Deep within an enchanted forest lies a castle where a set of triplets and their sorceress mother have lived for years — safe from the decades-long war for the Raven Throne that rages in the kingdom beyond. Cordelia, one of the triplets, has the power to become any animal with just a thought, and she yearns to discover more about the world outside her castle.
But one day, the world comes to her, when the eldest of the triplets becomes the newest heir to the throne. Knowing that being named heir means certain death, Cordelia’s mother hid the truth about which child is the eldest when she hid them in the forest. When her family is captured, it’s up to Cordelia to use her powers to keep her siblings hidden and discover the truth about the Raven Heir — before it’s too late.
Written for a middle grade audience, this is a fast paced, magic drenched book with a clever idea. It's written totally from Cordelia's point of view, and according to goodreads it's the first of a series. There's certainly plenty of places it could go after this one.
Unusually for this age group, the story starts in the middle and the characters don't know what's going on for quite a while. It's not my favourite style of storytelling, but it works well for this story. The different styles of magic are discovered through trial and error, too. They all fit together beautifully, and they match their owners perfectly. (Strange, that!) The kids also seemed far older than their age of twelve, but maybe that's what happens when you go through the things they went through.
I'm really excited to see what happens in further books in the series. There could be plenty more stories in this series, and I look forward to reading all of them. (And maybe Cordelia can regain something important she lost in this one...)
The Raven Heir publishes on the 5th of August, 2021 in the UK and on the 14th of September, 2021 in the US, with the same cover. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
I always like Stephanie Burgis's books, and I really like the premise of this one. Nice cover, too!
ReplyDeleteIt's great, isn't it? Really colourful and lovely. I enjoyed the read but I think the cover will catch a lot of eyes!
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