This was a fantastic book. I was on the edge of my seat. I cannot believe the ending. It opens up so many possibilities for the next book. Many authors would be too scared to make such a bold move but it left me desperate for the next book. The world building and mythology is fascinating. The themes of religious trauma are explored in a tragic and captivating way. The tone was quite different to her previous work which prevented the series from feeling stagnant. It was dark and delicious.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for early access.

4.75⭐️
Thank you netgalley and pan macmillan for a review copy
I thought this book was such a good first half of Mische’s storyline. This book follows her descent into the underworld and the turmoil she faces down there to seek redemption of the sun god Atroxus or commit to the darkness of being a vampire! I found the writing beautiful and really enjoyed the challenges at each stage of the journey. The ending is shocking!! I am now desperate for the next book!! If you haven’t read the first two crowns of nyaxia books, while this story is separate I would recommend to read them first (they are also just as incredible!!) This book has vampires, betrayal and gods and is a must read fantasy book!!

Yesssss this one hit the spot for me. The previous books for me were okay - the first better but the second fell flat. However, this one was what I wanted. I liked the characters more, I liked the setting more, I liked the story so much more. I was invested in the stories of Mische and Asar - definitely my cup of tea.

The pacing I found to be good, too, and Mische is an enjoyable character. Asar I fell in love with the second he hit the page, and I enjoyed the journey to the Underworld. I will absolutely be back for the next installment - the worst bit is going to be the wait.

4.5⭐️

So I may have squealed a little when I got the ARC for this book. Like I could not believe it. I only have this measly Goodreads account.

Anyway. This was such a fun read. Mische, an acolyte of the Sun god who lost the love of said god when she was turned into a vampire has to team up with Asar, a bastard prince / necromancer to go to the underworld to resurrect the god of death.

It was giving forced proximity x grumpy / sunshine (smiling through the pain x healing from religious trauma x underworld that seemed (in my mind) like Stranger Things upside down but with zombies. For some reason I also had the Tron soundtrack stuck in my head. It was quite the vibe.

I loved Mische & Asar. I didn‘t quite understand the concept of that house, but at least it offered a sanctuary because this is action upon action upon action. Poor Mische can‘t catch a breath.

There is a delicious cliffhanger at the end and I‘m patiently waiting for the next book.

Release day for The Songbird & the Heart of Stone is tomorrow!

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan | Tor Bramble for providing me with a digital review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

This was such a wonderful continuation of this series!! I absolutely fell in love with Mische even more and I was so hyped that she got her own story.
I loved the character development of both of the main characters and how they started to care for each other. The slow burn had me eating up the tiniest bits of tension and I loved it. I loved how Mische used the fact that people underestimate her against them and Asar felt like he was just a severely misunderstood person who actually cared much more than he wanted to admit.
The whole traveling through the underworld storyline was absolutely amazing, super immersive but also kinda eerie and creepy but I feel like we learned so much more about the characters this way.
The ending absolutely floored me and I cannot wait for the next part of this series!! It definitely continues to be one of my favorites.

Perfect bland of Fantasy and Romance, full of complex characters with a beautiful setting.

I loved Mische even more now, her background story is so complex and emotionally engaging. Her character is full of hope , courage and kindness.
Asar is the perfect match for her🫶🏻🫶🏻
I love how even villains have human traits and aren’t evil for the sake of being evil. And the gods are realistically portrayed.
Loved how mische never lost her optimism and hope for the better world. Loved every bit of her journey.
Absolutely recommend you guys to read this book after first 2 books✨✨

Thank you to Pan Macmillan and Bramble as well as the author for allowing me access to this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5 ⭐️
Genre: New Adult Fantasy Romance
Format: ARC Ebook
Pages: 448
Spice: 1.5 🌶️
POV: First POV
S/S: Crown of Nyaxia #3
Check trigger warnings for any book.

I am a wreck after experiencing this book.

The description of the world is so whimsy but in a tainted way. Everything was so clear in my head, I felt like I was there. The decor was ever the same but ever evolving and adapting to the story.

The plot was simple in its core, but oh-so detailed when the adventure commenced. Mische, our lovely Mische, had one goal given to her as redemption from her beloved god: end the god of death once and for all. Micshe wanted nothing more in life and death than to please her god and regain his love. However, she did not take into account Asar when agreeing to this fate.

The overall book is slow. The pacing is slow, the action is present but ever so carefully distributed throughout the book. And, the romance, is also so torturously slow. The slowburn was real. And it was so good.

The characters were splendid in their actions and emotions. One impacted another, emotions took over logic and vice versa.

I absolutely loved to get to know Mische on such a deep level. To see that a joyful facade may hide the deepest of suffering. But her duality was mesmerizing.

As for Asar, whom we meet for the first time in the beginning of this book, he is the opposite of Mische. He hides his true self behind a mask of annoyance and solitude. And, may I just say, with all due respect, he could have me locked up in Morthryn any day. Carissa, you always manage to make the man irresistible.

My favorite character might just have to be Luce though. A sassy furry friend? Give me twenty. She’s an icon, she’s a legend, and she is the moment. Come on now, give it up for Luce, the real star of this book.

That ending. I can’t describe how it shattered me. I need the fourth book like I need air. I simply cannot fathom waiting months to know the continuation of Mische and Asar’s story, as well as the entirety of Obitraes.

Leena - Leena.reader review - @leena.reader on tiktok and instagram

I fell in love with Miche in The Serpent and the Wings of Night, and I personally didn't think I'd be able to love her anymore than I already did, but here we are.

The journey she goes on of finding herself, having to pick up her many broken pieces after her lowest point, and continually face death on multiple occasions is wild. The strength that this girl has is unmatched to any of the characters I have read previously. I love her with my whole entire being.

I was gripped in from the turn of page one and already want to return! AND THAT EPILOGUE?! I sat and stared at the wall for a little while after this book to truly comprehend what I had just read.

Thank you so much NetGalley for accepting me for this ARC!

This was really different from Serpent (which I loved!) and was one of my most highly anticipated reads of 2024! The ending was quite epic, however, overall, im not sure I loved this as much as the rest of the series! I found myself feeling quite confused and I really struggled to visualise where they were throughout the book. The second half of the book was definitely better, and the cliffhanger ending was enough to entice me to read the next one.

I loved the premise of The Songbird and the Heart of Stone, it sounded amazing and I couldn't wait to dive into this book headfirst. I had also heard amazing things about this author's work so I was even more excited to read this book. However, it didn't really hold my attention and I found it repetitive and overly descriptive. I don't thing I've ever noticed an author's simile use before but I did with this book. It felt overdone. I found it distracting. I had such high hopes for this one but sadly it didn't work for me. I don't know if I'll pick this up again but for right now I'm dnfing.

I was so very excited, when I was approved for this ARC because I loved all the other books in this world.

We follow Mische and Asar through the Underworld where they have to face fights, trials and their growing feelings for each other.

I love Carissa Broadbent‘s writing style and how easy she makes it for us readers to immerse ourselves in this world. The worldbuilding is amazing. I did also like the dynamic between the two main characters and how they slowly started to trust each other.

However, I did find the middle of the book very repetitive and almost boring at times. Sure, they travel through the underworld and have to endure certain things, but nothing really happens? It dulled the otherwise interesting plot for me quite a bit.
And while I did enjoy their dynamic, the conclusion to their pining and tension throughout the book almost felt a little too insta-lovey for me.

Overall a good start to this new duology and I will definitely continue it and will trust in Broadbent‘s abilitiy to turn this into an amazing duology for me!

if you love Broadbent;s writing, this will not disappoint. I could not put this one down and I loved every moment. I cannot wait for the next one already.

When I realised that Mische was going to be the main character of this next instalment in the Crowns of Nyaxia, I was very excited. I love her. She is such an interesting character - very positive and bubbly, but hiding a dark past. I wanted to see more of her character. I wanted to see her past and read about her current struggles with her fire magic and her faith. Everything seemed very promising.

And the first 20 % of this book were actually great. So much happening, we get introduced to the Shadowborn court and some characters. It's quite dark. Then we start our descend into hell. Awesome! I love this idea for a plot, having to travel through the underworld. That promises lots of excitement.

Unfortunately, after that first part, I started to be so very bored.
Firstly, because of the plot. Yes, they travel through the underworld. And... nothing happens. Sure, they have to do things, they have to fight against creatures, but it was so boring. It seemed very repetitive and the creatures were very replaceable. Carissa Broadbent tried to make it more personal, but it didn't work for me.
At the half way mark, something new happened that almost made me excited, but the boringness unfortunately returned quickly.

What also frustrated me, were the constant flashbacks. We get quite a few of them and while I've got nothing against flashbacks, I failed to connect to them. We don't experience them - it was basically always me reading about a character watching the memories of someone else. So instead of getting the actual reactions to whatever happened, we got the reactions of someone watching. If I'm reading about someone watching someone else having a breakdown, it's not even half as effective as reading about someone having a breakdown. It was a lot of telling and not showing and I struggled with empathising with everything.

Then the world buidling. We're in the underworld. And I have no idea what it's supposed to look like. Are we in a giant cave? Is it a hall? Are there fields? Were is the light coming from? Why are there houses? Temples? Definitely not enough descriptions. The characters travel through different levels of the underworld and I didn't notice any differences. I would've loved to actually see more of that world.

At the beginning, I was so excited to see more of Mische. But after some time, she started to feel flat. Everything was just about how much she wants to be accepted and loved by Atroxus. I would've loved to see more about her confronting her past, and especially about her embracing her Shadowborn powers and her vampire-self. But nothing. She did somehow use her powers a couple of times, but I don't even know what exactly she did. I also wanted her to confront Atroxus at some point, figure out that maybe she deserves better, but no. Even though Asar constantly told her so, she just didn't accept it. There was basically no development in her.
And the other characters? Asar could've been amazing. He is the dark, serious counterpart to Mische's light. He's the bastard born son of the Shadowborn king. He could've been interesting! But he barely did anything at all. He barely talked. He wasn't especially cruel or kind. He didn't seem to care about much apart from his mission. Until he suddenly started to care about Mische and I honestly don't understand why. Well, perhaps I understand it a little bit, but I have honestly no idea why Mische would be interested in him. Sure, he's hot. That's it. After reading this whole book, I still have basically no idea what he's like.
And the problem with that is, that there aren't many characters in this book. Aside from Mische and Asar, we only meet a handful of other characters. The two of them travel with Elias and Chandel. Elias' whole character is basically just swinging a sword and hitting things, whereas Chandel is simply a Priestess. They had no other characteristics at all.
The best character of this whole book turned out to be Luce, who was actually very nicely done.

But even though I have lots of complaints, it wasn't all bad. Some of the scenes were very nice and I did like the overall idea. It had so much potential. But the best part was the ending. I did not expect that at all. It was actually a huge plottwist and I love it. If I'm bored, it takes a lot to get me excited again, but this book managed it. The ending was fantastic. Now I actually want to read the next book, because I really want to know what's going to happen.

Thank you, NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Carissa Broadbent is an absolute master of her craft! I am completely in love with her books. The way she writes angst, suspense, and emotional intensity is unmatched.

I was thrilled to see this new book shift focus to fresh characters. Her first duology wrapped up beautifully, and I loved the way she brought it to a satisfying close. This new series takes us on a captivating journey with Mische, who is forced into becoming a vampire, and Asar, who saves her from near death. Though they find themselves bound by fate, their path is filled with betrayal, tension, and a powerful undercurrent of longing.
The ending was mind blowing! I neee the next book. Immediately!!

Mische, who we first met in The Serpent and the Wings of Night, and The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King, has her own, well deserved first book.

After murdering the vampire who turned her and took everything from her, she’s forcibly taken to the House of Shadow to face her punishment. Before a sentence can be carried out, she’s saved by Asar, half-brother of the vampire she murdered.

Instead of being executed, she must follow Asar on his quest to the underworld, where he’s been tasked with raising the god of death. When her sun god gives her a mission of her own, betrayal is on the cards, and her journey through each sanctum of the underworld reveals truths and secrets Mische really wishes would stay buried.

If you’ve read my reviews for the previous books, you’ll know how much I love this series and Carissa Broadbent. I was so excited when this book was announced as I love Mische, and there was so much to learn about her, from her pain, her human life before, and her biggest regrets. She’s such a kind and caring character, it’s impossible not to feel like she’s the best friend cheering you on, always smiling and happy. She’s not without her flaws, mind, but they only made me love her more.

Asar is another man I quickly added to my long list of book boyfriends. Dark and brooding, he’s full of secrets and history too, and I loved each interaction between him and Mische. Carissa sure knows how to write them and make me fall in love!

The story is split into each section of the underworld, which I really liked, and the journey to the underworld, which has been written about many times by many writers, still felt fresh and intriguing, more than enough to keep me reading and interested. The pacing matches the plot, moving along at a nice, easy pace that was full of reveals, tension, and adventure.

It was easily worth the wait, but that ending absolutely destroyed me and I need the next book ASAP. This is another book added to my favourites, and if you loved the first two books, you’ll definitely love this too.



Did I like the book? Yes.

Did I love it? Yes.

Would I recommend it? 100000000000% even if you haven’t read the first two, this can easily be read on its own as the first in a duology. Pick it up and enjoy!

I absolutely loved the Nightborn Duet, so when I was approved for an eARC for the first in Carissa's second duology, I was so excited! I will say though that this book could have done with a recap as it had been over a year since I left this world and I was struggling to remember some details, and I imagine others will have the same issue.

This is Mische’s story who has to face the ghosts of her past and no spoilers, but this one has a completely different setting. Through this she meets Asar who was an immediate yes from me - he’s dark and brooding and just my cup of tea. Both MC’s are quite damaged and I would definitely check the trigger warnings as it dives into some deep themes including grooming and manipulation, religious trauma and worshipping of false idols and self-harm, but they are handled with care.

Despite that though there is a LOT of action in this book and some of the chapters started to feel quite repetitive as they would end the same, rinse and repeat and I felt frustrated that this was wasted time that could have been used to develop the romance. The romance takes a while to kick in and was leaning on the lighter side for a Romantasy – there were some good moments, especially towards the end and I like a slow burn but ultimately I wanted MORE quiet time for interactions and time to build the chemistry.

I think that some people will really identify with Mische and her journey but she was leaning a little towards damsel in distress for my liking, but appreciate that Oraya was the typical stabby, badass FMC so nuance is needed.

The writing was a little clunky in places and there was some repetition of words that I don’t remember being an issue with the Nightborn duet, and the side characters also felt underdeveloped. In my honest opinion it felt slightly rushed and could have done with a tad more editing.
Despite my qualms I did ultimately enjoy this book and read it quickly, it’s not going to be a new fave but the ending was explosive and I will definitely be picking up the next!

The Songbird and the Heart of Stone is the first book of a new duology in the Crowns of Nyaxia series, you could read this without having read the other two but why would you?
Carissa Broadbent has become an auto buy author for me, her world building is excellent and her characterisation is perfection. Yes there is romance and spice but the story is so much more than that, there is always a good plot to her books. The author has that rare ability to draw you into her stories and makes you feel you are living it with her characters, you care about them. Reading a book by Carissa Broadbent is like having a movie playing in your head, one that you don’t want to finish, whilst at the same time you have a desperate need to find out how it ends. It’s rare that a book brings me to tears or makes me gasp out loud but these book do.
I would 100% recommend this book and I am desperate to read the next one.
Thank you to Pan MacMillan and Netgalley for giving me the chance to read this book in advance of publication.

The Songbird and the Heart of Stone
Carissa Broadbent

‘No one loves you more than someone who has no one else.’

We are back in Obitraes, the land of vampires. And we have Mische, a vampire who wields the power of Atroxus. This was definitely giving quest vibes, completely different than the Trial of the Kejari.

Mische is sentenced to death for murdering the vampire prince who Turned her, and redemption feels impossible.

‘Some things were fated. Some things were divine. The gods were playing a bigger game than any of us could see.’

The geography in this novel failed to truly engage me. I guess I’m not a quest fan atm. However regardless of the plot direction, the characters and pacing are always on point with Broadbent.

‘My mission was important- the fate of the world, and my soul, depended on it.’

This was a slow burn but good things come to those who wait. This has strong transformation vibes and I’m keen to see the concluding outcomes in the second half, next book in the series.

“There is no light without darkness. There is no life without suffering.”

The Songbird and the Heart of Stone is the highly anticipated third book in the Crowns of Nyaxia series and is released November 26th.

“People hurt the ones they love all the time. It might be the one thing we have in common with the gods.”

Will you be picking up this title? Continuing on the Crowns of Nyaxia series?

“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Praying with you,” he said. As if he was obvious.
“I thought you didn’t believe in prayer.”
“I don’t,” he said. “But you do.”
Strange how it was this small gesture of kindness that shattered me.

“Slow,” he scoffed. “You’ve seen how I work now, Dawndrinker. I’m thorough. I’m patient.”
“You’re uptight.”
“I have impeccable attention to detail.”

“Do not be afraid of death, Dawndrinker. Make death afraid of you.”

(Review posted 13th November 2024)

“I’d burn with you till the end of it all, Dawndrinker”

Tropes:

🩸 Enemies to friends to lovers
💀 Necr*mancy
🩸 Gods and Vampires
💀 A quest in the underworld
🩸 Faith and worship
💀 Slow burn and spicy

In this third book, we follow Mische, Raihn’s friend as she is captured by the house of shadow after she killed their prince.
As the King is about to kill her, she is saved by Asar, his bastard son, as he needs her to help him complete a task set by Nyaxia herself…

And so begins an impossible journey through the underworld

I can’t explain it but this story felt so unique, so unlike anything I’ve read! Carissa never stops amazing me with her books and writing style. A beautiful story about love, finding oneself and forgiving yourself for your past mistakes.
I loved Mische and Asar, and it was refreshing to have both main characters so physically flawed, so emotionally broken and their connection and attraction was felt through the pages, mending each other’s souls.
I truly didn’t see the ending coming, Carissa being the queen of plot twists.

I need the next book ASAP!

Huge huge thanks to NetGalley, Carissa Broadbent and Pan Macmillan for this ARC! 💕

A warm thank you to Tor Bramble and NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy of this book for an honest review.

Another banger from Ms Broadbent. In this return to Obitraes, we follow the story of Mische and Asar. Carissa can do no wrong when it comes to her world building and characterisation, and has beautifully expanded this world to allow us to catch a glimpse of the House of Shadow. It is worth noting that I don’t feel this is a novel you can pick up and enjoy without the context of the Nightborn Duet. While Mische is passed of as “sunshine with a past” in Oraya and Raihn’s novels, readers really get to deep dive into the depth of her history in this book. Asar is a bit of a cookie-cutter grumpy love interest, but comes across as authentic and fitting for this story. Our setting of Morthyn is wonderfully grim and mythic — rich, abstract imagery which serves as the backdrop to our characters’ quest.

Much more action forward than the previous installations, the pacing of this novel was very different to the others in this series. I took some issue with pacing in this book, finding that I really wanted more time spent providing context for the plot prior to the quest. For the first half, we get peaks of action scenes followed by big lulls, with time spent on characters and interactions that did not appear to significantly further the plot. In the second half, we have the opportunity for the gaps in action to be used for exploration of self and the relationship of our leads, which helped the story flow more naturally compared to the stop-start earlier.

If you have read any Broadbent, then you already know that we were going to be treated to a gut wrenching cliffhanger. She absolutely delivered. I’ll be crawling out of my skin waiting for the conclusion to this Duet!