Book: The Midnight Serpent by Alina Kramer
Reviewed by Books and Bad Ideas (Jamie)
Rating: 5/5
I am the Godslayer.
I was carved out on the battlefield and baptized in ash.
I will not relent.
I will not fall.
Thank you to Alina Kramer for the opportunity to be a part of The Midnight Serpent street team and the opportunity to ARC this book!
The Midnight Serpent by Alina Kramer is book two in the Star Crossed Crown Series and, ostensibly, fits squarely within the romantasy genre. There's a lady knight (though she would probably punch me for calling her a lady) and the golden retriever MMC. A bad "guy" and a psycho ex-girlfriend. Magic, mischief, and malice are deeply ingrained into the storyline. But it goes beyond the typical romantasy novel to introduce issues of heresy, belief, and the foundations of the tenants of faith. I would go into it more, but there's a reason that as part of the tropes list, Alina includes "cosmic horror (as a little treat)"!
The most impressive part of this novel for me was the way that the characters, who recognize their trauma, do not use their trauma as a weapon against others or as a means to make their relationship implode. Syran and Lyanndra have led very different lives, but that doesn't stop them from being able to be present with one another. Rather than trying to fix one another-- a job they clearly seem to understand is not theirs-- they sit with one another and allow each other to be in the moment that they find themselves in when they are in need of help and support. This is by far the healthiest and honestly sexiest relationship I've read in fantasy-- romantic or otherwise-- in a long time. There's no desire to fix the fact that Syran is occasionally an asshole or the fact that Lyanndra has all of the courtly manners of a drunkard in a tavern. They love each other for who they are and who they might become.
Beyond the relationship that just had my heart in my throat the whole read (if you've made it to chapter 30 and haven't lost your mind, I don't know what to tell you), the whole "mood" of the book is a good, slow build toward spooky and the sublime feeling of being in the presence of something bigger than yourself-- bigger than the human mind is capable of processing. The characters have to make hard decisions and face enormous losses to get to the other side of this story and they still aren't done with the trials that face them and Alastria by the end of the novel. I'm looking forward to all of the chaos and sexy dreams of book three in the series. If you love the sublime feeling of being in the presence of god/gods, like in a cathedral or a ruin, the heat and passion of a relationship that is built on absolute trust and fidelity, and the unhinged antics of a woman with a lot to lose and a great sword in hand (and a kelpie willing to eat people out of loyalty), you HAVE to pick up this book.