I was sadly disappointed in this one. I loved the first two books in this series but this one sadly fell a little short for me. There’s a chance I may still read the next in the series but this definitely wasn’t a favorite.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️

*sigh* I really went into this book hoping to love it and with high expectations and I don’t know what happened but I just didn’t enjoy it…

I felt there was zero chemistry between the characters, the whole underworld was very underwhelming, and I just felt like nothing happened.

I think this book had a much slower pace compared to its predecessors and maybe that’s why I struggled with it…. I also felt no connection to any of the characters, I really didn’t care what happened to them… I mean the ending didn’t even phase me…

TLDR: I feel like this whole book could’ve been an email…

I’ll probably read the next book, but honestly it’s only because of the ending of this book and the person she met, cause what the heck?😂

I enjoyed this book but it wasn't my favourite of the series. Generally I am not a fan of a 'travelling' story and this book didn't change my mind. However, I did like the characters and the continuation of the magic systems so if you like a book with a fair amount of moving around then I would recommend this.

Carissa Broadbent did not disappoint with the third installment of “The Crowns of Nyaxia”. The characters of Mishe and Asar are both very ambiguous and she masterfully weaves their individual histories into the story while they journey to the underworld. And if I’m being honest the book is worth it for Luce alone, love her.

Overall, this was good-I adored Mische and Asar and their healing journeys. I do feel like something could've been added to their journey in the underground to make it less confusing and more coherent to the plot. The flashbacks and beginning hooked me so much otherwise.
Something was missing in this book compared to Carissa’s previous books that just made it lose her usual “wow factor”.

With that being said, I have high expectations for the next book and I hope it lives up to it with a new PoV

I have no idea why this has taken me so long to review! This book was incredible I was so excited to read Mische's story and the journey to the underworld with the added bonus of a dark, brooding and very flawed Asar did not disappoint- plus one of my favourite characters in this series was such a welcome surprise.
Cariss Broadbent knows how to build you up, take you on a journey and then break your heart apart because the ending of this book actually broke me! I need the next book yesterday...This is my favourite in the series so far (sorry Vale & Lilith)

This book is dark, intense, and totally different from the first duology. We follow Mische as she embarks on a journey to the underworld to resurrect the God of Death himself alongside Asar, the bastard House of Shadow prince. Mische-all the while- has been commanded by her Sun God to betray Asar by killing the very Death God they’re searching for.

We’re introduced to more perspectives as they’re woven into the 6 levels of the underworld, each chapter bringing forth a new dimension to our main characters’ journey. The farther they travel, the line between what’s real and what’s nightmare blurs. Mische’s past is unraveled perfectly, using flashbacks and heartbreaking memories that slowly reveal her hidden story. It’s addictive and leaves you questioning everything. Oh, and the slow burn? It burnsss. I wanted to throw the book but also giggle and hug it at the same time.

Honestly, Broadbent’s writing just gets me. It’s emotional and immersive, I’d read her grocery list at this point. This book broke and healed my little Mische loving heart, I was hooked from beginning to end. While this may be a slightly slower-paced read, every moment is building toward something. I’m currently dying for the next book and no longer know what to do with myself after the ending.

It pains me to say this, but Songbird and the Heart of Stone was a bit of a letdown for me, and honestly, it felt like it was written by someone else. I've LOVED her previous books, but this one just didn't have the same magic. The premise had so much promise – an underworld journey, a forbidden romance – but somewhere along the way, it lost me.

I loved Mische (❤️) in the first duology, but I didn't really feel her connection to Asar. It felt a bit forced, and I didn't feel their chemistry the way I wanted to. It felt like Broadbent was trying to give us a new vibe, but it didn't quite land for me. The writing didn't capture the emotional depth I loved in her earlier books. It's still a decent read, but I hope her next book brings back the magic I felt like this one lost.

at this point, i'll read anything carissa broadbent writes. her worlds are always so complex and unique, and it's so easy to get lost in her creative writing.
mische was someone i wasn't expecting to have a book written about. while i didn't dislike her in the previous books, she also wasn't my favourite. this all changed in songbird, and I adore her more than anything. asar is so precious and deserves all the love and protection in the world. the romance was easily one of my favourite that i've read in a long time.
i really enjoyed how high the stakes were in this book. it made everything more exciting and fast paced.

The beginning of this book hooked me (I hadn’t read the first) and I was IN. And then. It dragged and dragged. The darkness took her and she woke up in the next chapter. Rinse and repeat. For ages. And then the end a brilliant ending and bizarrely i would read the next one. Just a draggy middle.
Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book.

Is it possible I enjoyed the third instalment the most? ABSOLUTELY. Mische stole my heart the second she jumped on the page of the first book and I am so very pleased Carissa Broadbent felt she deserved her own story.
I don't want to give too much away but I LOVED the story and I found myself invested so much more that Oraya's story (which is quite a high standard!). The world building at this point is very well thought, tied, executed and presented to the reader. It's unique and convincing but at the same time does not overwhelm. The writing is beautiful, in true Carissa style and the tasks required to achieve the end goal (trying hard not to give too much away!) are as original as we have come to expect from her. I will say though that even though you do not absolutely need to have read the previous two books in order to enjoy this one, I think you would do yourself a serious disservice as series like the Crowns of Nyaxia do not come around that often.
For the fans of Carissa and the romantasy genre, you KNOW you will not be disappointed. I loved this books and I can't wait for the next one!
A huge thanks to Carissa, Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for approving this title for me.

2 ⭐️ Could've been great... yet it wasn't.

It has honestly taken me so long to finish this book... and even then I feel like I mostly skimmed through it to force myself to push through and finish it already.

Mische is a really interesting character and I liked the complexities and doubts that she had with her religion and what it all meant to her. Asar was a really good MMC too. I just didn't like the journey and their adventure. I didn't like the whole underworld thing, even though it sounds soooo up my alley... and then the cliffhanger.

This gets a no from me. Maybe someday I will pick this book back up and it will be exactly what I feel like reading... That day just hasn't come yet.

"𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯… 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴."

It was so good to be back in this world! I love Carissa Broadbent's writing style and this did not disappoint. This book follows Mische, who, after the events of previous books is sentences to death for murdering a vampire prince. At her trial, Mische is saved by Asar, the bastard prince of the House of Shadow. He has a reputation and a brutal past and she is forced into a mission to the underworld to resurrect the god of death. This story follows their journey together as they complete various trails to try and complete this impossible task. Filled with adventure and plenty of danger, I really enjoyed the pacing and the relationship between Asar and Mische. Overall a fantastic read.

The wait for this book was beyond worth it! Songbird is exactly how I expected it to be and so different from the first two books following Mische and her journey in this world.

I devoured The Songbird and the Heart of Stone within a day; from the first page to the last, it was a joy to read. Carissa Broadbent is an instant read and buy author for me at the moment, and I love her written style and her ability to keep you hooked on a book.

Thank you for this e-arc

I really liked the character of Mische in Carissa Broadbent’s previous duology and so I was excited to read this new book where she is the main character.
After killing the prince of the Shadowborn who turned her into a vampire, Mische can expect nothing but a painful death. However she is ‘rescued’ by Asar who needs her to accompany him on a quest down to the underworld where he will try to kill the god of death.
I loved learning more about her back story and it’s interesting seeing how she became a priestess. As readers, we view the events very differently to the child Mische who was dazzled by the sun god and the fact that he had chosen her. Her love of Atroxus and desire to be in his favour is one of the corner stones of her character and also an important element of the plot.
Although Mische was a fascinating character and her story arc held my interest, the character of Asar felt a lot less well-developed. He didn’t really come to life for me which meant that I wasn’t really invested in the quest or the romance. The underworld was brilliantly depicted but the plot felt a bit repetitive as we seemed to repeat sequences and I found myself getting bored in places which hasn’t happened in any of the author’s previous novels. However, the final part of the book was worth the effort as the story picked up pace and built up to a brilliant ending.
Overall, I enjoyed this latest book in the Crowns of Nyaxia series but it didn’t have the same impact as the previous books for me.
Thank you as always to Net Galley and the publishers, Pan Macmillan for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

5 Shadowborn Swords for The Songbird and the Heart of Stone by Carissa Broadbent.

"𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦.
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦, 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯, 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.
𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦, 𝘷𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦, 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘰, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘵."

Thank you to Pan Macmillan for allowing me a copy of this arc via Netgalley.

I'm honestly struggling to put into words how mind-blowing this book is. Carissa Broadbent is my drug of choice and this book is no exception.

My only struggle with this book is the sheer magnitude of the worldbuilding. Morthryn and the Underworld are so intense and vast, and I'm not sure if this book was able to fully build them up. It was a bit difficult to follow in parts, not because Carissa didn't do an amazing job of explaining each level of the Underworld, but just because of how big and daunting the Underworld as a whole is.

That being said, it was my only issue with this book. We follow Mische, Raihn's best friend from the Nightborn Duet. In The Ashes and the Star Cursed King, Mische murders her creator, who happens to be the Shadowborn Crown Prince. This book starts with the Shadowborn capturing her and to not be executed, she is sent with Asar, the Shadowborn King's bastard son, on a borderline suicidal quest through the Underworld.

This is an amazingly, beautifully tragic story of Mische's life, how she was chosen by the sun god, and how her choices, character, and sins led her to this journey through the Underworld where she is able to discover herself, try and make peace with her life and fall in love. Asar's story is equally tragic and beautiful and his true character being unmasked is such an amazing thing to read.

The plot twists were amazing, the journey was tragic and the ending left me swearing, gasping, and demanding more. Please go read this book.

Life got in the way of reading this ARC in time but it was so worth the wait. I loved both MCs, the story was packed with an emotional journey alongside the physical one (Mische's journey with her faith was SO well done), and Carissa Broadbent's writing is always such a delight to read. Can't wait for the next book!

Ich habe den ersten und zweiten Band der Reihe schon sooooo geliebt und beide waren absolute Highlights für mich, weshalb die Erwartungen hier dementsprechend hoch waren. Und was soll ich sagen? Ich wurde nicht enttäuscht. Ich bin sowieso ein riesengroßer Fan der Welt und des Worldbuildings und habe beides hier wieder so, so geliebt! Zudem habe ich mich so gefreut, dass man vorherige Nebencharaktere jetzt hier auf ihrem Weg begleiten und tiefere Einblicke in ihre Gedanken und Gefühle bekommen kann. ES WAR GROSSARTIG! Ich habe mich mit ihnen verliebt, habe mit ihnen mitgefühlt und mitgefiebert, habe es vor Spannung kaum aufgehalten, mein Herz wurde natürlich wieder mal gebrochen, aber ebenso geheilt und ich habe jede einzelne Sekunde zwischen den Seiten dieser Geschichte geliebt! Brauche dringend meeeeehr!

This was such a great book and definitely different from the first two! I loved the whole underworld and trials, which I'm a sucker for! It was great to finally get more of Mische's story as well!

My gratitude to Pan Macmillan for the chance to read this book in advance.
What can I say?
What a wild ride!
I didn't know what to expect from The Songbird and the Heart of Stone, but even before starting it I was sure that I would have loved this book. Was I right? Of course I was!
Carissa Broadbent is one of the few authors that makes me still have faith in fantasy genre. In a time where fantasy stories seem often very similar, Crowns of Nyaxia series has the power to shine. And even if we have two new protagonists, very different from Raihn and Oraya, I felt attached to them since the very beginning. The readers already know Mishe from the previous books, but being in her head was something else entirely. This compassionate, good girl who had been hurt so much in more ways than those she already acknowledged, started a journey that will allow her (even if she didn't know it) to completely free herself, and I'm really waiting to see her burn all to the ground. And then there's Asar, the tormented necromancer I adored from the start. I loved his peculiar sarcasm, his silences, his composure, his intelligence and strength, despite a past that would have crushed anyone, Their stories broke my heart again and again during the whole novel, because they had been used and manipulated their whole lives in a way or another, and they really deserve to be happy.
Nonetheless it wasn't always easy to read them, I appreciated how Carissa inserted again tough themes like use of violence for pleasure, mental manipulation that led to subjugation and different kinds of abuse, which unfortunately, in different context or situations, are not so far from reality. I always hope that reading these issues in a book can make the difference for someone, so they can find the strength to stop and understand if something they're experiencing or living is wrong. Mishe's story is the proof of it.
At last, I don't know if I'll ever overcome the trauma of THAT ending until I'll have book 4 in my hands. I'll wait for it with open arms.