Vampires meet The Hunger Games.
Synopsis
The adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king, Oraya carved her place in a world designed to kill her. Her only chance to become something more than prey is entering the Kejari: a legendary tournament held by the goddess of death herself.
But winning won’t be easy amongst the most vicious warriors from all three vampire houses. To survive, Oraya is forced to make an alliance with a mysterious rival.
Everything about Raihn is dangerous. He is a ruthless vampire, an efficient killer, an enemy to her father’s crown… and her greatest competition. Yet, what terrifies Oraya most of all is that she finds herself oddly drawn to him.
But there’s no room for compassion in the Kejari. War for the House of Night brews, shattering everything that Oraya thought she knew about her home. And Raihn may understand her more than anyone – but their blossoming attraction could be her downfall, in a kingdom where nothing is more deadly than love.
My score
★★★★★
My opinion
I find it hard to say bad things about this book, so I've decided I'm not really going to. It's not that it was perfect in every way, shape, and form, but I just had a great time reading it, and for that alone, I'm giving it five stars. I've described it to friends as "Hunger Games but with vampires", which was, in essence, its vibe and all I needed to know for this book to interest me. It's been a while since I read a vampire book—my 2012 self was very entertained by that premise alone.
"There are moments in one's life that remain permanently distilled in memory. Some wither within minutes, and others are carved forever into our souls. This image, of the boy she loved begging her for mercy, would follow her for the rest of her life."
Carissa Broadbent has a pleasant writing style, and Oraya was a great POV to experience these trials with. I liked her character growth, and the weaved-in element of how deceiving one's nurture can be if that's all you've known growing up. I very much enjoyed the romance as well (Yes, I did jump up and down when Raihn talked about his damned list, and I'm not even sorry), and the twists at the end had me both gaping at the book with my mouth wide open and excited for the implications this will bring in the rest of the series. Very nice way to kick 2023 off; hoping book two will come sooner rather than later.
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