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nickyskene's review
5.0
I just loved this book! Usually I race through books that I really enjoy - this one however I wanted to savour and chose to eek it out, I didn’t want it to be over too fast.
Kesta - a firewalker (a small race of female magic users) travels to a nearby land to make an alliance in order to gain more protection for her people due to necromancers attempting to take over their lands. Kesta is forced into a political marriage under orders of the king to “the dark man” (Jorran) another magic user.
War comes to both lands and it falls to Jorran, Kesta and their people to protect everyone from the evil necromancers.
A definite must read!
Kesta - a firewalker (a small race of female magic users) travels to a nearby land to make an alliance in order to gain more protection for her people due to necromancers attempting to take over their lands. Kesta is forced into a political marriage under orders of the king to “the dark man” (Jorran) another magic user.
War comes to both lands and it falls to Jorran, Kesta and their people to protect everyone from the evil necromancers.
A definite must read!
thatirezende's review
5.0
Wow, what was this book? It's been two days since I finished this story, and I can't stop thinking about the next book of the series! This story has adventure, strong female characters, and magical friends that make us want to stay in this universe for more time. The slow-burn romances work very well, with each chapter giving more information to understand the past of some characters. It became one of my favorite readings of this year, so I highly recommend it!
maitaylor01's review
5.0
Once I started reading this book, I just devoured it! Fortunately, I happened to open it up when I had the house to myself, because to be perfectly frank, I don’t think people would have got a lot of sense out of me while I was reading it – plenty of dirty looks if they dared to interrupt me, but not an awful lot else. It just had everything I want from a fantasy novel – foreign lands, ancient magic, and of course a mysterious but irresistible man to swoon over.
As I read, I found that parts of the book put me in mind of C.S. Lewis’s Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (to my mind, the two best books from Narnia), although I must confess, I can’t quite put my finger on what it was. Maybe the oppression of magic in some, and the ability to communicate with animals in others, or maybe just the wonderful descriptions of the different landscapes encountered by the various characters. Whatever it was, this book gave me the warm feeling of returning to my reading roots.
As I read, I found that parts of the book put me in mind of C.S. Lewis’s Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (to my mind, the two best books from Narnia), although I must confess, I can’t quite put my finger on what it was. Maybe the oppression of magic in some, and the ability to communicate with animals in others, or maybe just the wonderful descriptions of the different landscapes encountered by the various characters. Whatever it was, this book gave me the warm feeling of returning to my reading roots.
jessbookishlife's review
5.0
This is the first book I'm reading from this author and since this is the first part of a series, I believe it was a great start to Emma Miles' writing style. And this new-to-me series/world is a fantasy book that is in my list of favorites of this year.
Emma Miles created an incredible world that made me intrigued and I hoped I could read the second book immediately after this one. And the descriptions of the lands, every aspect of the magic, the history, the society and the action... It all elevated the plot and the characters and made this novel intriguing and exciting to read.
Speaking about characters, in this novel we are first introduce not only to the world but also to a group of well written characters,whose lives we follow in each chapter. And I liked Kesta a lot, she was an amazing character, that was humane and empathic, but also brave and a powerful woman, and all of those qualities made her relatable. The fact that all the characters whose POV we follow, had a strong voice and a particular story, it was easy to connect with them, and that happened with Kesta and all the others.
The plot had action, twists, drama, romance, emotion... everything that makes with book a great fantasy story. It had a good pace and the scenes flowed well, from the actions, to the history, to the characters interactions.
Overall, the author's writing style gave this creative book depth, emotion, mystery, movement and dynamic, magic, and a wonderful group of characters that were the focal point and that made the plot as interesting as it should be.
[I want to thank Rachel, at Rachel’s Random Resources, and Emma for the eCopy of this book and for allowing me to join in the fun and by being a part of the blog tour with my honest review of the book.]
Emma Miles created an incredible world that made me intrigued and I hoped I could read the second book immediately after this one. And the descriptions of the lands, every aspect of the magic, the history, the society and the action... It all elevated the plot and the characters and made this novel intriguing and exciting to read.
Speaking about characters, in this novel we are first introduce not only to the world but also to a group of well written characters,whose lives we follow in each chapter. And I liked Kesta a lot, she was an amazing character, that was humane and empathic, but also brave and a powerful woman, and all of those qualities made her relatable. The fact that all the characters whose POV we follow, had a strong voice and a particular story, it was easy to connect with them, and that happened with Kesta and all the others.
The plot had action, twists, drama, romance, emotion... everything that makes with book a great fantasy story. It had a good pace and the scenes flowed well, from the actions, to the history, to the characters interactions.
Overall, the author's writing style gave this creative book depth, emotion, mystery, movement and dynamic, magic, and a wonderful group of characters that were the focal point and that made the plot as interesting as it should be.
[I want to thank Rachel, at Rachel’s Random Resources, and Emma for the eCopy of this book and for allowing me to join in the fun and by being a part of the blog tour with my honest review of the book.]
thevreads's review
5.0
Thank you, Booktasters and the author for the free copy in exchange for an honest review
The Raven Tower is the first book in the Firewalker series by Emma Miles. It is an epic magical fantasy saga that revolves around mainly 3 kingdoms, The Fulmers, The Chems, and the People of Elden. When the Chems decide to attack and conquer everyone, the rest of them should keep aside their differences and fight against a common deadly enemy.
Kesta, a Firewalker, daughter to the Icante and Silene of the Fulmers is put in a dilemma when she is asked to marry the Darkman in return for the protection of the Fulmers. She is supposed to live in Elden where a woman’s opinion is strongly disregarded whereas Kesta is from a place where the women rule. How can Kesta survive and fight against the enemies alongside the Darkman, Who she hates?
Jorrun A.K.A. The Darkman is known as the Fierce and cold-blooded sorcerer of King Bractius. When he is asked to marry Kesta for political reasons, He agrees because no one disagrees with the King. He has a secret a dark one which he does not intend to share with anyone not even with Kesta. He stays up in his Raven Tower where no one is allowed and does god knows what.
The Chems use Blood magic, They call themselves the Necromancers. Dryn Dunham is their leader and he intends to capture all of the Fulmer women and breed himself the strongest magical bloodlines. Chem is a city, where women are the slaves, A woman without a master, is treated as public property and any man has the right to her.
Kesta and Jorrun must unite to bring down the powerful Necromancers while finding each other. This is a story of Power, Magic, and Love.
I loved every word of this! Although I felt like the pace was slow but it kept me hooked till the end. I did not expect the story to be so well written but I am glad that I was wrong. Anyone who loves magic and a fantasy world needs to read this book.
The reason I loved this book is because of the strong female characters. Kesta, Dia, and many more badass characters full of empathy and love for others. Give it a read and I assure you that you will not regret it.
Check out my Blog!
The Raven Tower is the first book in the Firewalker series by Emma Miles. It is an epic magical fantasy saga that revolves around mainly 3 kingdoms, The Fulmers, The Chems, and the People of Elden. When the Chems decide to attack and conquer everyone, the rest of them should keep aside their differences and fight against a common deadly enemy.
Kesta, a Firewalker, daughter to the Icante and Silene of the Fulmers is put in a dilemma when she is asked to marry the Darkman in return for the protection of the Fulmers. She is supposed to live in Elden where a woman’s opinion is strongly disregarded whereas Kesta is from a place where the women rule. How can Kesta survive and fight against the enemies alongside the Darkman, Who she hates?
Jorrun A.K.A. The Darkman is known as the Fierce and cold-blooded sorcerer of King Bractius. When he is asked to marry Kesta for political reasons, He agrees because no one disagrees with the King. He has a secret a dark one which he does not intend to share with anyone not even with Kesta. He stays up in his Raven Tower where no one is allowed and does god knows what.
The Chems use Blood magic, They call themselves the Necromancers. Dryn Dunham is their leader and he intends to capture all of the Fulmer women and breed himself the strongest magical bloodlines. Chem is a city, where women are the slaves, A woman without a master, is treated as public property and any man has the right to her.
Kesta and Jorrun must unite to bring down the powerful Necromancers while finding each other. This is a story of Power, Magic, and Love.
I loved every word of this! Although I felt like the pace was slow but it kept me hooked till the end. I did not expect the story to be so well written but I am glad that I was wrong. Anyone who loves magic and a fantasy world needs to read this book.
The reason I loved this book is because of the strong female characters. Kesta, Dia, and many more badass characters full of empathy and love for others. Give it a read and I assure you that you will not regret it.
Check out my Blog!
queer_fantastic's review
3.0
Overall, an enjoyable fantasy read. I appreciate a lot of the feminist aspects of the book, I think the magic is interesting, and I love several of the side characters in particular.
That said, the pacing wasn't my favorite, I felt that conflicts were generally solved too easily, and there were some character dynamics and social/cultural elements that didn't sit well with me. Have mixed feelings on the two primary protagonists, as well. However, I appreciate that the author was clearly trying (and in some cases succeeded) to write a story that shows human complexities. That's very admirable, though they didn't all land with me.
Still, I'm planning to at least read the second book of the series!
That said, the pacing wasn't my favorite, I felt that conflicts were generally solved too easily, and there were some character dynamics and social/cultural elements that didn't sit well with me. Have mixed feelings on the two primary protagonists, as well. However, I appreciate that the author was clearly trying (and in some cases succeeded) to write a story that shows human complexities. That's very admirable, though they didn't all land with me.
Still, I'm planning to at least read the second book of the series!
annes's review
4.0
I had a really fun time reading this book. We follow different perspectives throughout this novel which gave us a deeper understanding of the tension and build up to the ending which was really fun and interesting.
World building in this story was a little meh, I didn’t learn a lot about the magic or how this magic works which left me with a lot of questions and wanting a little bit more. The chapters in this story were very long and it felt like a slog going through this book even though I was enjoying it. I wish the chapters were cut a little shorter and made it feel like I was making progress when reading for long periods of time.
Our main character was such an amazing character, she was so strong, stubborn, determined and not afraid to speak her mind and stands up for what she believes in. Our main character comes from a very different country which has a lot of different customs from the country she ends up being in throughout this story. I really liked seeing her slowly change the way people saw her and realising some of their customs aren’t the greatest.
Kesta must work alongside a man who she hates and fears just a little bit but soon realises he may not be that bad. I really enjoyed seeing this man's walls fall down and slowly opens himself up to Kesta and the people around him.
As Kesta tries to become accustomed to the new life she is living she creates these amazing friendships with the people around her and I really loved watching these relationships develop. These relationships had some amazing funny and heartwarming moments which I really loved.
This story does explore some very dark themes such as slavery and rape. So please be careful heading into this story if these themes may be triggering to you.
World building in this story was a little meh, I didn’t learn a lot about the magic or how this magic works which left me with a lot of questions and wanting a little bit more. The chapters in this story were very long and it felt like a slog going through this book even though I was enjoying it. I wish the chapters were cut a little shorter and made it feel like I was making progress when reading for long periods of time.
Our main character was such an amazing character, she was so strong, stubborn, determined and not afraid to speak her mind and stands up for what she believes in. Our main character comes from a very different country which has a lot of different customs from the country she ends up being in throughout this story. I really liked seeing her slowly change the way people saw her and realising some of their customs aren’t the greatest.
Kesta must work alongside a man who she hates and fears just a little bit but soon realises he may not be that bad. I really enjoyed seeing this man's walls fall down and slowly opens himself up to Kesta and the people around him.
As Kesta tries to become accustomed to the new life she is living she creates these amazing friendships with the people around her and I really loved watching these relationships develop. These relationships had some amazing funny and heartwarming moments which I really loved.
This story does explore some very dark themes such as slavery and rape. So please be careful heading into this story if these themes may be triggering to you.
kerrimcbooknerd's review
4.0
When I first saw this ebook on BookSirens, I signed up to receive it for free because the premise sounded interesting. And then I saw the cover. The cover was so cheesy, that it took me AGES to actually pick this up. But, I had agreed to review it in exchange for them sending me the ebook, so I finally picked it up.
I’m so glad that I got past the horrible cover and gave this book a chance! I was invested in the story of Kesta, a fire-walker from the Fulmer islands, and Jorrun, the ill-reputed Dark Man, from the first chapter! Kesta and Jorrun are forced into a marriage so that the king will agree to help Kesta’s people against invading necromancers. Neither is terribly keen on the match, but Kesta sees it as the only way to save her family and everyone she holds dear. As the story progress, she begins to realize that the loathsome Dark Man may not be as bad as his reputation claims.
I, a woman who doesn’t much care for romance-heavy fantasy, adored the romance in this book. It was the slowest of burns, which I love because I like to torture myself. It was kind-of-enemies to lovers, which is something I’m coming to enjoy. And it was just so well written! The tension, the suspense, the will-they-won’t-they…. ugh! It was perfection.
As for the plot itself, it was clunky in parts, but still well put together. There was a lot of intrigue and action. The fact that it was told through multiple prospective kept it interesting, as well. I was biting my nails waiting to see what happen to not only our MCs, but their allies! I think the most impressive aspect of this book was how you come to care for every single character in this story. You’re, of course, rooting for Kesta and Jorrun, but you still find yourself hoping that Rosa, Kesta’s lady-in-waiting, will make it through. I was wrapped up in the narrative and I didn’t want to leave! I will say that it took me a bit to start clicking with the author’s writing style but, once I was there, I was completely engrossed!
Final thoughts: TERRIBLE cover, plot started off a bit clunky, but a solid fantasy story with one of my favorite romances!
I’m so glad that I got past the horrible cover and gave this book a chance! I was invested in the story of Kesta, a fire-walker from the Fulmer islands, and Jorrun, the ill-reputed Dark Man, from the first chapter! Kesta and Jorrun are forced into a marriage so that the king will agree to help Kesta’s people against invading necromancers. Neither is terribly keen on the match, but Kesta sees it as the only way to save her family and everyone she holds dear. As the story progress, she begins to realize that the loathsome Dark Man may not be as bad as his reputation claims.
I, a woman who doesn’t much care for romance-heavy fantasy, adored the romance in this book. It was the slowest of burns, which I love because I like to torture myself. It was kind-of-enemies to lovers, which is something I’m coming to enjoy. And it was just so well written! The tension, the suspense, the will-they-won’t-they…. ugh! It was perfection.
As for the plot itself, it was clunky in parts, but still well put together. There was a lot of intrigue and action. The fact that it was told through multiple prospective kept it interesting, as well. I was biting my nails waiting to see what happen to not only our MCs, but their allies! I think the most impressive aspect of this book was how you come to care for every single character in this story. You’re, of course, rooting for Kesta and Jorrun, but you still find yourself hoping that Rosa, Kesta’s lady-in-waiting, will make it through. I was wrapped up in the narrative and I didn’t want to leave! I will say that it took me a bit to start clicking with the author’s writing style but, once I was there, I was completely engrossed!
Final thoughts: TERRIBLE cover, plot started off a bit clunky, but a solid fantasy story with one of my favorite romances!
cashawke's review
3.0
3.5/5 Stars!
Let me just start by saying I loved this story! It jumps straight into the action from the first page when Kesta and her father request aid for their people, the Fulmers, from the King of Elden. Since the author throws us straight into this scene, it was a bit difficult to understand what was happening but the world and setting made more sense within the next few chapters.
Essentially, The Raven Tower surrounds a battle between the four lands in this world: Elden, The Fulmers, The Borrows, and Chem. Chem seeks to conquer the surrounding lands with their necromancers and living dead warriors. The story is told from the perspective of our main character Kesta, Dia - her mother, and Osun - a Chem spy. We also got a few chapters from the main love interest, the Dark Man.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVED KESTA!! Kesta is a fire walker, a woman of the Fulmers born with magic. She can manipulate the elements, read and manipulate emotions, communicate with animals, and travel within the flames - so she definitely has it all!! I think she was an amazing protagonist. From the start we are shown her strong will and determination to help her people. Within fantasy it can be hard to find female leads that actually portray the traits the author gives them. Miles clearly designed a character and stuck to her characteristics with Kesta. I loved seeing her take charge at the Raven Tower immediately and being unbothered by anyone present. Not once throughout the book did she waver and I loved that!
The romance in this book was honestly adorable in my opinion. At first, I was a bit concerned I wasn't going to enjoy it with the way Kesta and the Dark Man were immediately married. But as they get to know each other, we realize Jurrun is not the same as the Dark Man the world has been shown. The banter between the two always had me smiling and laughing. I quickly started rooting for them.
I enjoyed the battle scenes for the most part but did find that I felt like I was dragging myself through them at times. Im not sure if it was the scenes themselves or if it was the manner in which they were described. Sometimes it felt there was some over description while other times it felt like there was way too little description. On a similar note, I felt that way about some of the other scenes too and wished I could have seen some more reflection from Kesta in general.
But as I started this review, I did overall LOVE the story. I was reading it whenever I could! The few cons definitely did not deter me enjoying The Raven Tower. It's 100% worth the read if you're a fantasy lover! Excited to start book 2!
Let me just start by saying I loved this story! It jumps straight into the action from the first page when Kesta and her father request aid for their people, the Fulmers, from the King of Elden. Since the author throws us straight into this scene, it was a bit difficult to understand what was happening but the world and setting made more sense within the next few chapters.
Essentially, The Raven Tower surrounds a battle between the four lands in this world: Elden, The Fulmers, The Borrows, and Chem. Chem seeks to conquer the surrounding lands with their necromancers and living dead warriors. The story is told from the perspective of our main character Kesta, Dia - her mother, and Osun - a Chem spy. We also got a few chapters from the main love interest, the Dark Man.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVED KESTA!! Kesta is a fire walker, a woman of the Fulmers born with magic. She can manipulate the elements, read and manipulate emotions, communicate with animals, and travel within the flames - so she definitely has it all!! I think she was an amazing protagonist. From the start we are shown her strong will and determination to help her people. Within fantasy it can be hard to find female leads that actually portray the traits the author gives them. Miles clearly designed a character and stuck to her characteristics with Kesta. I loved seeing her take charge at the Raven Tower immediately and being unbothered by anyone present. Not once throughout the book did she waver and I loved that!
The romance in this book was honestly adorable in my opinion. At first, I was a bit concerned I wasn't going to enjoy it with the way Kesta and the Dark Man were immediately married. But as they get to know each other, we realize Jurrun is not the same as the Dark Man the world has been shown. The banter between the two always had me smiling and laughing. I quickly started rooting for them.
I enjoyed the battle scenes for the most part but did find that I felt like I was dragging myself through them at times. Im not sure if it was the scenes themselves or if it was the manner in which they were described. Sometimes it felt there was some over description while other times it felt like there was way too little description. On a similar note, I felt that way about some of the other scenes too and wished I could have seen some more reflection from Kesta in general.
But as I started this review, I did overall LOVE the story. I was reading it whenever I could! The few cons definitely did not deter me enjoying The Raven Tower. It's 100% worth the read if you're a fantasy lover! Excited to start book 2!
shanae0599's review
4.0
I received a free digital copy of this from Booktasters and the author on twitter for an honest review. I’ll be honest, this review is months overdue. I started it, and I immediately loved it. I was gripped into this new world right from the start, but then life got in the way, and I didn’t get the chance to finish it for a long while, but I would regularly think on this book and how eager I was to get the chance to finish it. Now here we are.
It’s amazing to me that if it weren’t for Booktasters, I would have probably never heard of this book. It is wildly underrated, and it deserves so much more recognition, which is why I’m forcing time to finally make this review.
There are so many elements to this story: magic, wonderful world building, mysterious characters, action, love, and soo much more. First, I should give an idea of what it’s about. There’s a world with four vastly different lands. Fulmer is the land our main character calls home. Here, women are valued and given higher places of power. This is a startling contrast to Chem. There, men hold power, and women are sold and traded. Our primary main character, Kesta, is one who extremely values her freedom, but she is willing to tame her wildness and sacrifice so much to save her people and her home from the same enslavement.
The book’s blurb drew me in, but everything about this book kept me there. When I say the world building is chef’s kiss, I do mean it. I’m also extremely picky when it comes to romances, but the love we see in The Raven Tower is not one to be missed. One reason I don’t particularly like romance in fantasy is because authors can struggle with balancing it with the rest of the story, but Emma Miles seemed to effortlessly create the perfect balance between the romance and action and magic. Even more, she managed to wonderfully balance the different points of view without anything feeling lost from it. If anything, it further enhanced our understanding of the story and its characters. This book deserves sooo much more recognition, and I’d recommend you giving it the chance.
I’m excited to eventually read the sequel. I’m hoping it’ll be just as amazing. Now, I need to go write a few other reviews I’ve fallen behind on this year.
It’s amazing to me that if it weren’t for Booktasters, I would have probably never heard of this book. It is wildly underrated, and it deserves so much more recognition, which is why I’m forcing time to finally make this review.
There are so many elements to this story: magic, wonderful world building, mysterious characters, action, love, and soo much more. First, I should give an idea of what it’s about. There’s a world with four vastly different lands. Fulmer is the land our main character calls home. Here, women are valued and given higher places of power. This is a startling contrast to Chem. There, men hold power, and women are sold and traded. Our primary main character, Kesta, is one who extremely values her freedom, but she is willing to tame her wildness and sacrifice so much to save her people and her home from the same enslavement.
The book’s blurb drew me in, but everything about this book kept me there. When I say the world building is chef’s kiss, I do mean it. I’m also extremely picky when it comes to romances, but the love we see in The Raven Tower is not one to be missed. One reason I don’t particularly like romance in fantasy is because authors can struggle with balancing it with the rest of the story, but Emma Miles seemed to effortlessly create the perfect balance between the romance and action and magic. Even more, she managed to wonderfully balance the different points of view without anything feeling lost from it. If anything, it further enhanced our understanding of the story and its characters. This book deserves sooo much more recognition, and I’d recommend you giving it the chance.
I’m excited to eventually read the sequel. I’m hoping it’ll be just as amazing. Now, I need to go write a few other reviews I’ve fallen behind on this year.