In a kingdom ruled by the immortal and the bloodthirsty, Oraya exists as a paradox: a mortal girl adopted by the most powerful vampire of the Nightborn House. Her life is a constant exercise in hyper-vigilance, moving through the shadows of a palace where she is viewed as little more than a curiosity or a snack. To secure her safety and finally gain the power to defend herself, she must compete in the Kejari, a legendary tournament held by the goddess Nyaxia once every century. The prize is a single wish that can change the trajectory of a life, but the cost of entry is survival against warriors who view her humanity as a fatal weakness.
Winning the Kejari requires more than just martial skill; it demands a ruthless suppression of empathy. Oraya has been trained by her father, King Vincent, to be as cold as the predators surrounding her, yet the tournament introduces variables she cannot control. When forced into a tenuous alliance with Raihn, a vampire from an enemy faction, Oraya must decide if the greatest threat to her survival is the blades of her competitors or the vulnerability that comes with trusting the very creatures she was taught to fear.
The setting of Obitraes is defined by a rigid caste system of vampire houses, primarily the Nightborn, who are distinguished by their bat-like wings and nocturnal supremacy. The world-building centers on the theology of Nyaxia, the goddess of death, who serves as the patron of the vampire race. The atmosphere is one of perpetual gloom and predatory tension, where blood is both currency and sustenance. The Kejari itself is not merely a sport but a religious and political crucible, held in a city that becomes a labyrinth of traps and trials designed to winnow out the weak, regardless of their lineage.
Oraya’s initial arc is defined by a deep-seated identity crisis: she is a human who has been socialized as a predator. Her development centers on the friction between her biological vulnerability and her psychological need for dominance. Having been raised by the man who conquered her own kind, her loyalty is a complex web of gratitude and fear. The early stages of the narrative explore how her isolation begins to crack when she is forced to interact with Raihn, shifting her objective from solitary survival to a precarious understanding of trust in a world where betrayal is the standard.
The novel utilizes several prominent tropes of the "deadly games" and "vampire romance" genres but grounds them in high-stakes political consequences. While it features an "enemies-to-lovers" dynamic, the focus remains on the "enemies" aspect for the first half of the story, emphasizing the genuine threat Raihn poses to Oraya’s life and her father’s crown. The "forced proximity" of the tournament trials serves to strip away the characters' masks, revealing the cost of their immortality. By focusing on the mechanical difficulties of a human competing against supernatural beings, the story avoids the typical "chosen one" narrative in favor of a gritty, tactical exploration of survival.
In a kingdom ruled by the immortal and the bloodthirsty, Oraya exists as a paradox: a mortal girl adopted by the most powerful vampire of the Nightborn House. Her life is a constant exercise in hyper-vigilance, moving through the shadows of a palace where she is viewed as little more than a curiosity or a snack. To secure her safety and finally gain the power to defend herself, she must compete in the Kejari, a legendary tournament held by the goddess Nyaxia once every century. The prize is a single wish that can change the trajectory of a life, but the cost of entry is survival against warriors who view her humanity as a fatal weakness.
Winning the Kejari requires more than just martial skill; it demands a ruthless suppression of empathy. Oraya has been trained by her father, King Vincent, to be as cold as the predators surrounding her, yet the tournament introduces variables she cannot control. When forced into a tenuous alliance with Raihn, a vampire from an enemy faction, Oraya must decide if the greatest threat to her survival is the blades of her competitors or the vulnerability that comes with trusting the very creatures she was taught to fear.
The setting of Obitraes is defined by a rigid caste system of vampire houses, primarily the Nightborn, who are distinguished by their bat-like wings and nocturnal supremacy. The world-building centers on the theology of Nyaxia, the goddess of death, who serves as the patron of the vampire race. The atmosphere is one of perpetual gloom and predatory tension, where blood is both currency and sustenance. The Kejari itself is not merely a sport but a religious and political crucible, held in a city that becomes a labyrinth of traps and trials designed to winnow out the weak, regardless of their lineage.
Oraya’s initial arc is defined by a deep-seated identity crisis: she is a human who has been socialized as a predator. Her development centers on the friction between her biological vulnerability and her psychological need for dominance. Having been raised by the man who conquered her own kind, her loyalty is a complex web of gratitude and fear. The early stages of the narrative explore how her isolation begins to crack when she is forced to interact with Raihn, shifting her objective from solitary survival to a precarious understanding of trust in a world where betrayal is the standard.
The novel utilizes several prominent tropes of the "deadly games" and "vampire romance" genres but grounds them in high-stakes political consequences. While it features an "enemies-to-lovers" dynamic, the focus remains on the "enemies" aspect for the first half of the story, emphasizing the genuine threat Raihn poses to Oraya’s life and her father’s crown. The "forced proximity" of the tournament trials serves to strip away the characters' masks, revealing the cost of their immortality. By focusing on the mechanical difficulties of a human competing against supernatural beings, the story avoids the typical "chosen one" narrative in favor of a gritty, tactical exploration of survival.
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Find The Serpent and the Wings of Night Carissa Broadbent in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
Find The Serpent and the Wings of Night Carissa Broadbent in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
15 books in catalog
Bloodshed, political maneuvering, and the brutal cost of survival define the landscapes of modern romantic fantasy, where high-stakes conflicts extend far beyond matters of the heart. Fantasy author Carissa Broadbent has built a wide readership in this competitive genre by subjecting her protagonists to the grim realities of power, legacy, and systemic violence. She is widely recognized for The Serpent and the Wings of Night, an epic vampire tournament novel that launched her best-selling Crowns of Nyaxia universe.
Her expansive catalog blends high-tension epic fantasy plots with intense romantic arcs, establishing her as a prominent voice in contemporary speculative fiction across both independent and traditional publishing spaces.
Based in Rhode Island, where she lives with her husband, her son, a perpetually skeptical cat, and a badly behaved rabbit, Carissa Broadbent began writing dark, mercilessly grim stories around the age of nine. This early preoccupation with dark fiction eventually matured into a disciplined approach to epic fantasy world-building. Before transitioning into writing as a full-time profession, she worked in the healthcare industry. That professional background provided her with a nuanced understanding of human vulnerability, physical trauma, and psychological resilience—elements that deeply inform her character development and thematic depth.
Broadbent initially published her work independently, entering the literary landscape with self-published releases such as her 2017 novel A Palace Fractured. She steadily cultivated a dedicated fanbase in the indie fantasy community as her self-publishing earnings grew from covering routine utility bills to generating consistent four-figure paychecks. Her breakthrough reached a broader digital audience through platforms like BookTok, where readers praised her intricate world-building, high-stakes political intrigue, and morally complex characters. This grassroots momentum culminated in major commercial success and substantial reader demand.
Her rapid commercial ascent caught the attention of legacy publishers, leading to major deals with traditional houses including Tor Publishing Group and Pan Macmillan. In July 2023, Bramble, a romance-focused imprint of Tor, acquired her body of work to publish original installments in the Crowns of Nyaxia series alongside new traditional editions of her backlist titles. Now a #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Broadbent's transition from self-publishing to traditional publishing is frequently highlighted in industry publications such as Publishers Weekly as a prime example of independent success driving major publishing partnerships.
Broadbent’s writing style is distinguished by its refusal to sanitize the harsh realities of war, oppression, and physical trauma. Influenced by the lyrical prose and nuanced exploration of femininity found in the works of Madeline Miller, her narratives focus on the psychological toll of conflict and the structural pressures placed upon women in patriarchal or authoritarian societies. Rather than relying on simple tropes, her work emphasizes complex emotional realism, where characters must grapple with moral compromises, trauma, and the heavy burden of survival in hostile environments.
Thematically, her stories delve into the psychological motivations behind both human and non-human behavior, examining why individuals seek authority and how legacy dictates personal agency. A recurring concept throughout her work is that love can be a dangerous vulnerability in worlds designed for cruelty and state-sanctioned violence. While her novels incorporate a substantial romantic thread, critics and readers frequently observe that her epic fantasy plots—complete with intricate magic systems and grim geopolitical maneuvering—are robust enough to carry the narrative independently of the romantic relationships.
Her character design consistently features resilient, complex female leads forced to navigate oppressive power structures. These protagonists are rarely unblemished heroes; instead, they are pragmatic survivors who use strategy, combat skills, and political cunning to protect their communities and claim their personal autonomy. By pairing intricate magical mechanics with intense character dynamics, Broadbent creates stories where emotional stakes and mortal danger remain inextricably linked.
15 books in catalog
Bloodshed, political maneuvering, and the brutal cost of survival define the landscapes of modern romantic fantasy, where high-stakes conflicts extend far beyond matters of the heart. Fantasy author Carissa Broadbent has built a wide readership in this competitive genre by subjecting her protagonists to the grim realities of power, legacy, and systemic violence. She is widely recognized for The Serpent and the Wings of Night, an epic vampire tournament novel that launched her best-selling Crowns of Nyaxia universe.
Her expansive catalog blends high-tension epic fantasy plots with intense romantic arcs, establishing her as a prominent voice in contemporary speculative fiction across both independent and traditional publishing spaces.
Based in Rhode Island, where she lives with her husband, her son, a perpetually skeptical cat, and a badly behaved rabbit, Carissa Broadbent began writing dark, mercilessly grim stories around the age of nine. This early preoccupation with dark fiction eventually matured into a disciplined approach to epic fantasy world-building. Before transitioning into writing as a full-time profession, she worked in the healthcare industry. That professional background provided her with a nuanced understanding of human vulnerability, physical trauma, and psychological resilience—elements that deeply inform her character development and thematic depth.
Broadbent initially published her work independently, entering the literary landscape with self-published releases such as her 2017 novel A Palace Fractured. She steadily cultivated a dedicated fanbase in the indie fantasy community as her self-publishing earnings grew from covering routine utility bills to generating consistent four-figure paychecks. Her breakthrough reached a broader digital audience through platforms like BookTok, where readers praised her intricate world-building, high-stakes political intrigue, and morally complex characters. This grassroots momentum culminated in major commercial success and substantial reader demand.
Her rapid commercial ascent caught the attention of legacy publishers, leading to major deals with traditional houses including Tor Publishing Group and Pan Macmillan. In July 2023, Bramble, a romance-focused imprint of Tor, acquired her body of work to publish original installments in the Crowns of Nyaxia series alongside new traditional editions of her backlist titles. Now a #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Broadbent's transition from self-publishing to traditional publishing is frequently highlighted in industry publications such as Publishers Weekly as a prime example of independent success driving major publishing partnerships.
Broadbent’s writing style is distinguished by its refusal to sanitize the harsh realities of war, oppression, and physical trauma. Influenced by the lyrical prose and nuanced exploration of femininity found in the works of Madeline Miller, her narratives focus on the psychological toll of conflict and the structural pressures placed upon women in patriarchal or authoritarian societies. Rather than relying on simple tropes, her work emphasizes complex emotional realism, where characters must grapple with moral compromises, trauma, and the heavy burden of survival in hostile environments.
Thematically, her stories delve into the psychological motivations behind both human and non-human behavior, examining why individuals seek authority and how legacy dictates personal agency. A recurring concept throughout her work is that love can be a dangerous vulnerability in worlds designed for cruelty and state-sanctioned violence. While her novels incorporate a substantial romantic thread, critics and readers frequently observe that her epic fantasy plots—complete with intricate magic systems and grim geopolitical maneuvering—are robust enough to carry the narrative independently of the romantic relationships.
Her character design consistently features resilient, complex female leads forced to navigate oppressive power structures. These protagonists are rarely unblemished heroes; instead, they are pragmatic survivors who use strategy, combat skills, and political cunning to protect their communities and claim their personal autonomy. By pairing intricate magical mechanics with intense character dynamics, Broadbent creates stories where emotional stakes and mortal danger remain inextricably linked.
Crowns of Nyaxia
Crowns of Nyaxia
