Review by Taylor Barraclough -- Apollo's Raven

[Taylor Renee Barraclough]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Apollo's Raven" by Linnea Tanner.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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A Celtic warrior princess with the powers of an oracle, the wayward son of a corrupt Roman politician, and the dark curse of an evil queen that threatens to destroy all sides. Linnea Tanner’s historical romance, Apollo’s Raven, has all the treachery and political intrigue of Game of Thrones with the magic and mysticism of Celtic and Roman mythology.

When her half-brother Marrock suddenly returns to their kingdom with an army of Roman soldiers after being banished years ago, Princess Catrin is forced to reveal a dark secret about herself. She has the ability to link her mind to her raven and foresee the future. Her abilities are a sign that she is the raven spirit destined by a curse from the former queen to destroy the kingdom alongside her brother, the wolf spirit. Shaken to her core by the idea, she is given new hope when she discovers the curse was altered the day her brother abandoned her to die in the woods. As she struggles to understand the change in the curse, her confusion is amplified when she meets a handsome Roman named Marcellus, the son of her father’s enemy. As their feelings for one another grow, she can’t decide if their love is a blessing or a curse from the god’s. Torn between family loyalty and her forbidden romance, Catrin must learn to use her abilities in order to break the curse and destroy fates design for her and Marcellus. Can she save both her kingdom and her love, or will she be forced to sacrifice one for the other?

Magic and mystery. Intrigue and illusion. Shape-shifting and sorcery. Love and loss. This book has all the makings of a great first novel in an extraordinary epic fantasy series. The story is layered with one tantalizing mystery after another. Just when one secret is finally revealed, another pops up in its place. Coupled with ancient magic and a fierce female lead, it’s difficult not to be bewitched by this story from the first page. Catrin quickly journeys from being a mild-mannered princess to a powerful sorceress, but that doesn’t seem to make her trails any easier. Likewise, her brother Marrock is a worthy adversary. The kind of antagonist readers love to hate.

As powerfully written as these two characters are, however, the only issue I take is with the two-dimensional side characters. With such a powerful protagonist and antagonist as well as an incredibly detailed plot, it’s understandable for certain characters and themes to fade into the background. One unfortunate casualty to this idea though is the main characters own love interest, Marcellus. Who by all accounts should be front and center with Catrin. However, he ends up spending the majority of the story either mooning over Catrin or getting injured in an assortment of ways. It seems there is more to come with Marcellus’s personal growth and I hope to see Catrin’s fighting spirit rub off on him a bit more in the next book.

Other than issues with Marcellus and some of the side characters being a bit flat, I immensely enjoyed this book. Overall, I would give this novel 4 out of 4 stars, it is exceptionally well-written and I look forward to reading the rest of the series. Future readers may want to note, that there are some disturbing scenes. The scenes are not overly grotesque or extensive, but those who are particularly sensitive to such themes may want to take caution. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy with a good dose of romance and scandal.

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Apollo's Raven
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Like Taylor Barraclough's review? Post a comment saying so!

[evebarraclough]

Great review of Apollo’s Raven from Taylor Barraclough. She detailed the storyline and characters so well that I want to read more!

[Taylor Renee Barraclough]

Thank you so much! Hope I get a chance to review the next book as well.