Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Mark of the Raven

GIVEAWAY
BUSSE, MORGAN L.
MARK OF THE RAVEN

Dreamwalker. Nightwatcher. Lady of Ravenwood.
Lady Selene has come into her family's power. But has she inherited a gift or a curse?

Lady Selene is heir to the House of Ravenwood and the secret family gift of dreamwalking. As a dreamwalker, she can enter a person's dreams and manipulate their greatest fears or desires. Soon after the gifting, however, Selene discovers that the Ravenwood women have been secretly using their gift to gather information or to assassinate those responsible for the fall of House Ravenwood to the Dominia Empire hundreds of years ago.

As she becomes more entrenched in Ravenwood's dark past, Selene longs to find out the true reason behind her family's gift, believing that its original intent could not have been for such evil purposes, but she is torn about upholding her family's legacy -- a legacy that supports her people. Selene's dilemma comes to a head when she is tasked with assassinating the one man who can bring peace to the nations -- but who is also prophesied to bring about the downfall of her own house.

One path holds glory and power and will solidify her position as Lady of Ravenwood. The other path holds shame and likely death. Which will she choose? And is she willing to pay the price for the path chosen?

My Review:

Whoa! I'm not quite sure how to write a review for this one! A bit of a departure from my usual reading material because, though I love fantasy, I'm rather picky about which books I choose. A speculative fiction story either grabs me or it doesn't and I'm not sure I can even tell you what the yay or nay factors are but I can tell you that Mark of  the Raven not only grabbed me, it swallowed me whole and refused to regurgitate me until the very end...which is more of a beginning, really. Agh! There's so much I want to say and so much I can't say...ha! I'm like Lady Selene, bound by secrets I cannot share.

Busse has done some really creative world-building -- a kind of Medieval fairy tale ambiance with a lot more edge! I mean, seriously -- a dreamwalking would-be-assassin heroine?! What a hook! And I liked Selene right from the start, even though the burden of her gifting  is beginning to blacken her soul. Such inner turmoil as she struggles with wanting to be the kind of dark leader her mother claims she needs to be while not quite able to let go of what is true and noble and kind. Some parts of her story were hard to read and I kept shouting at her to find a better way but unfortunately, she wasn't dreamwalking in my dreams so it didn't do her (or me) any good!

Grand Lord Damien is the stuff legends are made of.  The kind of hero who puts the welfare of his people before himself. Eager to carry on his father's legacy and bring peace to the nation, he attempts to unite the seven ruling Houses in order to create a stronghold that will keep their common enemy from invading their lands. Treachery, politics, secret alliances...Busse spins an intriguing tale around the age old theme of good versus evil which includes a compelling inspirational thread.

This is the first book in The Ravenwood Saga, and like most fantasy novels, the story doesn't exactly draw to a conclusion as much as it lines things up for the next book. So definitely a cliffhanger ending, but there's enough resolution to keep me somewhat satisfied until Flight of the Raven releases in April 2019.

Book provided by Baker's Publishing Group and Graf-Marting Communications Inc.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Mark of the Raven, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca.  If you add your email to a comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday January 12 2019. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

25 comments:

  1. I already own a copy, so you don't have to put me in the giveaway, but I absolutely loved it. I could gush over the world building alone, but the romance (or potential?) [heart-felt sigh]. And that ending . . . I actually really liked it. Well, I did knowing full well that it's a series (otherwise it would be complete emotional torture, instead of rabid excitement for the next book). I have a hard time finding fantasy books that are both clean and compelling, but this one blew me away. May (publication date of book 2) cannot come soon enough!

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    1. I know -- the world building! And I loved that it was easy to follow -- sometimes fantasy novels tend to be so complicated and foreign that it's hard to follow...at least for me. But this was cleverly done -- unique but relatable. And memorable. Can't wait until Aoril...well Aoril 30th which means we won't get our books until May. :-) Thanks for chiming in, Rachael. Wouldn't this make an awesome book club read?! So much to talk about but we can't because of spoilers.

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  2. Looks really neat being able to enter other peoples dreams 😀
    Thanks for the chance 💕🍯🐝💖
    iamabho AT gmail DOT com

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    1. Isn't that an interesting concept?! Good luck, Linda!

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    2. Yes I would like to be able to do that LOL 😆 Haha 😂
      Thanks

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  3. Love your review. I can tell you really liked this one. I'm sure I will too.

    dianemestrella at gmail dot com

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    1. Definitely one for the keeper shelf. Good luck, Diane.

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  4. Love your review. Will put In a request for the library to get some copies. cheetahthecat1986ATgmailDOTcom

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  5. I love that this one gave you so much you want to say, but yet you can't. What a great dilemma.
    turtle6422 at gmail dot com

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    1. But so hard to zip my lips! lol Good luck, Jana Leah!

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  6. I've heard so many good things about this book! And the sequel is coming in April :)

    samanthabis23 at gmail dot com

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    1. I know -- can't wait for book two! Good luck, Samantha!

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  7. I have been hearing quite a bit of good about this one! LattebooksAThotmailDOTcom

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  8. Sounds so good and have heard great things about the book. Perhaps I can even share with my teenager...
    mindyhoung AT msn DOT com

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    1. Yes!!! It would make a great YA read as well! Good luck, Mindy!

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  9. Great review, KAV! I enjoy this genre!

    psalm103and138atgmaildotcom

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  10. Thank you for sharing.
    leliamae54(at)aol(dot)com

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  11. Thanks for the giveaway!

    ladysnowangelphotos(at)gmail(dot)com

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  12. I was wondering if this book is suitable for our Young Adult section of the church library? By young adult, I mean ages 16 and up.
    Janet E.
    von1janet(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. Yes -- definitely. I don't think it's tagged as YA but it's similar to YA fantasy that I've read. And the heroine is young -- late teens, I'm guessing though it isn't stated and it's a powerful coming of age story. Good luck, Janet!

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