Review: The Fallen & the Kiss of Dusk by Carissa Broadbent

Name: The Fallen & the Kiss of Dusk
Series: Crowns of Nyaxia #4 – The Shadowborn Duet #2
Author: Carissa Broadbent
Publisher: Tor Bramble
Format: Kindle (through KU) & Hardback
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal
Spice Rating: Explicit Open Door 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Rating: (Actual rating: 4.75)

Synopsis: Goodreads
Mische made the ultimate sacrifice to save those she loves – and plunged the world into an eternal night. Now, imprisoned by the gods and obsessed with revenge, Asar is desperate to find her again.

When a goddess offers them a final path to redemption – and back to each other – Asar and Mische embark on an extraordinary mission. Together, they must seize the power of the god of death so Asar may do the ascend to true divinity.

Their journey will take them through mortal and immortal realms, alongside both old friends and ruthless enemies. But as the underworld teeters on the brink of collapse and the gods prepare for a war, Asar and Mische must decide what they are willing to sacrifice for the power to defy death. In a game of vengeful gods and ancient betrayals, there are some debts that even love may not be able to repay.

Review:

The Fallen & the Kiss of Dusk is the 4th book in the Crowns of Nyaxia series, the 2nd book in The Shadowborn Duet, so naturally there will be spoilers for books previous. Spoilers for Fallen will be hidden as normal, and you’ll be able to skip over them.

I loved Songbird, Mische and Asar’s relationship was the only thing that almost knocked down that rating for me. I didn’t totally believe it was going to be as shattering as some of her other couples, but I couldn’t deny that it was definitely there, growing… Fallen however destroyed any worries that I had about this couple because I loved them. Any heartbreak and hurt I felt was directly connected to these two.

Mische breaks the world in order to save Asar in Songbird, and in Fallen they’re on a journey to save it. Given the cliffhanger of Songbird, I wasn’t sure how much of the actual couple we’d get in Fallen – but Broadbent said oh don’t you worry, I’ve thought of that. So, yes there is still spice, but for the most part I got an awful lot of tension and yearning. Think old time English movies where the couple want so desperately to touch but can’t because that’s scandelous… I know you know what I mean!

I felt like the pacing was slightly off in Fallen and that was the sole thing that impacted the 4.75 rating rather than a 5 star. I struggled through a portion of the book, where for a brief time it felt like I wanted to be reading anything else. Thankfully, that didn’t last so didn’t impact the rating too much.

That being said, something that really did make me happy in Fallen was the cameo’s of characters from Slaying and Six Scorched Roses – Vale and Lilth remain one of my favourite Broadbent couples so I love any time they appear, and Atrius and Sylina from Slaying also appeared and had an interesting scene for sure. I’m intrigued to see what the consequences will be of their actions in the coming books… And another good thing, Luce – the goodest of girls – Carissa told us she’d be back and I’m sure your reaction will be like mine – LUCE! YAY!

I am very much excited for The Bloodborn Duet, but I wanted to finish the review saying I really liked how The Shadowborn Duet ended! I enjoyed the journey we went on, the heartache and healing and progress. I really liked this duet, and so I think the Bloodborn Duet has got a lot to live up to. Though, I think that’ll be okay since Carissa has said that book 5 is her favourite so far!

“Billions of threads,” she murmured, “and not a single one where you say no.”

Reading With Tyler