As she begins the second of the three duologies that will make up her Crowns of Nyaxia series, author Carissa Broadbent leaves the House of Night and takes her characters straight to hell—the underworld, that is. The Songbird & the Heart of Stone picks up in the months after the events of the Nightborn Duet (The Serpent & the Wings of the Night and The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King), as former acolyte Mische is still reeling from losing her connection to the sun god after being Turned into a vampire. When she is captured by the House of Shadow, one of three vampire courts, Mische is spared from death by the mysterious Asar, the bastard prince of the House of Shadow and brother to the vampire who Turned her. But Asar saves Mische not out of compassion, but to help him complete a task given to him by the goddess Nyaxia: Descend into the underworld and resurrect Nyaxia’s long-dead husband, the god of death. It’s an offer Mische can’t refuse, especially when her own god breaks his silence, ordering Mische to aid Asar and then betray him by killing the god of death after his resurrection.
In The Songbird & the Heart of Stone, Carissa Broadbent marries a thoughtful look at religious and family trauma with epic adventure and romance. Fan-favorite Mische was originally introduced as a seemingly happy-go-lucky sidekick in The Serpent & the Wings of Night. But now, she struggles to choose a path that could bring her happiness in her new life as a vampire, afraid of destroying her tenuous hold on her humanity—and her god. Not to be outdone in the personal baggage department, necromancer Asar has a past as bloody as it is tragic. You could argue that his actions go slightly beyond the “morally gray” territory so beloved by fantasy romance readers, edging into downright villainous. But his devotion to Mische and desire to help her find love that doesn’t hurt make him a compelling (and swoon-inducing) romantic lead. Mische and Asar’s story isn’t over yet, but this first half of their romance makes clear that they are destined for an adventure that will shake the very foundations of their world and its pantheon.
