Review by kadinkins14 -- Apollo's Raven by Linnea Tanner

kadinkins14 · Post by **kadinkins14** » 21 Aug 2019, 18:53

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

3 out of 4 stars

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Apollo’s Raven (Curse of Clansmen and Kings Book 1) by Linnea Tanner immerses the reader into a fantastical story set in Britannia. Catrin, a young princess of Britannia, has magical powers and a mystical connection with a raven. This raven is her intermediary into another realm in which she can see the future. When a Roman army threatens her family and her people, a hostage swap is negotiated between the Romans and Catrin’s family. Catrin falls in love with Marcellus, the Roman hostage. However, Catrin is forced to make a difficult decision; either save her family and people or save Marcellus. Guided by her raven and her powers, Catrin resolves to try accomplish both difficult feats.

I would give Apollo’s Raven (Curse of Clansmen and Kings Book 1) a 3 out of 4 stars. It is a highly enjoyable novel that will appeal to many readers because of the diverse genres it encompasses. Historical fiction, fantasy, romance, and adventure abound in this novel. It would be difficult to choose one overlying genre because a case could be made for all of those genres. I especially enjoyed the reluctant romance between Catrin and Marcellus; my heart was torn when Catrin had to decide how she was going to save her family and Marcellus when all the odds indicated she could only save one or the other. The Celtic culture that was painstakingly described throughout the novel was very interesting and really added to the depth of the story. The novel was free of any noticeable grammatical or spelling errors.

While I enjoy fantasy, the reason I only gave this book a 3 out of 4 stars is because I thought the fantastical parts of the story were hard to follow. The descriptions of the “other world” and of the raven’s powers often left me confused and tempted to skim over those sections. I also thought that the ending was abrupt and left the reader hanging. There were several story lines that were left unresolved which was my least favorite aspect of this novel. I can only hope that a sequel has been written or is in the process of being written.

Due to the graphic nature of some of the sexual scenes, I would recommend that only mature readers tackle this novel. Mature high school students that enjoy fantasy and historical fiction would be a great audience for this book. Let me offer a warning for those readers who do not enjoy fantasy; this is not the book for you! Also, those with deep religious convictions that may be offended by the references to pagan gods might not enjoy this novel. There are many references to the god Apollo throughout the story which are appropriate for the time period of the novel.

Overall, I would recommend this novel as an intriguing story that will compel the reader to keep turning the pages to find out what happens next. The reader will enjoy a potluck of genres and a strong heroine that will inevitably save the day.

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Apollo's Raven
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Erin Painter Baker · Post by **Erin Painter Baker** » 23 Aug 2019, 10:23

This sounds like an interesting book. Historical Fantasy Romance is a genre in and of itself, I think, and books often get placed in either Fantasy or Romance based solely on their author. The one thing that bothers me is that the book appears to be mostly set in Catrin's world, and told from Catrin's POV. So why are we focused on the Roman god, Apollo? Why is her raven not sent by one of her own gods?
But, I do want to thank you for mentioning the Raven and his powers. This is the first review of this book that I have read that has done that.

DD129 · Post by **DD129** » 24 Aug 2019, 18:11

Another fantasy story for me to devour! Thank you for your review; it really got me interested. I know fantasy books have the problem of incorporating too much or bad worldbuilding, but I still want to give this book a shot.