Review of Apollo's Raven
-
Tyler Titus
- Posts: 6
- Joined: 23 Jul 2022, 16:02
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 6
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-tyler-titus.html
- Latest Review: Dagger's Destiny by Linnea Tanner
Review of Apollo's Raven
[Following is a volunteer review of "Apollo's Raven" by Linnea Tanner.]
The book Apollo’s Raven by Linnea Tanner, is about a Celtic warrior, princess named Catrin. Catrin is also a sorceress and learns to control her powers throughout the story. Catrin is able to use her animal guide, a raven, to help guide her powers of seeing the future and other people’s fates. She learns that she can see people’s fates, but she cannot prevent them from happening. A prophecy has fated that Catrin and her half brother Marrock will join forces and destroy their father and the village. Catrin fights this prophecy from happening throughout the book. Things really start to turn for the worse when the Roman Empire shows up at Catrin’s door. Catrin’s father travels to Rome to negotiate peace with the empire while the Roman senator’s son, Marcellus, stays behind as a hostage if the Celtic king does not return. While guarding Marcellus, Catrin develops romantic feelings. Marcellus thus returns the feelings and the two are caught in a forbidden love scenario. Catrin’s love for Marcellus causes the prophecy to rewrite itself and speed up the inevitable attack of Marrock.
One aspect of the story that I enjoyed was the introduction of Catrin as a warrior, then a princess. Throughout the story, it is mentioned that many people respect Catrin because she is a warrior. She has bested all the king’s men and she protects her own when challenged. I like that the author wrote this character as a strong female lead instead of a medieval princess that can do nothing for herself. In addition, when the king leaves the village on business, the queen is left in charge. I loved the fact that all the men respected the queen and if the king were never to return, she would be the next in line to rule. There was no rule that the crown must go to the next man in line. I like that the author chose this culture to represent because it is very different than the Roman patriarchy.
One aspect of the story that I did not enjoy was when Catrin discovered a secret that could doom her people and no one believed her. No one believed that she was in the right mind set and that Marcellus had poisoned her with his Roman god’s magic. Her own mother did not believe her and it made me so angry. I love that the author was able to influence her reader’s emotions, but I was so angry through the second half of the book that it took me days to read each chapter. I had to keep putting the book down and finding something else to distract me. Kudos to the author to write her story in such as way, but I did not appreciate being upset all the time.
I would give this story 4 out of 4 stars. This book had no grammatical errors and was written in academic yet easy to read language. The story is based on some historical aspects such as the Celtic people and the Roman Empire. I enjoyed that the author took the time to research each culture and bring to life what it would have been like to be living during that time period.
I would recommend this book as suitable for teenagers or young adults. There are scenes in the story that are very graphic in nature when there is fighting and death. There are also scenes that are very explicit in details of sexual activities. I would recommend this story to people that enjoy historical fiction as there are mentions of the Celtic culture and the Roman culture. I would also recommend this story to people that enjoy magic and witchcraft as there are a lot of mystical elements to the story. This story is also a romance story but there are more mystical moments and fulfilling one’s duty to one’s people than romance between the main characters. I would not recommend this story to people that are looking for solely romance.
******
Apollo's Raven
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
The book Apollo’s Raven by Linnea Tanner, is about a Celtic warrior, princess named Catrin. Catrin is also a sorceress and learns to control her powers throughout the story. Catrin is able to use her animal guide, a raven, to help guide her powers of seeing the future and other people’s fates. She learns that she can see people’s fates, but she cannot prevent them from happening. A prophecy has fated that Catrin and her half brother Marrock will join forces and destroy their father and the village. Catrin fights this prophecy from happening throughout the book. Things really start to turn for the worse when the Roman Empire shows up at Catrin’s door. Catrin’s father travels to Rome to negotiate peace with the empire while the Roman senator’s son, Marcellus, stays behind as a hostage if the Celtic king does not return. While guarding Marcellus, Catrin develops romantic feelings. Marcellus thus returns the feelings and the two are caught in a forbidden love scenario. Catrin’s love for Marcellus causes the prophecy to rewrite itself and speed up the inevitable attack of Marrock.
One aspect of the story that I enjoyed was the introduction of Catrin as a warrior, then a princess. Throughout the story, it is mentioned that many people respect Catrin because she is a warrior. She has bested all the king’s men and she protects her own when challenged. I like that the author wrote this character as a strong female lead instead of a medieval princess that can do nothing for herself. In addition, when the king leaves the village on business, the queen is left in charge. I loved the fact that all the men respected the queen and if the king were never to return, she would be the next in line to rule. There was no rule that the crown must go to the next man in line. I like that the author chose this culture to represent because it is very different than the Roman patriarchy.
One aspect of the story that I did not enjoy was when Catrin discovered a secret that could doom her people and no one believed her. No one believed that she was in the right mind set and that Marcellus had poisoned her with his Roman god’s magic. Her own mother did not believe her and it made me so angry. I love that the author was able to influence her reader’s emotions, but I was so angry through the second half of the book that it took me days to read each chapter. I had to keep putting the book down and finding something else to distract me. Kudos to the author to write her story in such as way, but I did not appreciate being upset all the time.
I would give this story 4 out of 4 stars. This book had no grammatical errors and was written in academic yet easy to read language. The story is based on some historical aspects such as the Celtic people and the Roman Empire. I enjoyed that the author took the time to research each culture and bring to life what it would have been like to be living during that time period.
I would recommend this book as suitable for teenagers or young adults. There are scenes in the story that are very graphic in nature when there is fighting and death. There are also scenes that are very explicit in details of sexual activities. I would recommend this story to people that enjoy historical fiction as there are mentions of the Celtic culture and the Roman culture. I would also recommend this story to people that enjoy magic and witchcraft as there are a lot of mystical elements to the story. This story is also a romance story but there are more mystical moments and fulfilling one’s duty to one’s people than romance between the main characters. I would not recommend this story to people that are looking for solely romance.
******
Apollo's Raven
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Latest Review: Dagger's Destiny by Linnea Tanner
