The Ashes and the Star Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent

Not quite as good as the first, but by a small margin. The first book just did something to me. This one was fun, sweet, more than a little heartbreaking and incredibly well written. 

One thing that stood out to me about the character depth: Unlike the Stars Are Dying, the MMC is done exquisitely. With tSAD, Nyte is a simpering little fool, a pathetic puppy ready to follow at the heels of Astraea at the first snap of her fingers. He has no personality or desires outside of wanting to be inside of her. Raihn on the other hand? My god, he has personality in spades with a dash of obsession. Nyte is obsession incarnate where Raihn is obsession lite. His every thought isn’t consumed by Oraya, his motivations don’t center around her. His obsession is barely obsession. He wants her desperately, but he wants other things as well. He wants a prosperous kingdom, he wants to save the humans from the brutality of vampires, he wants to show the world he’s more than a former slave. And he also wants the woman he loves. It’s refreshing when reading his point of view to only occasionally see that struggle of “her love is addictive”. Dominantly, you get “god these people fucking suck, how am I going to navigate this?” along with some personal angst and him fighting his trauma/trying to process and deal with it despite not knowing how. And THEN also “I love her.” It gives him depth, makes you want to root for him to get the girl because he deserves her, not just because you want to be put out of your misery as the reader. 

Oraya is such a great example of how subtle toxicity will eat you alive from the inside out if you don’t know it’s there. The struggle she constantly faces in reconciling what an awful and abusive father she had with her love for him as his daughter is heartbreaking. The way that dynamic affects every single relationship around her is written in a really important way. Her journey and her overcoming to the ability to accept Raihn and his love is a fantastic reminder that we don’t just have to be products of our environment or the people who raised us. 

(I’m obsessed with Acaeja, I feel like she’s super hot in the most terrifying way imaginable)