I just finished The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk and I honestly loved it. I’m four books deep into the Crowns of Nyaxia series now, and I’m still completely hooked — the world, the drama, the vibes? Obsessed.

This one follows Mische and Asar, and while I didn’t fall for them quite as hard as I did Oraya and Raihn (who will forever be top-tier), I really appreciated their journey. There’s some great character growth and emotional depth, and their dynamic definitely pulled me in more and more as the story went on.

I loved getting to explore different Houses this time — it gave the book a fresh feeling and really expanded the world. The trials were intense (maybe slightly repetitive if you’ve read the previous books), but still packed with action and tension. I will say the pacing dipped a little in the middle, but the last chunk had me completely locked in. And the ending? Emotional damage. Seeing some familiar faces again really brought it full circle.

Vincent’s arc especially hit hard — Oraya finally getting a moment of closure genuinely got me. This series continues to be such a standout in the romantasy space, and I cannot wait for Septimus’s book. I just know it’s going to ruin me in the best way.

***3.75 stars

I struggled for about 70% of this book which was a huge shame and found myself often getting lost and confused (not usually an issue I have with the authors books) however it did come together wonderfully in the end

I read this as an eARC, thank you Netgalley, Carissa Broadbent and Pan Macmillan and I'm voluntarily reviewing this book.

This book picks up straight after the ending of Songbird and has you diving back into the roiling atmosphere of the shifting world and politics at play within all the Nyaxia books. Asar will not let anything stop his search, with Luce at his side, for the woman he loves and sees him delving deeper into the underworld. The deeper they travel the more their bond grows and the more the cracks in the world around them widen with devastating consequences.

I enjoyed the development of Asar and Mische's relationship, it was tender, real and heartbreaking to read. The threats to rip the world apart were not idle and I adored Asar for that, he has become a favourite MMC of mine.

The book brings in characters from previous books and novellas so best to have read them prior to this book. It felt right for them to add to this story and each brought something worthwhile to it. I liked delving more into the gods than in previous books, sensing their fallibilities, fears and angers kindled over millennia.

Overall this book was the perfect ending to this duology and I can't wait to get book V to continue the story.

The bones of the book are good and the ending was really exciting, but sadly the plot felt too repetitive of Book 3. The 'quests' were too similar in nature, and I found myself skimming over lots of unnecessary inner narration that didn't drive the plot forward. I felt that the relationship between Asar and Mische evolved too quickly - it seemed almost like they'd confessed how they felt to each other between Book 3 and this one. Apart from that I love them both and Luce is the best girl. More Luce please!!!! Overall it was okay, but disappointing compared to Carissa's other work. I did enjoy the set up at the end for the Bloodborn duet though and look forward to seeing how the overarching plot plays out ...

Three words: Sacrifice. Passion. Yearning.

The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk is a heart-wrenching, high-stakes conclusion to Carissa Broadbent’s duology, bringing Mische’s journey full circle with emotional depth, breathtaking tension, and immersive world building. At its core, this book is a story of identity, love, and impossible choices. Mische’s transformation—from a gifted outcast grappling with her vampiric nature to a powerful, self-accepting force—is handled with stunning care. Her inner conflict and growth are tangible on every page. Paired with Asar, whose devotion and quiet strength are truly unforgettable, the novel delivers a romance that aches. Their relationship is a slow burn of longing, moral conflict, tenderness, and, ultimately, sacrifice that hits hard.

Broadbent’s talent for emotional complexity shines here. Asar’s unwavering love and the heartbreaking lengths he’s willing to go for Mische elevate the found family theme that anchors this series. It's not just the romance—it’s the bond between all the characters, old and new, that breathes soul into the story. The world building continues to be intricate and vast. From god-politics and vampire ancestry to horrifying underworld creatures and divine realms, this is a story that spans worlds and dimensions. While the density of the mythology can occasionally feel overwhelming or visually hard to grasp, the richness of the lore adds weight and scale to the narrative. Familiar faces from Broadbent’s wider universe bring continuity and deepen the emotional payoff.

Action-driven and emotionally intense, the book moves at a fast pace that builds to a stunning climax. The stakes feel truly monumental, yet grounded in deeply personal consequences. The final pages are devastating and beautiful in equal measure. While it may not eclipse The Serpent and the Wings of Night for some readers, The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk stands strong as a fierce and passionate tale of devotion, identity, and the cost of power. For fans of epic romance, dark fantasy, and deeply human characters in impossible circumstances, this is a must-read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all thoughts are my own.

This installment of „The Crowns of Nyaxia“ truly was a wild, big and epic ride. Mishe‘s and Asars story continues to break your heart and give you hope at the same time. Absolutely wonderful!

First of all thank you to netgalley, Pan Macmillian and Carrissa Broadbent for this opportunity. I literally jumped for joy when I got the approval for this ARC.

3 words to describe this book: Sacrifice, Passion, Yearning.

I really enjoyed this duology and I felt this installment rounded off Mische's journey perfectly. We saw her grow into her own skin and accept herself as a vampire, despite it being the complete opposites of her gift.

The world building in this book was magical and it felt as if the world is really beginning to click into place. I can't wait to see how it expands if we are lucky to get someone else's story. (The epilogue 🤞🏼) The fact we got to see some familiar faces added to this world building and also acted as a perfect thread throughout the book. Helping to hold the world in place but also keep the pace.

The found family in this series really is pure magic and part of the reason why I love this world. Asar is the epitome of this and the way he cares for Mische cannot be rivalled. What he is willing to sacrifice broke my heart into a million pieces and I still don't think i'm over it. Carissa writes both characters so beautifully; she writes the perfect three dimensional character arc where charcaters can be both flawed, smart and in true pain.

The pace of this book was perfect, the non-stop action kept me turning every page. I couldn't stop until I knew what happened and and my heart was completely utterly crushed.

Review on Goodreads now and upcoming review on Instagram page.

THIS WAS SUCH AN EPIC JOURNEY!!😭😭🫶🫶

Omg miss carissa was on smoke from the first page and she did not let go throughout the whole book!!! This was absolutely phenomenal!! Like I can barely get my thoughts straight!!🙌🙌 just wow 😭

This was such a good conclusion to my babies Mishce and Asars story 🤩 omg I’m still in shock about what I just read. This series will hands down live as the most impactful one I’ve ever read! The amount of detail that’s woven into this world is breathtaking and so incomprehensible at times with how magnificent it is 😩🙌

If I could give this 1000000 stars I would 😭🙌

There was so much heartbreak in here and so many epic moments and I wouldn’t change it for the world!! This story was absolutely beautiful!!🥹

There was so many moments that I absolutely loved and will cherish for ever and I cannot explain what I just read it’s honestly an emotional experience that needs to be felt first hand and no amounts of words could explain the chokehold this book has on me 😭🙌

What I also loved the most… was seeing all my babies from EVERY SINGLE previous book including the novellas, working together 🥹🫶

Lastly I will say, ma’am you know exactly what you are doing with that epilogue at the end! And I am so here for it 🙌🙌🙌 I cannot wait to see how this series is concluded, and with our boy Septimus at the front stage and not scheming behind every scene this time around 🤭👀

Thank you so much to Tor Bramble UK and Pan MacMillan for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review 🫶🫶 I’m honestly at the stage of tears now with the gratitude and that I could read this early 😭
This is the third book I have had the honour of arc reading from this series and damn I am so grateful to be able to do so 🫶

I’ll stop now cause as mische would say “you’re such a sap” 🤣

I was so looking forward to reading this and was so happy to receive the ARC, thank you Netgalley and Pan Macmillan, but unfortunately this one did not hit the mark. I devoured all the others Carissa Broadbent books but this one was just too slow paced for my taste.

When I realised book three was a new supply start rather than the continuation of Raihn and Oraya I was very disappointed. However I ended up finding a love story even greater. The ending was devastating for me, and so I was overjoyed to see the building of what Mische and Asar had. The love was painful, longing, and intoxicating. I loved every minute of this story, and the world as a whole that has been created.

One line review - Unfortunately, this book completely derailed the duology for me, nothing meaningful happened, which is such a shame given how much I loved The House of Night duology and Six Scorched Roses.

I want to start by saying I’ve truly enjoyed Carissa Broadbent’s other works in the Crowns of Nyaxia world. I’ve buddy read each one with a friend, and we've always been excited to dive in. But this one? We struggled. It took us two weeks to finish because we just weren’t compelled to keep reading.

The pacing was beyond sluggish, almost felt like we were going backwards at times. It was filled with filler content and only around 30 pages of actual action, which also failed to deliver the impact it had the potential for. They were rushed through in two-page chapters. Those moments had the potential to be epic but were skimmed over instead. These 30pages should have been the plot of the book, not 30 skimmed pages.

The book also undid so much of Oraya and Raihn’s character development in just a single scene. It felt completely careless.

The repetition was exhausting, it heavily echoed A Court of Silver Flames and recycled the same quest structure from book one (but twice!), making it feel stale and uninspired. The story didn't progress meaningfully. Instead, it relied on overused plotlines and convenient magical fixes, leaving no room for uniqueness or real stakes. It started to feel like an Oprah giveaway, everyone gets powers and everything is magically fixed in a few pages times, no need to stress.

I’m giving this book two stars: one for pushing through to the end, and one for Luce, the real MVP and the goodest of girls.

It genuinely pains me to write this because I loved her earlier books, but it seems like reader feedback is being overlooked. I’m starting to wonder if traditional publishing might be limiting her creative spark.

I’m honestly unsure if I’ll continue with this series. I adored The House of Night duology, and Six Scorched Roses was such a warm, enjoyable read, but this just fell completely flat.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and I am so disappointed.

I wonder if there has been too much pressure on the author to churn out these books in such a small time frame and it’s starting to show.

Disclaimer: I have loved the other CON books.


Right, let’s unpack this without spoiling anything.


Not a lot actually happens. This is a CHUNKY book. I first noticed this when we were told what was going to happen and then it took 100 pages of nothing for that to come to pass. This continues until the last 20% of the book where everything happens and all the issues are resolved within 2 page chapters. But even so the last 50 pages, again, waffley wrap up. I think the actual good part of the book is around 30-40 pages. It’s extremely rushed at the end and I found myself frustrated.

I’m also realising that we are using the same framework and ideas for each book. There’s always trials or a multi part task to do and it’s starting to get old here.

There was no twist, I had it all worked out.

I found the way Raihn and Oraya were brought in quite damaging to their character arcs - I was furious at them both.

I found the smut a bit cringey - Have you ever licked fabric? A furry tongue is not something I want to imagine. It could’ve been left out and I wouldn’t have minded.

My main bug bear is that for me it was clear how this book could’ve been improved. The structure is wrong and should’ve been flipped. The 30-40 pages that were brilliant could (and should!) have made up the majority of the book, and to have an issue raised and then you turn the page and oh look it’s magically resolved was disappointing when I’d just waded through 400 pages of waffle to get to something good.

I found the wrap up very dissatisfying too.

The biggest tell is that this book took me (and my buddy reader) 13 days to finish. We can eat a book this size up in 2 or 3. It was a slog. And I really hope the next duology goes back to the fabulous work we’ve seen previously.

The slow-burn romance between Mische and Asar is arguably the heart of the novel. Their bond is deeply emotional, marked by longing, moral reckoning, and profound stakes sewn through every twist. It’s not just steamy—it’s pain, humor, devotion, and trust all wrapped into a turbulent adventure.

There is very intricate world-building within this series. Layers of mythology, god-politics, underworld horrors, and vampire ancestry weave together into a dense, immersive cosmology. Sometimes this does feel very overwhelming. Like the first book I personally struggled to picture a lot of the scenes and this felt very messy in my brain but maybe that’s just me.

The second book is high-stakes, globe-spanning, and packed with divine conflict, action, and peril. Asar and Mische’s quest to seize the god of death’s power threads through both mortal and immortal realms—culminating in a race against time to stop existential collapse.

For me this was not my favourite story of Carissa’s and The serpent and the wings of night will always be my favourite.

3.5⭐️

First and foremost, a huge thanks to NetGalley, Pan Macmillan, and Tor Bramble for the ARC of this amazing series which I have been reading constantly.

I enjoyed The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk and found it a very nice conclusion to Mische and Asar’s story. I was completely blown away by how book 3 ended, and honestly, I couldn’t have imagined a more fitting finale for them.

Probably just a me thing, but at times the way events unfolded felt a bit off, and I occasionally found it hard to follow. That said, something the author definitely knows how to do is deliver the most epic final ~100 pages. I don’t want to spoil too much, but I absolutely loved seeing characters from previous books return and get their moments of closure. Seeing Oraya and Raihn again felt like a nostalgic return to where everything began.

I loved Mische as an FMC — I’ve always rooted for her and Asar. They’re such a strong, well-matched couple and total soulmates 😍. Asar is also a massive hottie, and I was always looking forward to his POV chapters 👀.

Overall, while there were a few moments where the pacing or plot flow lost me, the emotional payoff and character arcs made it all worthwhile. A satisfying end to an intense and beautifully dark fantasy series — and I’m so glad I got to follow it from start to finish.

"As if the gods had seen some beauty in mortality but failed to realize that the imperfection of it was what made it remarkable."

Book 4 in the Crowns of Nyaxia series and WHAT. A. RIDE. 😱🫣🤯😳

It was everything I needed it to be after The Songbird and the Heart of Stone.

I loved feeling a part of Mische's journey and the ups, downs, twists, turns, and all around chaos that her and Asar go on.

Carissa's writing was beautiful as ever and the way she paints a picture with words is just 👌🏻

I am so so excited to see what happens next in the series

*3.75 rounded up!

Four books into the Crowns of Nyaxia series and the characters of this world have definitely burrowed their way into my heart!

I enjoyed this book more than The Songbird & The Heart of Stone. Whilst the trials aspect of felt a little repetitive from TSatHoS, I liked how we were moving across different locations, worlds, and vampire Houses - it gave the story some variety that I felt TSatHoS lacked.

I loved Mische and Asar’s individual journeys and the self-development they each went through in this book. Whilst I wasn’t as invested in their relationship as Raihn and Oraya’s, I was obviously still very much rooting for them.

That said, the overall plot of this book sadly fell a tiny bit short for me. I found certain chunks of the book dragged quite a lot and the plot didn’t move forward as quickly as I would’ve liked. I enjoyed the book, but I’d say it was about the 80% mark before I felt truly invested in the plot.

I really loved getting to visit the characters we’ve met in previous books - especially Raihn and Oraya. The storyline with Vincent also made me tear-up, I felt so emotional for Oraya to finally get some closure. I also loved how the ending tied everything up for Mische and Asar - that too made me feel emotional! Any issues with the plot were long forgotten by the end as I simply adore this world and these characters so much.

I am super excited for book 5 and to finally have Septimus as an MMC - he has always intrigued me so I’m looking forward to learning more and, let’s be real, falling in love with him!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This one had a slower start for me, but once I got into it, I couldn’t stop. I love the way Carissa Broadbent keeps expanding this world — and seeing some of my favorite characters again was such a treat.

The tone is quieter, more focused on internal struggles than action, but it adds so much depth to the bigger arc. And Mische and Asar? Their dynamic was everything — layered, emotional, and so compelling.

Can’t wait to see where the story goes next.

Carissa Broadbent’s storytelling is truly AMAZING, mythic and gut WRENCHING , and this conclusion was everything I dreamed of and more. PERFECTION.

Oh my… will these two ever catch a break?

Broadbent wastes no time; this sequel plunges us straight into the action. Mische and Asar are once again thrown into a perilous quest, tasked with repairing what’s been shattered, all while their fates hang in the balance.

At the beginning, Mische is paired with an unexpected ally for guidance (no spoilers, but it’s a brilliant twist!). Broadbent’s signature worldbuilding shines here: rich, immersive, and layered with ancient, dangerous magic. Familiar faces make welcome cameos, tying the worlds together in a way that feels both nostalgic and fresh. If you’re drawn to deep lore, meddling gods, and complex magic systems, you’ll be absolutely hooked.

The emotional core of this book is gut-wrenching. The longing, the forbidden love, it’s written with such poignancy that it aches. Mische and Asar’s bond is beautifully raw; they fight for each other with everything they have, even as the odds stack higher and higher against them.

Their journey will take them through mortal and immortal realms, but Mische is a powerful heroine despite all the odds she’s still so optimistic, which I just adore about her character, she genuinely is the light in the dark and Luce, don’t even get me started on her! Luce is just the BEST companion.

Asar’s back story is heartbreaking, the wider insight to his character gives us tormented bastard overcoming all the odds, I liked the interludes between each part. He’s morally grey in all the right ways, he delicious.

This is storytelling at its most epic and emotional. A stunning follow-up that will leave you breathless and desperate for more.

🖤 Tropes you’ll love:
✨ Forbidden love
🗡️ Forced proximity
🌀 Ancient magic / meddling gods
💥 Found family vibes
💔 Tragic backstory
🔥 Slow burn
👑 Powerful heroine / morally grey love interest
🌑 Dual POV

Did I finish the book or did the book finish me?

I don't know if I can accurately put into words my feelings about this book (especially without spoilers) but my gods, if you haven't started this series yet what are you WAITING FOR? I don't know how Carissa does it or what she puts in her books but they just keep getting better and better. I loved everything about this, it was engaging from beginning to end, I laughed, I cried, and I don't know what I am supposed to do with myself until the next one.

Thank you Pan Macmillan, Tor/Bramble & NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.