Author: Kaitlyn Davis
Publisher: Kaitlyn Davis Mosca
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release date: March 9th, 2020
Pages: 506
Goodreads page: here
My rating: 3.75/5 ⭐
Publisher: Kaitlyn Davis Mosca
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release date: March 9th, 2020
Pages: 506
Goodreads page: here
My rating: 3.75/5 ⭐
Synopsis
Four fates collide in this avian-inspired, epic fantasy retelling of Tristan and Isolde perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Sabaa Tahir, and Leigh Bardugo!
A princess longing to be free...
On the dawn of her courtship trials, Princess Lyana Aethionus knows she should be focused on winning her perfect mate, yet her thoughts wander to the open sky waiting at the edge of her floating kingdom. One final adventure calls. Upon fleeing the palace, the last thing she expects to find is a raven prince locked in a death match with a dragon.
A bastard aching to belong...
Reviled son of a dead king, Rafe would do anything for his beloved half-brother, Prince Lysander Taetanus, including posing as him in the upcoming courtship trials. When a dragon interrupts their secret exchange, he orders his studious sibling to run. After suffering a fatal blow, Rafe is saved by a beautiful dove who possesses forbidden magic, just like him.
Fate brought them together, now destiny will tear them apart...
Unknown to the world above, on the foggy sea ten thousand feet below, a young king fights a forgotten war. He believes Lyana is the queen prophesied to save the world, and with the help of his favored spy, hidden deep in the highest ranks of the dove royal house, he will stop at nothing to have her.
Three shocking betrayals. Two star-crossed lovers. One unforgettable journey. If you like fierce heroines, brooding heroes, forbidden romance, and action-packed magical adventures with twists you'll never see coming, don't miss The Raven and the Dove!
My thoughts
I thought this book was just a Tristan & Isolde retelling but oh my... it was SO MUCH MORE. It is a YA fantasy with forbidden magic, floating islands and dragons ! Yes, yes, dragons. I was not prepared for that and this book really surprised me.
It took me a few chapters to get into the story, but once I got invested, I couldn't stop reading. Not because the plot was amazing, it was merely okay to be honest, but the romance! The tension ! Oh my god, it was well done. Really well done.
“This will not defeat you. It will not define you.”This book has 4 points of view: Lyana and Rafe, the main characters, but also Xander, Rafe's brother, and Cassie, Lyana's bestfriend. While I really enjoyed Lyana and Rafe's POV, I was a bit bored by Xander's and Cassie's pov. Xander was a whiny character, and I could not care less about him but maybe we can fault Lyana and Rafe's romance for that, because I was really invested in them honestly.And Cassie wasn't a likeable character, from the start I felt like we knew too much her and in my opinion, to have Cassie's point of view took out the surprise of a few plot twists in this book.
Also, the main character Lyana is black and I was so happy with that. Look how gorgeous she is on the cover ! We need more books with black main characters !
I really enjoyed the courtship trials in the first half of the book, and the plot got really interesting towards the end. So much was going on and I found myself really invested in the last 100 pages. My heart really ached for some of the characters and I need book 2 now!
Overall, I enjoyed this book and I would really recommend it to romance fantasy with a hint of epic fantasy lovers !
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me an e-ARC of this book.
