The Fallen & the Kiss of Dusk: The Shadowborn Duet, Book Two

by Carissa Broadbent

Overview

#1 New York Times bestselling author and BookTok sensation Carissa Broadbent returns with a brand new novel in the Crowns of Nyaxia series, The Fallen & the Kiss of Dusk. Now In Trade Paper!

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 impossible: 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250367839
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	07/07/2026
Series:	Crowns of Nyaxia , #4
Pages:	576
Product dimensions:	5.38(w) x 8.25(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Carissa Broadbent is the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Crowns of Nyaxia series. She has been featured in Elle and Publishers Weekly, and her books have been reviewed in Library Journal, Marie Claire, Popsugar, and Vulture, among others. She writes novels that blend epic fantasy plots with a heaping dose of romance. She lives with her husband, her son, and one perpetually skeptical cat in Rhode Island.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for the Crowns of Nyaxia series:

"Majorly addicting" - Marie Claire on The Serpent & the Wings of Night

“Fans of dark romantasy won’t want to miss this.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review on The Serpent & the Wings of Night

“[A] haunting, action-packed political fantasy with a doomed romance at its center, full of heartbreak and intrigue.”– Library Journal, starred review onThe Serpent & the Wings of Night

“Vampire romance lovers will drink this series down to the last drop.”– POPSUGAR, "The 18 Best Fantasy Romance Books" on The Serpent & the Wings of Night

"Broadbent builds realistic and gripping tension as Raihn and Oraya navigate the roles of rivals, lovers, and potentially co-rulers... There’s plenty here to sink one’s teeth into." —Publishers Weekly on The Ashes & the Star-Crossed King

“This novel is fast-paced from the first page, with equal parts war action and romance. Romantasy fans will want this next book in the Crowns of Nyaxia series.” – Booklist on The Ashes & the Star-Crossed King

“Expect gorgeous, immersive descriptions of magical worlds, a grumpy-sunshine romance with more than a hint of spice, and thoughtful explorations of deep emotional wounds.” –The Skimm on The Songbird & the Heart of Stone

“A Court of Thorns and Roses meets Dante’s Inferno, in an epic fantasy romance of love and treachery between mortals and gods.” –i09 November Roundup, onThe Songbird & the Heart of Stone

“Carissa Broadbent marries a thoughtful look at religious and family trauma with epic adventure and romance.” – BookPage (starred review) on The Songbird & the Heart of Stone

"Another winner from Broadbent." — Publishers Weekly, on Slaying the Vampire Conqueror

From the Publisher

2025-07-04
Asar and Mische reunite to steal the power of a god in the fourth installment of Broadbent’s Crowns of Nyaxia series.

After the dramatic conclusion of the previous novel,The Songbird & the Heart of Stone (2024), Mische is dead and in the underworld. She’s greeted by Vincent, the long-dead vampire king of the House of Night, who shows her how the underworld is literally cracking at the seams. It’s supposed to be a safe place, where souls are judged and pass through on their way to the final oblivion of true death. But the underworld Mische finds herself in is filled with monsters that eat souls, and she sees literal tears in reality that bleed like physical wounds. As Vincent explains, when Mische saved her lover, Asar, from being sacrificed at the end of the previous book, important relics that were holding the underworld together wound up being destroyed. Asar, meanwhile, has been imprisoned by the gods of the White Pantheon. Instead of killing Asar, the botched sacrifice gave him a god’s power, and the other gods aren’t interested in sharing. Except for one god, whom Vincent refuses to name, who has offered Mische a chance to rejoin Asar so they can both escape the White Pantheon’s clutches. If Mische accepts this offer of help, there’s a chance that she and Asar could outrun the gods long enough to secure Asar enough power to repair the underworld and obtain true divinity. If they fail, the problems afflicting the underworld will eventually spread, the mortal and vampire worlds will also crumble, and Mische will slip back into death—permanently. Broadbent has a solid technical grasp on writing action and romance scenes and keeps a firm track of characters and space as the head-spinning action progresses. As a vampire-themed dark fantasy, the book has lots of dramatic violence and plenty of monsters, but it all flits by without much narrative consequence because there’s simply so much going on.

Less is more, even in epic fantasy romance.

Kirkus Reviews