The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

This was everything a book should be. It was profound, it shook me, it surprised me, it made me feel. I lost track of the number of “Excuse me? No!”’s I yelled out while reading. 

Oraya is… So much. She’s so easy to hate and so easy to love and so easy to relate to (especially for survivors of sexual trauma/trauma in general). I felt like the sensitive flashbacks were done in a minimally harmful way. It would have been very easy for the author to lean into the shock value of them, but instead, she showed a lot of respect with how she portrayed it. And honestly, I think a lot of survivors can empathize with the confusing catharsis that she grappled with in the aftermath of Vincent’s punishment. 

Raihn? I see you. I get why he did what he did. I get every decision he made. While withholding is tantamount to lying, especially with the very specific and earth shattering things he withheld, sometimes people don’t need to know everything to know your motivation. Though, his decisions after Oraya literally saves his life? Those leave room for improvement. 

Jesmine was very hate-able, constantly, so I got a slight bit of mental/emotional whiplash with that declaration of loyalty at the end. 

This book is for sure re-read eligible. Especially after everything you learn at the end. I can’t wait to see what I notice on re-read given that new context. Beautiful.