Review by Shareese7 -- Apollo's Raven by Linnea Tanner

Shareese7 · Post by **Shareese7** » 29 Jan 2018, 20:24

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

3 out of 4 stars

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Apollo’s Raven, by Linnea Tanner,is the first novel in the Apollo’s Raven Book Series. It is a great book of adventure, wars and rumors of wars, alliances, magic, forbidden romance, and betrayal. It will have you hooked from the beginning until the end. This novel is set in the ancient time of Britannia and the Roman Empire. It is a time where fierce Celtic kings and warrior queens stood and lead as equals. It is a place and time where the royal daughters are as fierce in battle as any of their male counterparts. Apollo's Raven intertwines the mystic realms of the Druid and the Roman myths and realities. It is a historical fiction novel of epic proportions where the more you read it, the less you are able to put it down.

The main character in Apollo’s Raven is Catrin, who is a fierce yet soft warrior princess navigating between childhood and a womanhood. This internal struggle is sparked when she sees and meet the Roman stranger who became the “guest” of the royal family during some renegotiations. Catrin also has a “pet” raven and she and her pet hold a very strong and potentially dangerous magical secret. What is it? Well you will have to read this book to find out.

And then there is Marcellus. Marcellus is the son of the Roman Senator, Lucius Antonius, who is a descendant of Marc Antony. Marcellus came with his father to Britannia who is there on emperor business, or is he? Marcellus is a cunning young man with a wit to stay in and out of trouble... and an eye for the lovely Princess Catrin, and she has an eye on him too. His father, Lucius, does not only have two faces, but many faces, and you will see them all revealed as you read.

Lastly, there is King Amren and Queen Rhiannon. Amren is the king of Cantiaci and the father of Princess Catrin along with two other daughters, Mor and Vala. And he is the father of the outcasted Murrock. But wait… outcasted?!? But why? Like I said you would have to read it. All of it.

There were a few grammatical errors in this novel but not many. Here are is one.
“If he wasn’t careful, he bumped into the round-top table or stool crammed in the middle of the room.”
P.261
This should read “ If he wasn’t careful, he would bumped into the round-top table or stool crammed in the middle of the room. “
I think would should be between ‘he’ and ‘bumped’ to make the sentence flow better.

I give Apollo’s Raven 3 out of 4 stars. I really enjoyed the way the author make you feel you are in the story with the use of imagery. I was completely submerged in every part of this novel. I had to use a dictionary along the way. But use of words and terminology from the ancient time and region of the novel’s setting added to the value of the the story... and increased my vocabulary.

What I didn’t like was as I would read along, on pins and needles I might add, there would be a sudden shift in the story, like some parts did not flow. But I re-read it two or three times and kept going. I loved this book. By the end, I wanted more. I was ready for the next one, and the next one, and all of the novels that are to come in this series. Apollo’s Raven. I think you are going to love it too.

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Apollo's Raven
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kdstrack · Post by **kdstrack** » 07 Feb 2018, 20:05

Thanks for your review. I like how you describe Catrin and her struggles and development throughout the story. Your comments about the book being a page turner are encouraging. Nice job.