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Official Review: Apollo's Raven by Linnea Tanner

Posted: 19 Jun 2017, 15:36
by Heidi M Simone
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Apollo's Raven" by Linnea Tanner.]
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4 out of 4 stars
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Sorcery. Deception. Mythology. Druids. Shape shifting. A prophecy. An ancient curse. Follow the Celtics and Romans in Linnea Tanner’s historical fiction/epic fantasy, Apollo’s Raven, for an exciting and unpredictable tale.

Celtic Princess and Warrior Catrin has learned something secretive and dangerous about herself, which can lead to her people’s success or their downfall. She is able to connect with ravens, which is seen as a bad omen. As she is struggling to understand this unnatural connection, she meets the captivating Roman, Marcellus, son of her family’s enemy. Torn between her loyalty to her family, her forbidden love for Marcellus, and her disturbing gift, will Catrin be able to break an ancient curse that was placed upon her family when she was a child?

This whirlwind of a ride had me captivated from page one. I was entranced by Catrin’s deep connection with ravens and her strengths and weaknesses. I was drawn to the uncertainty of the love between Catrin and Marcellus. I was pulled into the ancient curse and its mysterious outcome.

Needless to say that Tanner can certainly tell a tale containing all the necessary ingredients to an epic series. There are well-developed main characters, while the secondary characters nicely added to the storyline. Apollo’s Raven is composed of an enticing plot full of mystery and intrigue where the author cleverly drops breadcrumbs for her readers chapter after chapter, leaving them wanting more. Themes of honesty, loyalty, family, love, trust, and much more fill every page.

There were just a few minor aspects that could improve this read. In the beginning of each chapter, before the chapter started, there was a sentence or two hinting the main idea; at times, this contained spoilers, but readers can easily skip these if desired. Also, I did question the use of “hooligans” and “shenanigans” during ancient Roman times, but this only came up twice in 400 pages, so it didn’t deter from the reading. Lastly, there were less than handful of errors. For instance, “…with a of couple fingers…” (loc. 572), is something that can be easily fixed. However, nothing too major and again did not take away from my enjoyment.

For future readers, there were some sexual scenes/thoughts and a couple of disturbing scenes involving blood and death. However, the scenes were not very lengthy and simply added to the insanely awesome plot.

Overall, I absolutely loved this read. It was one that I looked forward to reading every time I picked it up, which doesn’t happen very often. Needless to say, I happily give this epic read a 4 out of 4 stars, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys an excellent epic fantasy with romance mixed in.

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Apollo's Raven
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Re: Official Review: Apollo's Raven by Linnea Tanner

Posted: 20 Jun 2017, 05:07
by gali
I love epic fantasy and your review sure is convincing. Who can resist Sorcery, Mythology, Shapeshifting, an ancient curse and much more besides?? I'm glad you enjoy the book that much. Thank you for the great review! :)

Re: Official Review: Apollo's Raven by Linnea Tanner

Posted: 20 Jun 2017, 05:40
by Heidi M Simone
Thank you, gali! It was such a captivating book with a lot of layers and subplots. Definitely one that I really enjoyed. :D

Re: Official Review: Apollo's Raven by Linnea Tanner

Posted: 20 Jun 2017, 07:40
by kandscreeley
Sounds like a very captivating read. It sounds interesting to have a main character that is able to connect with ravens. I'm not usually into Epic stories like this, but it's worth a try. Thanks.

Re: Official Review: Apollo's Raven by Linnea Tanner

Posted: 20 Jun 2017, 08:06
by Heidi M Simone
I was definitely captivated. There were so many good things that I liked, though I do favor this genre. If you do give it a try, hope you enjoy it! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Re: Official Review: Apollo's Raven by Linnea Tanner

Posted: 20 Jun 2017, 09:33
by Chedy bhouri
Very very good book than'k god for reading this book ???

-- 20 Jun 2017, 09:36 --

I'm so in love with this book ❤

Re: Official Review: Apollo's Raven by Linnea Tanner

Posted: 20 Jun 2017, 09:41
by Heidi M Simone
Chedy bhouri wrote:Very very good book than'k god for reading this book ???

-- 20 Jun 2017, 09:36 --

I'm so in love with this book ❤
Glad you enjoyed it!

Re: Official Review: Apollo's Raven by Linnea Tanner

Posted: 20 Jun 2017, 13:17
by Chrys Brobbey
The review is enticing enough to make me want to have a look at this book. It looks close to being in the Sci/Fi genre, of which I'm not a fan. But this one attracts me. Thanks for a good review.

Re: Official Review: Apollo's Raven by Linnea Tanner

Posted: 20 Jun 2017, 13:39
by Heidi M Simone
Thank you, Chrys Brobbey! I wouldn't consider this science fiction; it's more of a fantasy with some historical fiction. If you do get the chance to read it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! :)

Re: Official Review: Apollo's Raven by Linnea Tanner

Posted: 20 Jun 2017, 15:18
by MarisaRose
I'm glad to know you liked this one so much! I was really interested in this book when it came out as BOTD recently, but hearing your glowing opinion definitely solidifies my need to read this one :)

Re: Official Review: Apollo's Raven by Linnea Tanner

Posted: 20 Jun 2017, 15:36
by Heidi M Simone
Thank you, MarisaRose! I was really interested too when it was BOTD, so when I saw it was up for review, I snatched a copy. :) If you do get the chance to read it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Re: Official Review: Apollo's Raven by Linnea Tanner

Posted: 20 Jun 2017, 20:52
by Mrsbellaz
Certainly sounds like an exciting read. I like the ones you can't put down. I will add this to my read list. Thanks for the review.

Re: Official Review: Apollo's Raven by Linnea Tanner

Posted: 20 Jun 2017, 22:22
by Penny Lee
Your review makes this book sound very intriguing! I was a bit put off by the free sample recently, but perhaps I should give it another chance. The idea of Catrin seeing through the eyes of a raven (but not actually turning into/sharing bodies with the raven) is interesting. The spoiler-ish quoted texts at the beginning of the chapters somewhat annoyed me, but I could try to ignore them! ;)

Re: Official Review: Apollo's Raven by Linnea Tanner

Posted: 20 Jun 2017, 23:18
by Heidi M Simone
Mrsbellaz wrote:Certainly sounds like an exciting read. I like the ones you can't put down. I will add this to my read list. Thanks for the review.
I love books that you can't put down too! Hope you enjoy this one when you get the chance to read it! Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts. :)

-- 21 Jun 2017, 06:24 --
Serene Firefly wrote:Your review makes this book sound very intriguing! I was a bit put off by the free sample recently, but perhaps I should give it another chance. The idea of Catrin seeing through the eyes of a raven (but not actually turning into/sharing bodies with the raven) is interesting. The spoiler-ish quoted texts at the beginning of the chapters somewhat annoyed me, but I could try to ignore them! ;)
Thank you! I can see how the beginning may be off-putting, but I ended up liking it. :) I love the raven connection and how Catrin still keeps her body, but can see through the raven's eyes, too. Yeah, I'm not a fan of those quotes either. For the sake of this review, I did end up reading them, but I would recommend not to for those who don't want things spoiled along the way, if possible... ;) Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts!

Re: Official Review: Apollo's Raven by Linnea Tanner

Posted: 22 Jun 2017, 04:27
by Donatelloo
will definitely read this one??