Book Review: Flight of the Raven

Flight of the Raven by Morgan L. Busse

YA Fantasy. 400 Pages. 5 Stars

Synopsis:

Outcast. Stranger. Lady of House Maris.

Will her new life in a new land set her on a path from which she can’t escape?

Selene Ravenwood, once the heir to House Ravenwood, is now an exile. On the run and free of her family’s destiny, Selene hopes to find the real reason her family was given the gift of dreamwalking. But first she must adapt to her new role as wife to Lord Damien Maris, the man she was originally assigned to kill.

While adjusting to her marriage and her home in the north, her power over dreams begins to grow. As the strongest dreamwalker to exist in ages, her expanding power attracts not only nightmares but the attention of the Dark Lady herself.

With a war looming on the horizon and a wicked being after her gift, Selene is faced with a choice: accept the Dark Lady’s offer or search out the one who gave her the gift of dreamwalking. One path offers power, the other freedom. But time is running out, and if she doesn’t choose soon, her decision will be made for her.

My Review:

I AM not FREAKING OKAY. 😭

Sooo, I thought the ending of Book 1 was bad! This story tore me up. I was in all out tears. I honestly don’t know that I’ve ever cried so much for a book (not much of a crier usually). And while I do think the book was ah-mazing, I must also admit that I don’t think everyone will have the same reaction I did. There were some things – much like the first book – that just hit me just the right way to break me down.

After coming into her power and wrestling with being groomed to become a dreamwalking assassin, Selene has “betrayed” her house, abandoned her family, and joined one of the houses prophesied to bring about the downfall of House Ravenwood. Talk about an opening! But it was so neat to see Selene relearning how to be. Again, I walked through something similar in my own life and so could relate to Selene’s struggle to behave “normally.” Though she’s rejected her mother’s mandate to be a dreamkiller, she still comes off as cool, and the others don’t fully trust her (why would they after they found her poised to kill Damien in the first book)?

With Damien’s group, she flees her home for sanctuary with House Maris. And, y’all! Talk about a marriage of convenience trope done the best possible way! Ah! I loved Damien’s heart and sacrifice to save Selene’s life. Watching the two of them grow and learn to navigate the consequences of their choice was so compelling. In the aftermath, both Selene and Damien had to choose how they would move forward – and there were quite a few ways it could have gone. That definitely kept me reading!

I did really enjoy getting to see the culture of Northwind Castle and the evolving dynamics of the characters. We also got to go deeper into the magic system, see a few other houses at play, and of course, enjoy that seaside setting <3 I love the ocean and water magic, y’all!

Man, these poor characters had more than their interhouse dynamics and magic issues to deal with. With the Dark Lady’s invasion of Selene’s dreams, Selene’s magic going haywire, and all the character and relational growth happening, you’d think that would be enough to handle. But nooo, we’ve got to throw in a high stakes war from the empire to the list! Again, I tell you, I could not put this book down!

Watching the characters strategize, struggle, and sacrifice is the perfect mix for a thrilling read. And it was so fun to get to return to Rook Castle, too. I love that Rook Castle maintained dignity and that there was a part of the mountains that was still home for Selene, that she could separate the darkness of her mother’s hatred from the people they were meant to serve and the place she grew up in. There were beautiful threads of redemption and reconciliation threaded through these broken people as they learned to lean on and trust in the Light.

And, man, ugh, I’m still tearing up thinking about that ending (two months later!). Just go read the book! This one definitely doesn’t suffer from being the middle book in the trilogy!

Content: some fantasy violence, no swearing, and a clean romance. Themes of dark vs. light, including a power-hungry Dark Lady and her cultish following and some tangible representations of spiritual warfare, bitterness and revenge, redemption and growth, faith and salvation, integrity, morality, purpose, etc. It sounds like a lot, but they’re woven in so tightly and beautifully. Suitable for teens.

More

Book 1 in the Ravenwood Saga is Mark of the Raven (5 Stars)

Book 2 is Flight of the Raven (5 Stars)

Book 3 is Cry of the Raven (5 Stars)

This trilogy must be read in order. You can find more info on Goodreads with the links above.

On GraceBought

Don’t miss my thoughts on the previous book in the series below!

Mark of the Raven