The Songbird and the Heart of Stone (Crowns of Nyaxia #3) by Carissa Broadbent – emotional and mesmerizing vampire fantasy

The Songbird and The Heart of Stone is an emotional, dark, and mesmerizing vampire fantasy, rich with mythology, tragedy, and redemption.

Previous Books in This Series –

The Serpent and the Wings of Night (Book 1)

Six Scorched Roses (Book 1.5)

The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King (Book 2)

Slaying the Vampire Conqueror (Book 2.5)

Synopsis

New York Times bestselling author and BookTok sensation Carissa Broadbent returns with a brand new novel in the Crowns of Nyaxia series, 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.

Review

The Songbird and the Heart of Stone follows the story of Mische, a vampire and fallen acolyte and bride of the Sun God, and Asar, the bastard prince of the House of Shadow. Not exactly Hades x Persephone but it sure have vibe.

The Songbird and the Heart of Stone begins with Mische leaving Raihn and Oraya, only to be captured and tortured in the prison of the House of Shadow for murdering its prince heir. The king is ready to execute her—until Asar intervenes. He saves her, not out of mercy, but because he needs her divine gift from Atroxus, the Sun God, to complete a deadly mission from Nyaxia: to descend through five layers of the underworld, recover Alarus’s relics (sealed by Atroxus), and use necromancy to resurrect Alarus, the God of Death.

Mische’s life is spared, but her fate is sealed—forced to journey into the underworld beside Asar. Then, to make matters worse, her long-silent God finally reappears, commanding her to help Asar resurrect Alarus… only to kill him afterward in exchange for her redemption.

Neither Atroxus nor Mische anticipated that she’d fall in love with Asar. The question that lingers: will she betray her God for love, or betray Asar for salvation?

The writing is as engaging as ever, though this installment felt slower-paced than others in the series—possibly because I read it during a busy time. Still, the story’s five-part structure (mirroring the five stages of descent into the underworld) beautifully blends their physical and emotional journeys. Both Mische and Asar wrestle with guilt, grief, and redemption, creating a narrative that’s as emotionally brutal as it is mythically rich.

Mische, the golden vampire with a reckless grin and radiant charm we met in The Serpent and the Wings of Night, is a shadow of that girl here. Her act of killing Malach, heir of the House of Shadow, didn’t bring relief; it shattered her. Her decision to keep that chaos away from Raihn and Oraya is the first non-reckless choice she’s made, but it drags her straight into her own hell.

As her descent unfolds, the layers of her past peel away, her devotion to Atroxus, her tragic bond with her sister, her life as the Sun God’s bride, and the compassion that defined her even in ruin. Learning what happened to her sister and those who followed her broke my heart.

I understood why Mische once loved Atroxus. He gave her purpose and power, but his cruelty, arrogance, and hypocrisy were infuriating. He exiled Nyaxia out of fear, murdered his own brother (and Nyaxia’s husband), Alarus, and abandoned his followers to eternal torment. Watching Mische cling to that devotion despite all he’d done was maddening, but also painfully human.

Her internal war between light and shadow is raw, powerful, and deeply moving. Her journey through the underworld forces her to face that truth, what the real love should feel like. I loved watching her unleash the dark, divine power she’d long suppressed and grow into her truest, fiercest self. Her final act after climax, driven by rage, clarity, and power, was jaw-dropping.

Asar, meanwhile, is just as broken and compelling. His life as the bastard prince is pure torment, and what Malach did to Luce and Ophelia is beyond forgiveness. His pain, guilt, and yearning for redemption make him one of the most human characters in this divine chaos. His work in the underworld, tending to lost souls and building a sanctuary in Morthryn, was profoundly moving. He deserved peace and finding that in Mische was beautiful.

The worldbuilding is stunning. I loved how each book explored different parts of the world and in The Songbird and the Heart of Stone, author takes readers to House of Shadows and its sentient, god-touched prison, Morthryn that shifts and responds to its occupants. It is a masterpiece and almost a character itself. The five stages of descent (Body, Breath, Psyche, Secret, Soul) are fascinatingly tied to both Asar and Mische’s physical trials and emotional unraveling. The portrayal of death, souls, and the afterlife is haunting and poetic, showing how broken the world became without Alarus’s guidance.

The romance is slow burn and gorgeously layered. It’s not enemies-to-lovers- they never truly hated each other- but rather two broken beings finding solace in shared pain. Their connection builds through mutual respect, vulnerability, and the slow realization that they are, for each other, home. Their love is both healing and destructive, divine and doomed, and that’s what makes it unforgettable.

The climax is intense and devastating. Mische’s confrontation with Atroxus, the manipulation, the heartbreak, and that final twist… it all left me reeling. It’s a massive cliffhanger, but thankfully, The Fallen & the Kiss of Dusk is already out, and I can’t wait to dive in. Here’s hoping for Asar and Mische’s happy ending—and maybe a glimpse of Raihn and Oraya again.

Overall, The Songbird and The Heart of Stone is an emotional, dark, and mesmerizing vampire fantasy rich with mythology, tragedy, and redemption. It’s a story about love that defies gods, light that endures darkness, and two broken souls daring to find peace in a world built on pain.

Book Links

Goodreads | Amazon.in | Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Have you read this or any previous book? If so, who is your favorite character in this series?
What’s your favorite fantasy that have journey through underworld or have Hades x Persephone vibe?

Just in case you missed,,,

• Play nice by Rachel Harrison – dark and atmospheric horror
• Tiger Slayer: The Extraordinary Story of Nur Jahan, Empress of India by Ruby Lal
• Uncharmed (Rewitched #2) by Lucy Jane Wood – spellbinding witchy contemporary

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