The Songbird & the Heart of Stone: Book 1 of the Shadowborn Duet (Crowns of Nyaxia, 3)
#1 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
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Community Reviews
Originally reviewed on Cyn's Workshop
The third novel in the Crowns of Nyaxia series follows Mische, one of my favorite characters who must be protected at all costs.
Immersive
I absolutely loved The Songbird and the Heart of Stone, just as I loved the first two books in this series. I appreciate how the author focuses each book on a specific pair of characters. This approach allows readers to connect more deeply with the characters without feeling like their stories are being drawn out unnecessarily.
Mische, a side character in the first two books, embarked on her own journey after those events, and we were unsure of her path. This book reveals where that path has taken her.
It’s important to note that Mische was a human and, more significantly, a priestess of the sun God. According to the lore of this book—which I appreciate—the sun God despises Nyaxia and, by extension, vampires. Yet, he still permits Mische to wield fire, which always burns her. This dynamic offers a deeper exploration of her relationship with the God of Light, the God of the Sun. Much like the previous books, this one is divided into five parts, each beginning with a reflection that serves as a memory from Mische’s life leading up to her transformation into a vampire.
I find it fascinating that the gods of the white pantheon are not purely benevolent. They are ruthless, deriving enjoyment from suffering and seeking worship, which makes me understand why Nyaxia chose to leave the white pantheon.
With each book, we delve deeper into the mythology of this realm, and it plays a significant role in this novel, reminiscent of Dante’s Inferno. Mische and the shadow court’s heir journey into the underworld, each layer representing something different and adhering to its rules. The roots of the Tree of the Underworld serve as a passageway to venture deeper into the underworld in search of pieces of the God of Death’s soul to bring him back to life.
The story is filled with intrigue and mystery, drawing you into Mische’s character. The reflections on her past highlight much of what makes her so relatable, including the trauma she has faced—a trauma she didn’t even fully recognize. As a reader, you genuinely want to hold and protect her at all costs. If you’ve read the first two books and felt the same way I did, you’ve wanted to protect her since the beginning.
Mische is an incredibly lovable character. She is fierce, fiery, snarky, sassy, clever, brilliant, yet deeply flawed. She hasn’t healed from her trauma, much of which stems from her reluctance to confront it. This aspect is relatable to anyone who has experienced trauma; facing what has hurt you can be incredibly challenging, but it’s essential for overcoming it and beginning the healing process. The author captures this struggle powerfully, resonating throughout the novel and encouraging readers to empathize with Mische.
Final Thoughts
The Songbird and the Heart of Stone is another great addition to a brilliant series. I absolutely love it and recommend it to everyone.
See more reviews at Cyn's Workshop and follow me on Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | Tumblr | Spotify Podcast | YouTube | BookBub | Goodreads+ | LinkedIn
Unputdownable, The Songbird and the Heart of Stone delves into fan-favorite character Mische, her past, her relationship with the God of Light, and what haunts her.
The third novel in the Crowns of Nyaxia series follows Mische, one of my favorite characters who must be protected at all costs.
Immersive
I absolutely loved The Songbird and the Heart of Stone, just as I loved the first two books in this series. I appreciate how the author focuses each book on a specific pair of characters. This approach allows readers to connect more deeply with the characters without feeling like their stories are being drawn out unnecessarily.
Mische, a side character in the first two books, embarked on her own journey after those events, and we were unsure of her path. This book reveals where that path has taken her.
It’s important to note that Mische was a human and, more significantly, a priestess of the sun God. According to the lore of this book—which I appreciate—the sun God despises Nyaxia and, by extension, vampires. Yet, he still permits Mische to wield fire, which always burns her. This dynamic offers a deeper exploration of her relationship with the God of Light, the God of the Sun. Much like the previous books, this one is divided into five parts, each beginning with a reflection that serves as a memory from Mische’s life leading up to her transformation into a vampire.
I find it fascinating that the gods of the white pantheon are not purely benevolent. They are ruthless, deriving enjoyment from suffering and seeking worship, which makes me understand why Nyaxia chose to leave the white pantheon.
With each book, we delve deeper into the mythology of this realm, and it plays a significant role in this novel, reminiscent of Dante’s Inferno. Mische and the shadow court’s heir journey into the underworld, each layer representing something different and adhering to its rules. The roots of the Tree of the Underworld serve as a passageway to venture deeper into the underworld in search of pieces of the God of Death’s soul to bring him back to life.
The story is filled with intrigue and mystery, drawing you into Mische’s character. The reflections on her past highlight much of what makes her so relatable, including the trauma she has faced—a trauma she didn’t even fully recognize. As a reader, you genuinely want to hold and protect her at all costs. If you’ve read the first two books and felt the same way I did, you’ve wanted to protect her since the beginning.
Mische is an incredibly lovable character. She is fierce, fiery, snarky, sassy, clever, brilliant, yet deeply flawed. She hasn’t healed from her trauma, much of which stems from her reluctance to confront it. This aspect is relatable to anyone who has experienced trauma; facing what has hurt you can be incredibly challenging, but it’s essential for overcoming it and beginning the healing process. The author captures this struggle powerfully, resonating throughout the novel and encouraging readers to empathize with Mische.
Final Thoughts
The Songbird and the Heart of Stone is another great addition to a brilliant series. I absolutely love it and recommend it to everyone.
See more reviews at Cyn's Workshop and follow me on Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | Tumblr | Spotify Podcast | YouTube | BookBub | Goodreads+ | LinkedIn
The Songbird and the Heart of Stone sent me into the underworld with Mische and Asar. I spent a lot of that journey wondering when I was going to care about either of them. Carissa Broadbent’s world has become huge and incredibly detailed. I am impressed by how much mythology she has built throughout this series. I just wish the romance and character development was not getting buried underneath all of it.
Mische enters the House of Shadow after the Nightborn Duet and finds herself sentenced to death. Asar, a feared necromancer and prince, offers her another option. She can join him on a journey through the underworld to resurrect the god of death. Mische also has a secret order from her sun god that turns the entire mission into a divine betrayal waiting to happen. Their journey gives Broadbent plenty of room for gods, relics, monsters, memories, religious trauma, and more connections to the larger Crowns of Nyaxia world.
At this point, I desperately need a family tree, several maps, a vampire house flowchart, and possibly a PowerPoint presentation. I binged the series in less than a month. The books are starting to blend together in my brain. The titles sound similar and the character arcs feel familiar. I could not confidently tell you which characters belong to which book. Broadbent has created a massive fantasy universe, but I am starting to lose the connections between all of its moving pieces.
Mische did not help matters. I found her incredibly naive and frustrating. I never developed much affection for her. Her relationship with Atroxus does explore religious manipulation, guilt, identity, and what happens when the faith you built your life around starts falling apart. I found all of that more interesting than Mische herself. Her relationship with Asar also gave me Hades and Persephone vibes. Romantasy retellings of that mythology rarely interest me.
Asar should have been irresistible because he is an ancient vampire prince, necromancer, dangerous warrior, and emotionally scarred. Aiden Snow narrates him. Please, the man had everything going for him! Somehow, I still found him impulsive, possessive, and immature for someone who has supposedly been around for so long. I never understood why he cared about Mische so much. Their attraction grows throughout the journey, but I never reached the point where I believed these two beings were desperately in love.
The balance between fantasy and romance was a big issue for me. The underworld trials, divine politics, vampire history, and mythology take up so much of the plot that the relationship building gets pushed aside. I wanted more chemistry, intimacy, character development, and time with Mische and Asar actually becoming a couple. Broadbent seems much more interested in expanding Nyaxia than making a romance unforgettable. At this point, the series feels more like high fantasy with romance woven through it.
The audiobook is a strong production. Amanda Leigh Cobb provides continuity after narrating the previous books. Although, hearing the same female narrator across so many interconnected stories may also be contributing to my brain's Crowns of Nyaxia character soup. Everyone is starting to sound related in my head. Aiden Snow continues to understand the assignment. That voice could probably narrate vampire tax law and make it sound indecent. I wish these audiobooks used duet narration instead of dual narration. The romantic scenes would be so much better if Cobb and Snow consistently voiced their own characters.
Broadbent has built an impressive fantasy universe with an incredible amount of lore behind it. I can appreciate how much work went into the mythology while also admitting that I am starting to lose the characters inside all of it. I fell in love with the first duet because Oraya and Raihn made me care about them. Now, I feel the characters have been tossed aside in favor of the world building.
I love Carissa Broadbent’s writing. She creates worlds that I can visualize with characters that have such relatable qualities that I am sucked into the story from the start.
Mische may be my favorite FMC that I’ve read. Her journey through learning to accept herself brought me to tears.
The ending was not at all what I was expecting. I am curious to see how the next book will navigate the ending events.
Mische may be my favorite FMC that I’ve read. Her journey through learning to accept herself brought me to tears.
The ending was not at all what I was expecting. I am curious to see how the next book will navigate the ending events.
Overall I really enjoyed this book, I love Carissa’s style and her world building. Story starts slow but builds really nicely. While I don’t love Mische as much as I love Oraya, I enjoyed being on this journey of change for her! Asar is the best and I loved learning about him! Luce is the best pupper. And I fucking HATE Atroxus. I enjoy a good hate-able character and boy does he delivery. Small dick fuckboi but make him a sun god? Love to hate him. The last 25% SHOOK me, and the twists were twisting! I can’t wait to see what happens next book based on how this ends!
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