The Serpent and the Wings of Night: Spice & Guide

You picked up a vampire romantasy that everyone’s talking about, and now you’re wondering: is it actually spicy, or is the hype just marketing? The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent sits at the center of a reader divide — some call it a slow burn with a payoff worth the wait, others feel the pacing doesn’t match the heat level — so this guide breaks down the plot, the spice, the reading order, and the polarizing “BWWm” trope to help you decide.

Published: August 16, 2022 ·
Author: Carissa Broadbent ·
Series: Crowns of Nyaxia ·
Genres: Fantasy Romance, Dark Fantasy, Vampires ·
Spice Rating (average): 4/5 peppers ·
Number of Books in Series (as of 2025): 4 (2 main + 2 novellas)

Eight key facts at a glance — one pattern: the series blends a dark fantasy tournament with a slow-burn romance, and the spice level is a central debate among readers.

What Is The Serpent and the Wings of Night About?

The book follows Oraya, the adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king Vincent. She enters the Kejari — a deadly tournament held once every hundred years — where she must survive five brutal trials. Along the way, she forms an uneasy alliance with a rival vampire, Raihn, and what begins as reluctant partnership slowly ignites into romance (Books Bones & Buffy, a review blog).

Plot summary

• Oraya is raised in the House of Night and trains to be a warrior to survive vampire politics.
• The Kejari consists of five trials, each a life-or-death challenge designed to test combat and cunning.
• The romance between Oraya and Raihn is described by readers as a “reluctant allies to lovers” dynamic rather than traditional enemies-to-lovers (FantasyFaction (Facebook group)).

Main characters: Oraya, Raihn, Vincent

• Oraya: The adopted human daughter of the vampire king, trained as a fighter.
• Raihn: A rival vampire in the tournament; his backstory involves political intrigue in House of Night.
• Vincent: The vampire king of House of Night, Oraya’s adoptive father and a key power player.

Setting and world-building

• The story is set in a world of vampire houses — House of Night, House of Blood, and others — each with distinct politics.
• The Kejari is a gladiator-style tournament sponsored by the vampire goddess Nyaxia.
• Magic uses elements like blood and shadow, common in dark fantasy romances.

How Many Books Are in The Serpent and the Wings of Night Series?

As of 2025, the Crowns of Nyaxia series includes two main novels and two novellas, with more on the way. Reader guides track four published works, though the author has confirmed an overarching storyline across multiple books (Carissa Broadbent Books (Facebook post)).

List of main books and novellas

• Main novels: The Serpent and the Wings of Night (book 1), The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King (book 2).
• Novellas: Six Scorched Roses (standalone, fits after book 1), The Slaughter and the Soul (prequel focusing on a side character).

Current count and future releases

• Four works are currently published (as of early 2025) (Romantasy Order, a reader guide).
• Additional books planned: The Songbird and the Heart of Stone and The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk are listed in future series arcs (Romantasy Order).
• No official release dates have been announced for these beyond 2025.

The pattern: Carissa Broadbent is building an interconnected universe where novellas are not side stories but integral world-building pieces.

Is The Serpent and the Wings of Night a Spicy Book?

This is the question that splits the readership. Community sites like Goodreads rate the spice a 4 out of 5, but dedicated romance guides sometimes rank it lower — around 2.5/5 — calling it an “emotion-first slow burn” (ReadifyPro, a book review aggregator). The discrepancy comes down to when the explicit content arrives and how graphic it is.

What readers mean by ‘spice’ in romance

• Spice ratings typically measure explicit sexual content: 1 is fade-to-black, 5 is explicit and frequent.
• In romantasy, spice levels affect reader expectations — a low-spice book marketed as high-spice leads to disappointment.
• The Serpent and the Wings of Night is frequently described as a slow burn: tension builds over the first half, with explicit scenes concentrated in the last third (Estapinto, a review site).

Spice level on a 1-5 scale

• Average reader consensus: 4/5 — the scenes that are explicit are frank and detailed.
• Some genre-focused guides (e.g., ReadifyPro) give it 2.5/5, citing the sparse distribution of spicy moments.
• Specific spicy scenes are identified in chapters 38 and 44 by different guides (ReadifyPro; Estapinto).

Examples of spicy scenes and trigger warnings

• Chapter 38: cave scene — first kiss and build-up to intimacy.
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