The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent
⭐⭐⭐⭐- Shelf-Worthy!
Kindle & Audible: US or CA
Morning Readers & Happy Tuesday!
While I’d gone into January with the intention of reading more critically acclaimed literature, the first kind of bombed and my second book was just kind of ok. I’d had a rough month so I decided I needed a ‘comfort-read’ that would get me back on track, and this was the perfect choice!
In the wake of the bloody Kejari tournament, everything Oraya once believed is shattered; her family is gone, her kingdom is in turmoil, and she finds herself a prisoner in her own home, reeling from betrayal and unsure who she can trust. Meanwhile, Raihn, the vampire who now sits on the throne, struggles to secure his rule amid political tension and enemies closing in from all sides. When Raihn proposes a risky alliance, it may be Oraya’s only chance to reclaim her kingdom and seek vengeance, but doing so forces her to confront ancient power and a love that could cost her everything.
Ladies, I just genuinely enjoyed reading this. As always with Carissa, the writing was good, plot was a little more stream-lined than the first, and some plot holes were filled. There was good character development and things felt like they were moving along more naturally.
What really struck me was the perspective of fear and courage within love, as love will always make you vulnerable, while simultaneously challenging those vulnerabilities. Sometimes you can have a love so deep, that the fear of drowning, or the fear of loosing it, is greater than the courage it takes to risk your heart or the life you’ve built. That’s not something you can meet with anger, or anything other than disappointment, because its loss is nothing really, but a tragedy.
What your comfort read?
-Anna R.
*As always if you purchase through any of the links in this post, or throughout this blog, a small commission comes back to help support the page & what I do here!
Kindle & Audible: US or CA
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