3 out of 4 stars
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Apollo’s Raven by Linnea Tanner is a work of historical fantasy set during 24 AD in Celtic Britain. The story is about a Celtic princess and a Roman, who fall in love amidst the conflict brewing in the region. The novel contains supernatural elements of magic and fantasy, which adds suspense and tension to the story. The language used in the book is predominantly informal, personal, and simple, which adds liveliness to the text.
The author begins the story by introducing a princess named Catrin, who has a special relationship with her pet raven. Born with a raven spirit, she can guide the raven and see through its eyes. The reader learns that her half-brother, Marrock, who has been banished from the kingdom for his despicable murders, is sailing with the Romans toward the coasts of her kingdom. Catrin senses the danger and runs to warn her father, King Amren. King Amren meets with a Roman senator and his son. Catrin and the senator’s son, Marcellus, begin liking each other, and this is the beginning of a huge romance between them. However, there is a secret curse that Catrin must alter to save her father from Marrock. Will Catrin alter the curse? Will the love between Catrin and Marcellus survive the surrounding hate?
The novel had numerous advantages. Firstly, the novel was chronologically, coherently, and clearly structured, creating a logical flow in the text, thereby allowing the reader to grasp the meaning of the story. Furthermore, I liked the fact that the writer was accurate in her historical descriptions, indicating that she had done her research prior to writing this book. Moreover, the book was professionally edited, since I only encountered a few errors. This highly elevates the writer’s credibility and professionalism, What I liked most in the story was the fact that it contained suspense, tension, and emotion, which engaged the reader in the novel.
There were also a couple of negative elements in the book. More analytically, the story was unoriginal, as it was cliché and highly similar to other fantasy novels. Additionally, the novel lacked realism, as the plot did not match a real-life scenario. What I disliked most about the book was that it contained profanity and erotic scenes, which distracted me from the main plot of the story.
This book is best suited for readers who enjoy historical fiction novels related to Celtic Britain. Readers who enjoy reading about fantasy and magic will prefer this book. This book is not suited for young readers, as it contains profanity and sexual scenes. The novel will be most appreciated by readers who believe in the Roman or Celtic gods, as the book makes many references to the gods of these cultures.
All in all, I rate the book with 3 out of 4 stars. I did not give it a perfect rating, as I found unoriginal and unrealistic. Nonetheless, a lower score would have been very harsh, as the book was professionally edited, exceptionally structured, and carefully compiled.
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Apollo's Raven
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