Bestselling author Carissa Broadbent returns to her Crowns of Nyaxia series with The Lion and the Deathless Dark, the first in a new duology. It’s a fine entry point into Broadbent’s backlist of interlinked stories set in the same world, though it may be a richer experience for readers who have started at the beginning, with The Serpent & the Wings of the Night.
In a land that knows only night after a decade of a deadly conflict between humans and vampires, Kyrene serves the goddess of justice as a bounty hunter. Armed with a sentient sword, she makes for a wonderfully chaotic antihero as she pursues personal vengeance for unfathomable amounts of loss. But her vampire slaying soon gains the attention of mortals, gods and a particularly enigmatic vampire prince named Septimus, who will be a familiar face for those who have read the previous arcs in the series.
Septimus is the cool and calm to Kyrene’s simmering rage. (He also gets bonus points for being a bit of a bookworm who knows the power of a sexy pair of glasses.) He offers a chance for Kyrene to get closer to her goal, but to hold up her end of the bargain, Kyrene has to kill a god. However, Septimus doesn’t expect Kyrene to do it alone. In fact, he’s all too willing to join her in the task he’s given her.
Told through Kyrene’s point of view, this is a slow-burn romance where both characters are constantly wary of each other. Any ounce of trust is hard-won and easily broken. Their love story is angsty, steamy and a little stabby, with their verbal sparring being a major highlight of the book. Broadbent maintains a good pace with plenty of action and shadowy political intrigue involving the Crowns of Nyaxia pantheon—and the cliffhanger ending comes way too soon.
Readers who like their characters more on the villainous side or prefer their leading women a bit feral will be deeply satisfied by the edgy and devastating Lion and the Deathless Dark.