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

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

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[Following is a volunteer review of "Apollo's Raven" by Linnea Tanner.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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Apollo’s Raven by Linnea Tanner is a historical fiction and romance story filled with political intrigue and mystical battles. The story follows two protagonists on their fantastical journey through Rome’s attempt at overtaking ancient Britton in the early first century. Catrin, a Britton princess and druidess, and Marcellus, the son of a Roman general and ancestor of the infamous Marc Antony, both struggle with their loyalties to their forbidden love to each other and their loyalties to their peoples. I rate this story three out of four stars . I enjoyed the twisting plot, the character growth, and the setting. I disliked the predictability of the villains, the frustration the side characters caused, and the fast pace of the romance. There were also a few grammatical errors, which I won’t list here.

I quite enjoyed the overall plot of the book. It twisted and turned, leaving way to quite a few surprises that I didn’t expect. To avoid spoilers, I’ll just say that while an early revelation surrounding the antagonists was suspected, it was still satisfying to read and see it come to fruition. The side plot with the Romans vs. the Brittons was a little boring; however, as it still greatly affected the plot, it was still interesting to read to figure out how it was important.

I greatly liked the character growth of Catrin. She starts as a physically strong but naïve warrior. She metamorphizes into a strong, confident druidess of her own right with the help of her beloved Raven. She keeps her kindness and wits along the way, maintaining a strong character. I couldn’t say the same for Marcellus, who doesn’t really change much throughout the book – he is always presented as a cocky, yet kind, guy. While his character is indeed likeable, it is a shame he doesn’t go through the same positive changes as Catrin and come into his own. I tried to keep in mind that this book was the first in part of a planned series, however; perhaps the next book will focus more on Marcellus.

The setting was really neat! The story takes place in the late 20s (AD) in what will later become Great Britain. The island is made up of different clans run by kings, and every territory has different relationships with each other and Rome. It’s all very interesting seeing different characters’ viewpoints on these relationships. Both Britton and Rome are very religious, and it was awesome comparing the two in those aspects, as well. I overall really enjoyed the setting – Tanner either really did her research or embellished very convincingly.

While the setting was masterfully done, the same could not be said for the predictable plot surrounding the antagonists. Again, not too much can be said without spoiling the entire plot, but it was just very disappointing with such dynamic and interesting characters that the author would choose to go certain routes with them that were very easy to guess. It made the story feel cheap, even though you could tell the author worked very hard on it in other ways.

Certain side characters were such a thorn in my side that they helped keep the book from being four stars. They weren’t written too poorly; I just cannot tell if they were meant to be that infuriating. For example, the Britton Queen – she was one character I just couldn’t stand reading. Her decisions were irrational, overly dramatic, and problematic, yet we are supposed to believe she is also a good mother and fair leader because that is what we are told by Catrin. It was just overly frustrating and not good writing when we are repeatedly told something but shown something completely different.

The fast pace of the romance was just awful. I genuinely love a good romance story – that being said, I love a good romance story. Catrin and Marcellus go from mutual attraction to throwing around the “L” word in just a few short chapters (and a few short days in the story). It is very unrealistic and completely threw off the whole pace of the book. The love scenes between the two were just silly and not well-written at all. All in all, I was very disappointed with the romance aspect of the book.

Overall, the Apollo’s Raven is about a warrior princess trying to overcome a prophecy using the powers of the Ancient Druids and her Raven, all while her kingdom is undergoing a political attack by unknown forces. The book has its highs and lows, and I rate it three out of four stars . I generally recommend this book if you like historical fiction and fantasy reads. I don’t recommend this book if you cannot read or dislike reading sex scenes or graphic descriptions of religious sacrifices. All in all, I mostly enjoyed reading this book.

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Apollo's Raven
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