The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

It's very hard to read this so closely after Fourth Wing and not compare the two! I will say that the world-building and fantasy aspect of this story was definitely more dense than Fourth Wing and I did have to go back a few times to clarify things.

Oraya, a human, was adopted by the vampire King when she was just a girl after an attack killed all of her family. She was raised by the King to defend herself and make sure she is never vulnerable around all of the vampires in her life. He wanted to do the best he could to give her a happy life.

Her best chance at longterm survival is to compete in the Kejari - a deadly tournament held by the goddess of death - because whoever wins is granted a wish. While Oraya is competing, she's forced to form an alliance with the vampire Raihn for one of the battles, but they find themselves drawn to one another and reluctant to part ways even after that battle is over.

Once I got past the explanation of all of the different houses and warring groups of vampires, I was completely drawn in by the Kejari trials themselves and the competitors’ preparations for them. I loved the way Oraya and Raihn battled one another with their banter, humor and anger and just generally were challenging one another every step of the way, all while somehow learning and understanding one another better than anyone else. I loved when they would have a tender moments. Oraya's nature was to snap with a snarky comment and Raihn's response was always a smile and "There she is" like everything was right in the world when they shared those exchanges.

This book is part of a duet and boy does it end with a twist and a cliffhanger, so I'm eager to move on to the next book!