The Serpent and the Wings of Night

Okay I know booktok/bookstagram LOVES this one but I've got some things to say. Spoilers ahead be warned!

My main reasons for rating it a 3/5 was largely in part to the lack of male POV. I think this story could've been a LOT more captivating if we got to see the growth of the “enemies to lovers” trope straight from Raihn's mind. I think knowing why he hates Vincent so much and seeing Vincent reflected in Oraya would've been a lot more interesting than waiting to find out till the end. I will always prefer a dual 3rd person pov over 1st person any day. Also, i have so many questions about Vincent and his motivations??

I understand a large part of this story is Oraya's struggle between loving and hating her father and the nuance of abusive relationships but holy fuck Vincent was terrible. From all we saw of him, he was pure evil. Why was she so attached? There was not enough emotional attachment shown between what is supposed to be a father and daughter. But maybe that was the point?? idk. I think the story would've been a lot more engaging and made Vincent a much more empathetic character if we knew what was going on in his head. Otherwise he's just a selfish asshole and I don't feel bad for him. His death should've elicited more sadness or even the conflict that Oraya feels but as a reader, I did not care and was in fact happy that he died. I feel like the death of a parental figure should hold more emotional weight than that.

Also why were we barely introduced to any meaningful secondary characters?? Mische was so interesting and she gets injured and leaves halfway into the trials?? That was so upsetting. We grow attached to this character and we're supposed to believe she enters the Kejari first and Raihn loves her like a sister so he enters too, but once she's injured and taken out they visit her once and she's almost never mentioned again?? It felt like they only added in them visiting to show Raihn's allies and their dislike of Oraya. Mische's character was very disappointing. She had so much promise. I was so excited when we were introduced to her but her character felt like it was created for the sole purpose of making Raihn seem more human.

I will say a strong point of the story was the idea of Kejari itself. I loved the idea of a fallen goddess using her own story as a narrative through each trial and Oraya's knowledge of Nyaxia's story and how it mirrored her love story with Raihn. The trials were fast but exciting. Seeing Oraya figuring out each one gave a lot of insight into her observation techniques and as each trial went on, it showed her internal battle quite well. Especially the end. I was NOT expecting THAT to happen. And I'm actually not sure if I liked it. Unsure if I will be reading book 2.