Mark of the Raven

Before I get to the actual book review, allow me to bring to your attention that Mark of the Raven releases today, and is available at CBD.com, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble! Mark of the Raven is the first book in The Ravenwood Saga (Book Two releases April 30, 2019).

MotR (2)

So… onto the review!

Book Title: Mark of the Raven (The Ravenwood Saga, Book One)

Author: Morgan L. Busse

Publisher: Bethany House

Pages: 352

Available at: CBD.com, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble

Summary:

Mort1 Lady Selene is the heir to the Great 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. For the last hundred years, the Ravenwood women have used their gift of dreaming for hire to gather information or to assassinate.

As she discovers her family’s dark secret, Selene is torn between upholding her family’s legacy–a legacy that supports her people–or seeking the true reason behind her family’s gift.

Her dilemma comes to a head when she is tasked with assassinating the one man who can bring peace to the nations, but who will also 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 execution. Which will she choose? And is she willing to pay the price for the path chosen?

Positive Elements:

Selene’s family cares for their people; a character mentors another; Selene is determined to protect her sisters.

Negative Elements:

None.

Spiritual Elements:

Character pray to the Dark Lady; a priest falls into a trance; characters pray to the Light; characters question the existence and knowledge of the Dark Lady.

Violence:

A character suffers when coming into her gift; it is mentioned someone murdered their parents; a man is attacked by a wolf; a caravan is attacked, and people are killed; people are forced to relive their worst fears; people are killed on the sea; someone’s mind is shattered; people are assassinated.

Other:

It is implied that a woman is raped (there is nothing explicit, nor does it go into details).

Rating:

5 Stars

Epilogue:

I’ve read all of Morgan Busse’s books, and while I enjoyed them, Mark of the Raven is by far my favorite and the best. Action-packed, full of angst and danger, and brimming with decisions that mold Selene and Damien into relatable characters, Mark of the Raven is a book that will keep you up until you’ve finished it, and is a must read.

*I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.