This was a good October, spooky season read that I would recommend to new adults who enjoy steamy romance scenes. The spice was there for sure!

I was provided this book through NetGalley by Harper L. Carnes and this is my honest review:

For me The Raven Key had a very strong start and the mystery was captivating and the atmosphere was definitely eerie. I wanted to know what happened next and why Seth not only had that tragic past but was also seemingly being followed by all these crows. However as the story progressed and it morphed from a "teen-romance" to an horror story it kept getting more convulsed and too much information was thrown into the mix.

For the amount of pages this book had there were also too many characters, each with their own plotlines which made it hard to cover them all in a satisfactory way for me. As for the romance while there was parts I did enjoy, the age-difference didn't seem to make much sense to me in this case except to later slide in a shocking revelation about Gabriel's past.

Basically the second half of the book wasn't my cup of tea but I do see the potential in it and perhaps in the next book things can be better explained. However I do think some of the faults I found with this book might be because, as far as I'm aware, this is the author's first book and perhaps it just needed some extra editing to make it great. As a side note I did also find a few typos and at one time a full sentence that repeated twice in the same page so perhaps the final draft could still use some revision.

An intriguing read, and a phenomenal first entry into a startup series. The mystery of Seth’s mother’s attack that starts off the story and sets the tone for how it progresses is quite intriguing and keeps the reader engaged. I did not like the subplot of Seth lying about his age to Gabriel however, and how it’s played off as Gabriel overreacting to his age

Special thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Not for me. I was not a fan of the age difference. In addition, I was more interested in the mc's past and the other aspects of the storyline fell flat to me.

I appreciated the warnings before reading this, it had a great overall story with characters that worked in the world that was set. Harper L. Carnes has a great writing style and the characters were written perfectly.

This was a fun read. I loved all the magical aspects, and I'm a sucker for a good cursed from childhood story. The romance was great, I loved every character involved, and the cliffhanger ending has me dying for more.

The world building was really interesting. I’m excited to see where this author goes! The background characters were great! It took a minute for me to connect with the main character but overall a great story!!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!!

In "The Raven Key: The Famirian Chronicles" by Harper L. Carnes treats us to an imaginative world of fantasy and romance that sweeps you off your feet and carries you to a world where secrets and supernatural powers entwine.

Seth Cunningham's life has been anything but ordinary, plagued by a traumatic childhood event that left deep scars. As he navigates the intricacies of life, Carnes' paints a picture of his journey to find love, redemption, and self-discovery. While the horrors of Seth's past loom large, a budding romance with Gabriel provides a ray of hope in his otherwise turbulent world.

A haunting voice within Seth echoes from the depths of his soul. It's a voice shared only with the ravens who appear to serve a dark, insatiable hunger. As Seth grapples with his inner demons and the unearthly forces at play, we are thrust into an intricate dance between the ordinary and the supernatural.

Carnes has contrived a story that blends the romantic with the supernatural, painting a world where love and darkness coexist. The descriptions and well-drawn characters envelope you in the story, making you feel every emotion and sense every heartbeat. It's a tale that tantalizes with intrigue and mystique, leaving you yearning for the next turn of the page.

"The Raven Key" is a unique and imaginative experience. Carnes has crafted a story that probes the human psyche and explores the resilience of the human spirit against the forces of darkness. This book will leave you yearning for more.

"A spellbinding blend of romance and the supernatural that will leave you breathless."

"Harper L. Carnes weaves a mesmerizing tale of love, redemption, and the unknown."

"An enchanting journey into a world where secrets and supernatural forces collide."

"Immerse yourself in a story that explores the resilience of the human spirit against darkness."

"A unique and imaginative experience that will leave you yearning for more."

"A mix of the ordinary and the supernatural, where love and darkness coexist."

"Prepare to be transported to a world where the mysteries of the heart meet unearthly forces."

"A vivid tale that will make you feel every emotion and sense every heartbeat."

I found it a bit slow going at the start (after the initial attention grabbing prologue).

Lots of characters were introduced but not really fleshed out - although Seth was very well written and I absolutely loved his character and felt his confusion and angst. I’m guessing/hoping the other characters will get more attention in future books. Classic first in series syndrome - lots of world building and character introductions - and loose ends!

The world-building was convincing and the atmosphere evocative. The pace sped up later and the story became gripping. The end was frustrating so I definitely want to read the next in the series!

I don’t think it is a YA book at all.

Also - just a small puzzlement - Kit was Silver? But why was he suddenly called Kit when he reappears near end as a guardian spirit? Did I miss a clue to this renaming?

This LGBT story should have been great but sadly it had so many different characters and plot lines it was hard to really care about anyone. The story did flow half way decently but with that amount of characters with an under 400 pages it was a lot. And I found myself having to reread sections over and over to really grasp the story. This one reminds me of the same issues I had with Priory with the Orange Tree.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book ahead of time in exchange for a review. It didn't disappoint! Must read!!

This book is filled with heartache, tragedy, horror/terror, romance, and struggles.

It will fill you with rage, make you smile, pull at your heart strings, and make you cry all in the span of one single chapter.

As a trauma survivor and someone with PTSD, I love that Harper L. Carnes incorporates this into her writing/book and shows the struggles and darkness within this certain mental illness. It helps shine a light on a very real struggle and I think she does a beautiful job of doing so with her writing.

And speaking of writing, it was beautiful. It was well-done, and detailed to the point it wasn’t difficult to imagine the story unfolding.

I have to say, I’m impatiently waiting for book two now, because, THAT ENDING 😮‍💨 (I also think I read it’s from a different POV so I’m excited about that!!)

But, this was for sure an easy 5 stars for me, and I can’t wait to see more from Harper L. Carnes 👏🏻👏🏻

This has a very interesting start. Unfortunately, I didn't find that I could stay interested. There were more things that took away from the story than added to it for me.

the prologue to this book starts this story off on a pretty dark note. which I like.

unfortunately it went south not long after that.
Seth is hard to like or care about. It was hard for me to sit through this book. It will definitely do well in the right readers hands.

DNF 37%
I found Seth’s past and feelings toward his mother captivating but beyond that I was bored. I like the relationship between Seth and Gabriel. It’s nice to see something healthy. I like that although the father has a drinking problem he is still there to make sure Seth goes to therapy and lets him know that he’s there if he wants to talk. His drinking so far hasn’t made him a bad father.

This was definitely a good book! The writing and pacing were phenomenal!! I will say that this book is definitely for mature audiences as there are multiple s3x scenes (that were very descriptive 🙃). All and all I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and can't wait for the next part as it did leave the reader hanging.

<spoiler> <u>The Raven Key <u> starts with a bang: Eliza is trying to drown her six-year-old son Seth in the woods behind their house. She’s convinced that something evil lurks inside of him and killing him is the only way she can stop in from emerging.

We flash forward to Seth as a prickly, angry seventeen-year-old. He’s traumatized (obviously) by his mother’s horrific act, convinced that her actions were the result of mental illness. When we met him, he’s wrestling with his anger towards his mother, work, his senior year of high school, his alcoholic father, and just when he’s starting to notice the presence of ravens and other strange birds, he meets a handsome, mysterious, older love interest, Gabriel.

Things I liked: the Portland, Oregon setting adds to a great spooky/Fall atmosphere. I felt like Harper Carnes does a fantastic job of incorporating the city and its suburbs into the story, particularly in an eerie pocket-park scene where the reader realizes that nature encroaching into suburbia is more ominous than Seth understands. Seth himself is well-realized, and you root for him as he figures out that he’s surrounded by the supernatural. Appreciated the queer representation and a depiction of the PNW that wasn’t lily-white, which it so often is in fiction.

What didn’t work for me: I felt like there were so many characters with so many competing plotlines introduced that I never ended up caring about either the characters or their arcs in more than a superficial way. We’ve got Seth’s ex-boyfriend, who is dying of cancer. Not be confused, as I was, with Seth’s other ex-boyfriend, the abusive and awful Adam. His best friend Evelyn has a not very flushed out “bullied by mean girls” subplot that seems to exist only to show how the paranormal is escalating around Seth. Oh, and also she’s a witch, but doesn’t know it. And of course, Seth’s father, who has been caring for him since his mother was committed for the whole attempted murder thing, isn’t actually his father. Not to mention that our gorgeous green-eyed love interest Gabriel comes with his own set of friends, family, and secrets. Layer in a bunch of supernatural world building, and I just found myself skimming.

Finally, the relationship between Seth and Gabriel really didn’t work for me. They meet a college party, Seth lies about his age, they connect again, start dating, exchange love declarations, and have on page sex all before Gabriel finds out that Seth’s in high school. The result of Seth’s deception is that Gabriel unknowingly commits statutory rape. I think the sex scenes are supposed to be spicy, but Gabriel, who is all about consent, is participating on the basis of a lie, which is uncomfortable enough before it’s revealed that he was sexually assaulted as a teenager by an older mentor. It’s also hard to imagine how they got so far in their relationship without anything ever giving Seth’s age away. They spend enough time together to fall in love (most of it off page), but they’ve never gone somewhere where Seth’s been carded? Never talked about how they spend their days? Seth figured out that Gabriel wasn’t fully human because his eyes flashed yellow twice, but Gabriel really doesn’t question Seth’s age, especially after his sister calls him out on how young Seth looks? YMMV. </spoiler>

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

Seth is haunted by the memories of his mother trying to drown him as a child. When he lies about his age to Gabriel that he’s interested in, they get into a sweet and caring relationship. Gabriel is compassionate about Seth’s trauma but also harbors secrets of his own. As Seth discovers newfound powers, their world is upended, and they must navigate their own secrets, truths, and the complexities of their relationship while striving to save themselves and others.

“The Raven Key” by Harper L. Carnes is a perfect queer fantasy book. I loved the unique spin on lore which reminds me a lot of Native American lore. I loved Seth and Gabriel’s sweet and complicated relationship that’s realistic despite being a fantasy book. I felt the trauma aspects of the book were good. 5 out of 5 stars and cannot wait for a second book.

Unexpected! I love going in without knowing the background information of a book or series. I enjoyed the author's explanation of the background of each character and the romantic connection of the main characters. Although this is fantasy based, the "horror" aspects were not overdone and the scenes were short enough for the reader to understand but not too long to where I was bored. I also loved that the author incorporated scenes and conversation in Spanish and delved a little bit into our culture. The only aspect of this book that I did not like was the age gap between the main love interests. I'm not a fan of underage people having relationships with older individuals. In this case one person was 17 and the other in their early 20's. I do appreciate that the author provided a trigger warning in the synopsis of the book, briefly at the beginning of the book and in a section in the back of the book for topics related to abuse, mental illness, etc. I wish more books provided that to the reader! Overall, this was a quick read but one where I was able to get lost for a bit. I look forward to reading the other books in the series!

DNF at 27%

Unfortunately, I feel like this book was misrepresented by the tags. First of all, I didn't even get halfway, but in the parts I read there is absolutely no horror, except maybe the prologue. Also, I had to check several times that this wasn't labelled as YA anywhere, because it definitely reads like a YA fantasy romance. There is nothing wrong with YA fantasy romances, but that is not what this book was advertised as, and not what I thought I was signing up for.

I'm disappointed because I really liked the concept, but the book itself just isn't holding my attention. I would have expected it to pick up more by now, or just be generally creepier for something that is tagged mainly as Horror.

One compliment: I do appreciate the inclusion of content warnings in the book, which I hope becomes common practice. This book also does it in my preferred way, with a more general note at the beginning and a detailed note at the end of the book.