Publishers Weekly
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Kicking off a new era of the Crown of Nyaxia series after the conclusion to the Nightborn Duet duology, Broadbent brings a beloved secondary character into the spotlight for an emotionally intense and richly detailed descent into the underworld. Mische is set to be executed for the murder of the Shadowborn King Raoul’s heir, who forcibly turned her into a vampire and thus tainted her in the eyes of the sun god Atroxus to whom she was devoted as a Dawndrinker. Her hanging is interrupted by the arrival of Raoul’s younger son Asar, the Wraith Warden who guards the underworld. Asar commandeers Mische to be his companion on a quest given to him by the vampire goddess Nyaxia: they must collect artifacts hidden along the path to the underworld to be used in a necromantic ritual that will return Nyaxia’s husband to life. Pursued by hordes of wraiths and the shades of the people they have wronged, Mische and Asar come to rely on one another. Along the way, Mische learns to reconcile her Dawndrinker and vampire heritages. It adds up to a mostly self-contained story of personal growth and risky romance, with just enough ties to the larger mythology to keep returning readers satisfied. Broadbent proves this series has legs. (Nov.)

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Broadbent's third volume of the Crowns of Nyaxia series (after The Serpent & the Wings of Night, 2022, and The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King, 2024) tells the story of vampire Mische, the dear friend of the rulers of the House of Night, Oraya and Raihn. Mische is a prisoner of the House of Shadow in the underground world of Morthryn because she killed their prince in the war for the crown between the Bloodborn and the Shadowborn. While imprisoned, Mische is ordered to raise the god Alarus just to kill him. The Wraith Warden, Asar, is tasked with necromancy, an abomination, to assist them both with the undertaking. Along the journey to gain the bones of Alarus to raise him from the dead—a journey that will either make or break Asar and Mische—they go through the five gates of Life, Body, Psyche, Secrets, and Soul inside Mothryn. The fast-paced plot involves a swoonworthy enemies-to-lovers love story, drawing readers in from the first paragraph. Give this romantasy to Sarah J. Maas fans.