Title: The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King

Series: Crowns of Nyaxia #2

Author: Carissa Broadbent

Love is a sacrifice at the altar of power.

In the wake of the Kejari, everything Oraya once thought to be true has been destroyed. A prisoner in her own kingdom, grieving the only family she ever had, and reeling from a gutting betrayal, she no longer even knows the truth of her own blood. She’s left only with one certainty: she cannot trust anyone, least of all Raihn.

The House of Night, too, is surrounded by enemies. Raihn’s own nobles are none too eager to accept a Turned king, especially one who was once a slave. And the House of Blood digs their claws into the kingdom, threatening to tear it apart from the inside.

When Raihn offers Oraya a secret alliance, taking the deal is her only chance at reclaiming her kingdom–and gaining her vengeance against the lover who betrayed her. But to do so, she’ll need to harness a devastating ancient power, intertwined with her father’s greatest secrets.

But with enemies closing in on all sides, nothing is as it seems. As she unravels her past and faces her future, Oraya finds herself forced to choose between the bloody reality of seizing power – and the devastating love that could be her downfall.

‘Maybe the king always knew that his greatest love would be his ruination. Maybe he knew it the moment he met her. He’d know it the second time he died, too.’

As in book 1, I was hooked on this story! Enemies to lovers part 2 at its finest!

All I can say is Raihn and Oraya really bit off more than they could chew here and were certainly put through the ringer! There was deception, unlikely allies, a lot of action, secrets, deliciousness and Raihn, god love him!

Apart from the devour worthy story there were 2 things that deserve a special mention:

The flashbacks, omg the flashbacks! I am a sucker for them in any book but these, basically from 2 points of view, made my life!

Then there were the quotes. I must have highlighted around 100 different quotes but, of course, I won’t bore you with them all, so here’s a couple:

‘It was all her. Deadly and stunning. Even her hatred was fucking beautiful.’

‘There she is.’