The Songbird and the Heart of Stone

by Carissa Broadbent

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

A story of light vs. dark, wrong vs. right. Mische's choice should be simple, but nothing is as it seems in a world of vengeful gods, love and treachery.

New York Times bestselling author and BookTok sensation Carissa Broadbent returns with a brand new novel in the Crowns of Nyaxia series, The Songbird & the Heart of Stone, where A Court of Thorns and Roses meets Dante’s Inferno, in an epic fantasy romance of love and treachery between mortals and gods. Features beautiful case art and a detailed map.

In the descent to the underworld, a bride of the sun must choose between the light of her redemption… or a dark love that defies the gods themselves

Mische lost everything when she was forcibly Turned into a vampire – her home, her humanity, and most devastating of all, the love of the sun god to whom she had devoted her life. Now, sentenced to death for murdering the vampire prince who Turned her, redemption feels impossible.

But when Mische is saved by Asar, the bastard prince of the House of Shadow with a past as brutal as his scars, she’s forced into a mission worse than execution: a journey to the underworld to resurrect the god of death himself.

Yet, Mische’s punishment may be the key to her salvation. In a secret meeting, her sun god commands her to help Asar in his mission, only to betray him… by killing the very death god she’ll help resurrect.

Mische and Asar must travel the treacherous path to the underworld, facing trials, beasts, and the vengeful ghosts of their pasts. Yet, most dangerous of all is the alluring call of the darkness – and her forbidden attraction to Asar, a burgeoning bond that risks invoking the wrath of gods.

As her betrayal looms, the underworld closes in and angry gods are growing restless. Mische will be forced to choose between the redemption of the sun or the damnation of the darkness.

Crowns of Nyaxia Reading Order:

The Serpent & the Wings of Night

The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King

The Songbird & the Heart of Stone

Crowns of Nyaxia Standalones

Six Scorched Roses (short novel)

Slaying the Vampire Conqueror

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250367785
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/19/2024
Series:	Crowns of Nyaxia Series , #3
Pages:	448
Sales rank:	182
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 5.80(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Carissa Broadbent has been concerning teachers and parents with mercilessly grim tales since she was roughly nine years old. Since then, her stories have gotten (slightly) less depressing and (hopefully a lot?) more readable. Today, 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

09/09/2024

Kicking off a new era of the Crown of Nyaxia series after the conclusion to the Nightborn Duet duology, Broadbent brings a beloved secondary character into the spotlight for an emotionally intense and richly detailed descent into the underworld. Mische is set to be executed for the murder of the Shadowborn King Raoul’s heir, who forcibly turned her into a vampire and thus tainted her in the eyes of the sun god Atroxus to whom she was devoted as a Dawndrinker. Her hanging is interrupted by the arrival of Raoul’s younger son Asar, the Wraith Warden who guards the underworld. Asar commandeers Mische to be his companion on a quest given to him by the vampire goddess Nyaxia: they must collect artifacts hidden along the path to the underworld to be used in a necromantic ritual that will return Nyaxia’s husband to life. Pursued by hordes of wraiths and the shades of the people they have wronged, Mische and Asar come to rely on one another. Along the way, Mische learns to reconcile her Dawndrinker and vampire heritages. It adds up to a mostly self-contained story of personal growth and risky romance, with just enough ties to the larger mythology to keep returning readers satisfied. Broadbent proves this series has legs. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Songbird & the Heart of Stone:

"Emotionally intense and richly detailed… Broadbent proves this series has legs." – Publishers Weekly

"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

""The fast-paced plot involves a swoonworthy enemies-to-lovers love story, drawing readers in from the first paragraph. Give this romantasy to Sarah J. Maas fans." – Booklist

Praise for the Crowns of Nyaxia series:

“Fans of dark romantasy won’t want to miss this.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review

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

“Danger, intrigue and a hell of a lot of blood are splashed across the pages of Carissa Broadbent’s gripping fantasy romance.” –Bookpage

"Slow burn that pays off." – Vulture, "12 Romantasy Authors to Know"

"Carissa Broadbent's The Serpent & the Wings of Night has all the fun of A Court of Thorns and Roses, but it will also appeal to Twilight fans." –Insider

"This suspenseful, unputdownable novel is perfect for fans of The Hunger Games — with a fantastical vampire twist!" – Woman's World

"If you are a fan of dangerous fantasy worlds, bloodthirsty vampires, swoon worthy romance and a completely terrifying deadly competition, The Serpent & the Wings of Night is going to be a book you will love." –Book Briefs

"Unputdownable!" –FIRST for Women

From the Publisher