Books Like The Serpent and the Wings of Night: 8 Reads

Carissa Broadbent’s The Serpent and the Wings of Night became a dark-romantasy obsession on the strength of a potent combination: a deadly tournament held in honor of a goddess, a fiercely capable human heroine surviving in a world of vampires, a reluctant alliance that curdles into a slow-burn romance, and a richly built mythology of blood and gods. If you finished Oraya’s story wanting more of that blood-soaked intensity, here are eight books that share its vampires, its trials, or its dark, swoony heart.

Finish the Story First

#1 — The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent

Before you go anywhere else, finish the Nightborn Duet. The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King completes the story The Serpent and the Wings of Night begins, resolving the romance and the conflict that the first book leaves on a knife’s edge. The two books are designed to be read as a pair, and the larger Crowns of Nyaxia world continues from there.

Dark, Atmospheric Fantasy Romance

#2 — Gild by Raven Kennedy

Raven Kennedy’s Gild is the natural next obsession for readers who loved the dark atmosphere and morally complex relationships of Broadbent’s world. A gold-soaked reimagining of the King Midas myth, it follows Auren from gilded captivity toward reclaiming her own power, in lush, sensory prose. It is dark, immersive, and built around a transformation arc that rewards readers who like their romantasy with shadow.

#3 — From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout is one of the closest structural matches on this list: a heroine raised inside a system built on concealed truths, a forbidden romance with a guardian who is not what he appears, the same explicit heat, and a plot that peels back layer after layer of hidden world-building. Its blend of bite, romance, and revelation makes it a reliable favorite for Serpent readers.

Deadly Trials and High-Stakes Competition

#4 — Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Swap vampires for dragons and you get Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, which shares the deadly-competition structure and the enemies-to-lovers romance at Serpent’s core. A fragile heroine forced into a brutal war college, a morally complicated love interest, and magic that costs something — it is the adult romantasy juggernaut that Serpent fans most often pick up next.

#5 — A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas is the foundational adult romantasy series, and its mix of a dangerous immortal world, a slow-burn romance with a morally gray love interest, and escalating high stakes maps closely onto what readers love about Broadbent’s work. The long backlist offers months of reading.

Vampires, Viral Dark Academia, and Dangerous Courts

#6 — Crave by Tracy Wolff

For vampire romance at a slightly lower heat level, Crave by Tracy Wolff transplants the supernatural-politics-and-romance formula into a paranormal boarding school in the Alaskan wilderness. The slow-burn between Grace and the hostile vampire Jaxon, and the school full of warring supernatural factions, give it crossover appeal for Serpent readers who want a bingeable, twisty series.

#7 — Quicksilver by Callie Hart

Quicksilver by Callie Hart is a viral dark-academia-flavored romantasy with the morally complex love interest and dark, dangerous atmosphere that Serpent fans crave. Its intensity, its fae-and-alchemy world-building, and its slow-burn romance make it a strong next read for anyone deep in the dark-romantasy corner of the genre.

#8 — The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

For the dangerous-court politics and the antagonistic-to-intimate romance, The Cruel Prince by Holly Black delivers in a faerie setting. Jude’s mutual hostility with the cruel Prince Cardan, set against treacherous court intrigue, channels the same enemies-to-lovers energy that powers Serpent’s central alliance — at a lower heat level but with the same sharp edge.

What Makes a Good Serpent Read-Alike

The Serpent and the Wings of Night works because it layers several reliable hooks on top of each other: a competent, hardened heroine who refuses to be a victim; a deadly trial that forces uneasy alliances; a vampire world with real mythology and stakes; and a slow-burn romance with a love interest she has every reason to distrust. The best read-alikes share at least two of those hooks. From Blood and Ash matches the bite and the hidden-truths plotting; Fourth Wing matches the deadly-trial structure and the enemies-to-lovers arc; Gild matches the dark, atmospheric prose and the morally complex central relationship. None of them is a carbon copy — part of the fun is seeing how each author handles the same ingredients — but each one delivers the blood-soaked intensity and the dangerous romance that made Broadbent’s world so addictive. And if what you loved most was simply spending time in the world of Nyaxia itself, remember that the best read-alike is the rest of the series: the Crowns of Nyaxia world keeps expanding across the Nightborn Duet, the Six Scorched Roses novella, and the Shadowborn Duet, so there is plenty more before you need to leave Broadbent behind at all.

How to Choose Your Next Read

If you want to finish Oraya’s story: The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King.

If you want dark, atmospheric romance: Gild or From Blood and Ash.

If you want the deadly-competition structure: Fourth Wing.

If you want viral dark-academia intensity: Quicksilver.

More Romantasy Reading Guides

• Crowns of Nyaxia in Order: Carissa Broadbent’s Series Guide
• Books Like Fourth Wing: 11 Romantasy Reads for Dragon-Rider Fans

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