Soul of a Raven

this was a beautifully done gothic novel, it had a great historical element. It had everything that I was hoping for in this type of book, and worked so well in the time-period. I really enjoyed reading this and getting to know these characters and I thought they were well-written. I hope Catherine Bloor writes more of this type of book.

"She picked up the stones from the ground, pushed the crusty dry mud off them with the heel of her thumb. They were pleasingly smooth and rounded, almost soft when she rested them against her cheek. She made two piles in front of her. A pile of big ones, the size of a penny and grey and smooth and cool, and small ones, smaller than an ha’penny."

The cover of this book is what drew me to it the most. That happens a lot to me and, honestly, I'm normally left feeling like the story didn't live up to the covers hype lol. But this! This gothic story is really perfectly done. It's like a story within a story. "It started with a human sacrifice", and I was already hooked. Corvus was really the star of the show and I looked forward to his chapters.

Soul of a Raven by Catherine Bloor is a fantasy gothic with druidic and witchy elements that is both suspenseful and mysterious.

The story follows Wren who is tasked with protecting something ancient from a dark shadowy force who has stalked her predecessors for centuries. A mystical pendant, moon magic, and ravens conjure a beguiling story about fate and inheritance.

I really enjoyed this story as it had a good balance of magic and mystery. The story itself was gothic, with its supernatural aspects along with its past-present timeline. There was enough suspense and drama to keep me engaged and the magic was enchanting. I was worried this was going to be a high fantasy tale, but I'm so glad it wasn't. The characters were interesting, and I would have liked more information about the origins of the antagonist. The story is a magical interpretation of the famous London Stone which I didn't know anything about. This was a good read, and I look forward to reading future works by the author.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a free arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Soul of a Raven is a gothic fantasy novel about a woman who finds a book that tells the tale of a girl named Wren. She reads the book out loud to her mom and strange things happen. Wren's story is interesting and quite lonely. The atmosphere is really spot-on in this story as are the well-written characters. Overall I thought it was a great story and look forward to seeing where it goes next.

I give this book ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5!

Soul of a Raven is a Gothic Fantasy, imbuing mystery and magic into this dark and enchanting tale. This Story follows Wren, a child holding onto a magical pendant to protected from a dark entity, Corvus, who has hunted her family for centuries. This is a dual timeline book, bouncing from present to past though a manuscript written by a deceased family member.

It is honestly very interesting – I didn’t know the London Stone existed until this book, or any of the mystery surrounding it, So that was a cool bit of history! I was drawn in from the very beginning with the sacrifice, and the witchy and druidic elements in the story. I really liked the character of Corvus, he was my favorite of the book, but I didn't find that any of the characters disappointed me. I would highly recommend this book if you are into gothic literature, witchy/supernatural story lines and darker reads in general. I look forward to reading more from Catherine Bloor in the future!

Thanks to Cranthrope Millner Publishers and Catherine Bloor for sharing this ARC with me for my honest review!

I was provided an advance copy of Soul of a Raven through Net Galley for an honest review. I would like to thank the publisher and the author for the opportunity.

Soul of a Raven is a little difficult for me to rate; it was not a book that I raced home to pick up, but once I started reading each night, I became absolutely engrossed in the story and did not want to put it down.

The novel is technically a dual timeline story, with a modern day character finding a 19th century manuscript about the life of an ancestor, Wren. However, the modern story and characters only take up a few pages of the story with nearly all of the action taking place in the late 1800s.

The historical tale, involving Wren and Corvus, is quite dark and tragic and has an almost hypnotic feel.

For the first quarter of the book, I really wasn’t sure how I felt about it. While I was fascinated, I wasn’t sure I actually liked the story; but once I realised that that I wouldn’t be moving back and forth between timelines and really embraced Wren’s story, I loved the book. And, without giving anything away, I absolutely did not expect the ending.

I would absolutely recommend Soul of a Raven and if, like me, you struggle a little at the beginning, bear with it – it is well worth the effort.

A gothic infused historical novel that I loved, it was excuted incredibly well and was everything that I have looked for in this genre but hadn't found yet. I loved it.