Sylina is trained to obey orders, not question them. Unfortunate, since Atrius turns out to be thoughtful, weary, and disturbingly honorable for a tyrant. As she lives among his people, she sees the cost of conquest on both sides and realizes the world is less “heroes vs. villains” and more “everyone is exhausted and armed.” The ending centers on choice: Sylina must decide whether to complete her mission or break the cycle of violence. Atrius, finally accepting responsibility, allows her the power to end him. The war stops, not with triumph, but with sacrifice and uncomfortable hope. A romantasy that asks, “What if the villain is self-aware?” and then emotionally devastates you for sport. Would recommend, bring snacks and moral flexibility.

Oh how I missed this universe! 🥰 Carissa absolutely delivered with this standalone! 😌✨ Very early on you can already tell that Sylina is attracted to him - which was 100% relatable. I adored their getting to know each other. Carissa made it seem so easy, to have characters who wholly distrust each but need each other (he needs a seer, she needs shelter/protection as a castaway) and then slowly but surely learn to care for each other and gradually fall in love. 💕 I adored everything about this book. I am in awe of the magic system Carissa came up with for the Arachessen! My minor pet peeve is that there were a lot of instances where he understood her without words because "he simply knew" whatever she was thinking? 🙃

"Death is what happens when you stand still. Don't stand still. Not for anything. " This was a slow start that immediately picked up to fast pace. I know this book is a standalone novel in the Nyaxia series, but it was so different- much more political uns about the wars and soldiers. But I really enjoyed the politics, and the cult of Arachessen was so interesting. Sylina and Attrius were also very lovable characters, and their actions were relatable because of their dark past. Their romance wasn't the main focus of this book which I also really enjoyed. I cannot wait to see them again in the following books.

Devoured this so quick, you don't understand. I can't believe this one's just been sitting on my shelf for months. Excuse me? Carissa Broadbent. The woman you are. Your books are freaking gold. I loved and will probably always love her style of writing. It's so capturing right from the start. It makes reading a very heavy world building actually fun and understandable. The instant chemistry between these two was just UGH. Oh and the commander and spy sent to kill the commander trope is always a 10/10 for me. This one was executed perfectly. Plot twist was not much of a plot twist for me. I kinda felt like I knew that the Sightmother was definitely going to be the villain in the end. I just didn't know how it was going to go down. But right until they decided to do the last ritual and give up Atrius for the Goddess, yeah I kinda knew Vivi was definitely betraying the Sightmother. I really need to see fan drawings soon.

Ich liebs! Wunderschön geschrieben, fast schon poetisch. Die Liebe der Hauptprotas wächst sanft über literarische Monate hinweg das fand ich schön glaubwürdig und nachvollziehbar. Besonders am Schluss fand ich es schön wie er zu ihr stand - will hier nicht Spoilern 🙊 - obwohl sie Sorgen hatte. Der Spannungsbogen blieb wirklich über die gesamte Geschichte vorhanden. Es wurden immer wieder Akzente gesetzt wo ich nur dachte „Nein Nein Nein“ und das alles auf so wenige Seiten 🫶

the writing style of carissa broadbent is such a stick out for me the world is well known and created perfectly helping our main lead to insert herself in the exact way i wanted her to. all the descriptions and emotions are so well crafted that the story cannot disappoint- contrary it was a wonderful add on in the world- the only problem was me missin out on some details because i was not entirely in the headspace- takin full blame tho!!!

Bevor ich mit The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk anfangen konnte, musste ich auf Anraten meines Buchclubs noch eben diese Novella einschieben und es war eine tolle Geschichte, die die Facetten des Nyaxia Universum mit Sicherheit gut ergänzt (vor allem, wenn das nächste Duett vom House of Blood handelt).

Die Story an sich fand ich gut & auch spannend, leider hat sich mich nicht so sehr in den Bann gezogen wie die erste Novelle der Reihe. Es hat sich zwischendurch doch gezogen. Das kann aber auch daran liegen, dass ich sie auf Englisch gelesen habe, weil ich sie unbedingt in der Reihenfolge lesen wollte & die deutsche Ausgabe noch nicht erschienen ist😅

Overall, I found the book to be okay, but it didn’t quite capture me. There was a lot happening, and I appreciated that it wasn’t overly political, which is something that usually bothers me. However, I struggled to stay engaged with the story. The characters felt consistent with the previous books in the series, which was nice, and it was great to see familiar faces. But in the end, it just didn’t resonate with me as much as I hoped. It’s definitely not a must read if you’ve read the “serpent and the wings of night” books but you can read it. It’s a complete stand alone and only features the familiar gods and the overall concept of magic.

Dieses Buch hat mir wieder gezeigt wie sehr ich Carissa Broadbents Schreibstil und ihre Geschichten liebe. Die Story um die Arachessen ist einzigartig, gebau wie ihre Magie. Ich habe noch nie eine Geschichte mot so einem interessanten Magiesystem gelesen. Sylina fand ich außerdem eine tolle Protagonistin, sie war stark und wusste auch was sie mit ihren Kräften alles machen kann. Sie konnte realistisch einschätzen zu was sie alles im Stande ist und musste sich nicht erst finden bzw. jemanden finden der ihr das erklärt. Außerdem... Atrius ❤️ er ist basically nur eine gequälte cinnamon roll

Again her books never disappoint. The world building? The different Goddesses again? Omg it was so interesting and good! I love Sylina so much she’s such an interesting character and if not even her best written female character so far. The whole story was thrilling and good. The appearance of septimus at the end? And the teaser that they will meet oraya maybe too??? Sign me the f up!👀👀

What fascinates me most are the FMCs. They are lost, obedient, traumatized, and have sacrificed everything for a diety - or a combination of these things. And then, under the worst of circumstances, they find themselves and rise above, they become strong and fierce - and I can't help but root for them. This is Sylina's story - assassin, sightless, devoted. She is being sent on a mission to kill the Vampire Conqueror, but uncovers lies and deception. True power lies elsewhere, and she has to find her own path. The world of the Nyaxia series is well built, with much darkness and glimmers of light. And the characters are all really interesting, while fighting their own demons. 4,5/5 stars and gimme more in this world! Thank you @netgalley and @panmacmillan for the eARC! #SlayingTheVampireConqueror #Nyaxia #Netgalley #Bookstagram

Ein eigenständiger Fantasy-Roman, der in der Welt der Crowns of Nyaxia spielt – voller herzzerreißender, verbotener Romantik, dunkler Flüche und epischer Schlachten. 🦇⚔️ Ich bin absolut hin und weg! Carissa Broadbent hat mich mal wieder vollkommen in ihren Bann gezogen. 💜 Dieses Buch hat mich von der ersten bis zur letzten Seite gefesselt – ich habe es in nur wenigen Tagen verschlungen! 📖🔥 Dieses Mal begleiten wir Sylina und Atrius. Ihre Mission? Ihn mit einem einzigen Schlag ins Herz zu töten. Doch wie so oft ist nichts so einfach, wie es scheint. Verrat, dunkle Magie und tiefere Gefühle machen diese Geschichte so mitreißend, dass man einfach nicht aufhören kann zu lesen. Was ich besonders liebe: Die detailreiche Beschreibung der Magie und das faszinierende Konzept des Thread Walking. Es fügt der Welt eine so einzigartige und lebendige Dimension hinzu – als wäre man selbst mitten in dieser düsteren, magischen Welt! ✨🧵 Und obwohl die spicy scenes hier eher sparsam gesät sind, sind sie so intensiv, dass sie einen umhauen! 😏 Weniger ist eben manchmal mehr – und Carissa Broadbent versteht es, Emotionen auf den Punkt zu bringen. ❤️ Für alle Fans von düsterer Fantasy, Romantik und epischen Welten: Dieses Buch müsst ihr lesen! Es hat alles, was man sich wünscht – Magie, Spannung, Herzschmerz und Momente, die man so schnell nicht vergisst. 🎉

Am Anfang war es etwas schwer reinzukommen und zu verstehen, wie die Magie funktioniert und sich alles zusammensetzt. Aber nachdem man wusste, was Sylinas Ziel ist und sie das erste mal Atrius begegnet ist, hat es echt Spaß gemacht der Geschichte zu folgen. Dieses Buch spielt zwar in der Crowns of Nyaxia Welt, aber es ist ein in sich abgeschlossenes Buch. Die Länge ist gut! Nicht zu kurz, wie es bei der Novelle Six Scorched Roses mein Kritikpunkt war, aber auch nicht zu lang! Sollte man auf jeden Fall lesen, wenn man Serpent and the Wings mochte!

Ich hatte keine hohen Erwartungen, aber wurde sehr positiv überrascht. Die Geschichte kann als stand-alone gelesen werden, reiht sich aber auch sehr gut in die restliche Crowns of Nyaxia Reihe ein, während die Magie der Protagonistin auch sehr Elementen aus der War of lost Hearts Reihe ähnelt.

I was so excited to dive back into the World of Nyaxia and again, Carissa Broadbent did not disappoint. I really loved how we got to see a different part of the world and how the worldbuilding in this book expands the world and possibilities for the entire series. The plot also convinced me that the author just can not write a bad book. I was engaged the entire time, and the pacing was perfect. Not too slow, but also not too fast so it would get confusing. But my highlight were the characters. Sylina and Atrius were both complex, imperfect and so well written. Their chemistry was everything to me and I really really really hope, that we will see them again in the main Crowns of Nyaxia series (and after reading book 3, I can definitely see that happening). So to sum it up, if you loved the The Serpent and the Wings of Night duet, there is no doubt in my body that you will love Slaying the Vampire Conqueror as well. 5 stars.