The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King (Crowns of Nyaxia Book 2)

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It was a very difficult road, but ultimately, I feel really proud of where this story ended up. I hope you absolutely love it! I think this is what I loved most about this story, how the author was able to explore complicated human emotions and relationships, and its costs. Power hurts. It requires sacrifice. Do you want to change this world, little serpent? Climb the bars until you're so high no one can catch you. I am queen just as much as he is king. When we’ve reclaimed our kingdom, I intend to rule beside him as such.” i’d spend a lifetime at the tip of your blade, and it would have been worth it.” when the enemies to lovers are still enemies to lovering>>>🫶🏽

Secondly, I hated how Oraya gave everything she had worked so hard for up to save Raihn’s ass ONCE AGAIN. I already talked about how the author used the plot devices of the first book in this one but I have to mention this again. ORAYA BE SERIOUS RIGHT NOW, THIS ISN’T YOU. I can somehow justify your stupidity once but twice? This is too much. This book is perfect and a masterpiece and I can't thank Carissa enough for it. I can't even describe in words how much I loved it. This has become one of my forever favourite fantasy books. While the book is filled with action, intrigue, and breathtaking moments, it also delves deep into themes of grief, love, betrayal, and power, adding layers of complexity to the narrative. It's a book that will make you laugh, cry, and cheer for the characters as they navigate a world filled with danger and deception. When Raihn offers Oraya a secret alliance, taking the deal is her only chance at reclaiming her kingdom—and gaining her vengeance against the lover who betrayed her. To do so, she’ll need to harness a devastating ancient power intertwined with her father’s greatest secrets.

Customer reviews

After Lilith and Vale’s novella, I expected to see them more but they barely had any scenes which was disappointing. (I also suggest that we get a novella like Six Scorched Roses about Vincent and Alana’s past. It would be beautiful and devastating.) Vincent is dead and Oraya discovered that he hid so many things from her. She doesn’t know who she is anymore. Vincent loved Oraya and yet he allowed his vampires to feast on living humans presented like offerings at banket tables. He saw human life as little worth, even if he always protected Oraya. This book butchered the build-up and the cliffhanger the first book provided. None of it mattered in this book. Such a waste.

In Part Three: “Crescent Moon”, Oraya and Raihn arrive in Lahor where they meet Oraya’s cousin, Evelaena. While she looks young, it is revealed that she is the only one who survived Vincent’s massacre of his family before he became king. However, when Oraya is able to access a pendant Vincent left in a ritual, Evelaena becomes enraged that a half-human became Vincent’s heir rather than herself. This leads to a fight where Oraya manages to kill Evelaena when Raihn arrives to save her from the others. As he helps heal Oraya’s new wings, Raihn learns that there is unrest in Sivrinaj and leaves to deal with it alone. Raihn and Oraya. She hates him for killing her father in the first book. She continues hating him half way through the second book. And then, surprise, she cannot hate him anymore! But why? Because of his toxic way of apologising to her. “Please leave and create your own live, everything is ready for you to escape, but I love you very much and will not be able to live without you”. Oraya’s character obviously would not be able to leave after this. If he knew her so well, he would have known about that too. He so clearly manipulated her. I was disgusted listening to that part of the story. Raihn- One fit to be called king. He has two different roles- to be a leader to his subjects which requires him to make tough decisions and present an equally tough exterior; also to be a husband to not only a queen but his lover while desperately trying to make things up with her. I really liked how balanced his two sides were. He was so smitten by Oraya, and he actually shows that in his actions. When they say there’s a fine line between love and hate, these two encompassed that. The slow-burn romance between them was the sweetest kind of torture. Every interaction between them had me on the edge of my bed. I was tense. I was pining for them! I could not get enough of them.The House of Night, too, is surrounded by enemies. Raihn’s own nobles are none too eager to accept a Turned king, especially one who was once a slave. And the House of Blood has dug their claws into the kingdom, threatening to tear it apart from the inside. When Raihn offers Oraya a secret alliance, taking the deal is her only chance at reclaiming her kingdom – and seeking her revenge against the lover who betrayed her. But to do so, she’ll need to harness an ancient power, intertwined with her father’s greatest secrets. it was beautiful, seeing him opening up to Oraya. about his motivations, his loneliness, the way he'd do anything for her to just be okay again. I'm glad they both finally cleared all their misunderstandings and got their closure and Oraya finally knows that her father had loved her. That scene just broke my heart in million pieces and made me sob for hours because it was heartbreakingly beautiful.

Of course it was love. What else could it be, for someone to see that much of you? To see so much beauty in the parts of someone that they hate in themselves?" If I had to actually point out the main complain I have with this - which is also the reason why I ended up giving this 4 and a half start (albeit rounded up to five), I'd go with the truth and tell you that I found the last conflict a little too rushed, which ended up feeling anticlimatic.I craved honesty the way a flower craved sunlight. I even craved the pain of it, driven deep into my heart.' My stabby queen 👑👑 Literally love her 😩 Looking for a super fierce female mc who doesn't take crap from anyone? Oraya is your girl 🫶 I loved seeing her struggles relating to #1's ending- the grief rep felt so real and also her doubts about her abilities. She went THROUGH it in this series- but she managed to keep going and i felt so proud of her. SLAY QUEEN 👑👑🫶🫶 I cannot describe the depth of that emotion, not the intensity of the terror that comes with it, bound together so inextricably. I came here to excise my greatest weaknesses, and instead, I now offer my heart to it.