!

Raihn is now the king of the House of Blood and Oraya is his wife and queen, but theirs is not necessarily a happy marriage as Oraya is still mad at Raihn for his lies, deceit, and murdering her father. While their union is meant to protect her as well, Oraya feels like nothing more than a prisoner in her own home. But even Raihn's new rule does not necessarily make things better for the kingdom as a whole as there's still quite a bit of unrest between the neighboring kingdoms. Ones who are not happy seeing a once-slave take up the throne.

The deal Raihn initially made with Septimus to take the crown and the throne seems to be slowly backfiring as Septimus seems to still be keeping his own secrets and it's not until he and Raihn corner Oraya that she learns why. They are looking for objects of power that Vincent would've hidden somewhere in the castle and they believe Oraya with her burgeoning abilities that have come with her Heir mark can help them find these objects. Essentially, the items that they want Oraya to find can lead the wielder to have untold powers!

Raihn eventually comes to Oraya with another plan, one that involves taking Septimus down as he begins to think Septimus is not really on their side and if Oraya successfully helps him with this task, he'd let her go.

What a complicated web Broadbent has woven for these characters! Oraya and Raihn had such a struggle to form a relationship and then the ending events of the first book pretty much destroyed whatever trust was formed and Oraya is once again wondering where she went wrong with giving Raihn that initial trust. BUT, plot twist, this time Broadbent gives us Raihn's point of view as well as Oraya's! This was a game changer as I felt like there was so much to Raihn we didn't know and this helped immensely! I loved knowing what he was thinking and what his true goals were and all that jazz.

While the book can feel overwhelming with its 500+ page count and small font, it actually moves pretty fast! There's a nice quick pacing going on that does have its moments of levity as well. Things were intense in this one and I really enjoyed the route Broadbent took to get us to the end! Knowing now that we will be having a set of duologies to tell this whole world series, I am anxious to see who else will get a story as I know Mische is in the next one and I am positively DYING to read the next standalone novel that sits somewhere between these, I mean, Goodreads has it before The Songbird & The Heart of Stone, yet the book is not out yet...I mean it was but it's out of print and hard to find, but it's being reprinted...next year...in March. So I find myself in the pickle of when is the "right" time to read this one as it doesn't really have a number like the current books do. The stress of being a reader like me! Lol.

Anyway, back to the story, I truly enjoyed this one! The pacing was superb and I loved the dynamics between Oraya and Raihn! We have a sort of hate to love relationship going on and it was wonderful! Lol. Raihn knows he did wrong and is trying to make up for it, while Oraya is filled with mixed emotions over Raihn and what he did. Needless to say, you pretty know what direction things will go in and I was all for it! I was very happy with how things ended with this one!

The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King was an incredible and thoroughly entertaining read! I curse my need for sleep and busy days with work. I just long to curl up and read the book straight through when the words as addicting as what Broadbent writes! I cannot wait to see what else she will do with this fantastical world she has created! Bring on the next duology!

Overall Rating 5/5 stars