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annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition
5.0
The moment I read the synopsis for this book on Netgalley I knew I had to have it. Even though I also knew this book was totally gonna break my heart. Into a million little pieces. Or at least, I hoped the book would do so. I like it when books do that. And yet, when I started reading and felt the disaster in the air, for a long time I couldn't get myself to read on. I already felt the pain before the heartbreaking scenes had started happening!
And I'd say that's a huge compliment for the book. Within a few chapters I had already grown attached to these characters. They felt like old friends, as if I already knew them for years, as if they felt familiar and close to me. Watching their adventures, watching them grow and learn, watching them take charge and being strong, watching them breaking and shattering, it was as if it was all happening to me. My heart was breaking. I was shattering. I felt the triumphs and the losses. The love and the pain. The dreams and the failures.
On top of the awesome characters, who clearly carried the book, there was also this gripping plot. It stayed in the background for a long while, giving the characters the time to bond and to find their place in the story, but once the plot came into plain view the story exploded. The finale of this book was epic. So much was happening, so many elements came together, all the build up was paying off. Not that the build up was boring, far from it. The story was never boring, even though it was quite long. But the finale? The finale was breathtaking heartbreaking phenomenal.
And last but not least: The world in this story was beautiful and very well described. I could almost smell the ocean and feel the cold. Although we've only seen a relatively small part of the world, the part we did see came to life quite well. And considering the ending, I'm pretty sure we're gonna see more of the world in the next book(s)!
I personally can't wait to read them! I also can't wait to put this book on my shelves and for everyone in the US: There is a pre-order campaign you don't wanna miss if you love a heartbreaking romance, a vivid world and a slow plot with an epic finale! https://www.kaitlyndavisbooks.com/2019/11/the-raven-and-dove-cover-reveal-and-pre.html
And I'd say that's a huge compliment for the book. Within a few chapters I had already grown attached to these characters. They felt like old friends, as if I already knew them for years, as if they felt familiar and close to me. Watching their adventures, watching them grow and learn, watching them take charge and being strong, watching them breaking and shattering, it was as if it was all happening to me. My heart was breaking. I was shattering. I felt the triumphs and the losses. The love and the pain. The dreams and the failures.
On top of the awesome characters, who clearly carried the book, there was also this gripping plot. It stayed in the background for a long while, giving the characters the time to bond and to find their place in the story, but once the plot came into plain view the story exploded. The finale of this book was epic. So much was happening, so many elements came together, all the build up was paying off. Not that the build up was boring, far from it. The story was never boring, even though it was quite long. But the finale? The finale was breathtaking heartbreaking phenomenal.
And last but not least: The world in this story was beautiful and very well described. I could almost smell the ocean and feel the cold. Although we've only seen a relatively small part of the world, the part we did see came to life quite well. And considering the ending, I'm pretty sure we're gonna see more of the world in the next book(s)!
I personally can't wait to read them! I also can't wait to put this book on my shelves and for everyone in the US: There is a pre-order campaign you don't wanna miss if you love a heartbreaking romance, a vivid world and a slow plot with an epic finale! https://www.kaitlyndavisbooks.com/2019/11/the-raven-and-dove-cover-reveal-and-pre.html
8lueminn0w's review
4.0
“I only know I’ve always had this feeling. This feeling that I was meant for something more. A yearning in my gut, a beating of my heart, a sense that my destiny is bigger than what’s expected of me. And I’ve always been looking for it, searching the world for a sign, for a clue, for a map to the adventure I know is waiting. I haven’t found it yet, but I found you, and maybe we were supposed to figure out the rest together.”
leschroniques_delea's review
3.0
3,5/5
Un premier tome intéressant et intriguant mais il m’a manqué un petit quelque chose pour vraiment apprécier ma lecture.
J’ai trouvé l’intrigue plutôt sympas mais il y avait beaucoup de longueurs qui auraient pu être évitées. Au début on ne comprend pas forcément où l’autrice veut nous amener et il faut un moment pour découvrir le but de ce tome et les éléments qui se mettent en place.
Les relations entre les différents personnages restent toutefois assez bien amenées. L’univers est bien développé ainsi que le système de magie. Je lirai la suite car je reste très intriguée et j’aimerai voir ce que la suite peut donner.
Un premier tome intéressant et intriguant mais il m’a manqué un petit quelque chose pour vraiment apprécier ma lecture.
J’ai trouvé l’intrigue plutôt sympas mais il y avait beaucoup de longueurs qui auraient pu être évitées. Au début on ne comprend pas forcément où l’autrice veut nous amener et il faut un moment pour découvrir le but de ce tome et les éléments qui se mettent en place.
Les relations entre les différents personnages restent toutefois assez bien amenées. L’univers est bien développé ainsi que le système de magie. Je lirai la suite car je reste très intriguée et j’aimerai voir ce que la suite peut donner.
tailsbeth's review against another edition
4.0
3.75 stars.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with the audiobook version!
This was probably my first full on leap into fantasy, I didn't find it completely intimidating and this is a BIG deal.
The Raven and the Dove is a retelling of Tristan & Isolde but with a world filled with Avian people, human with the wings of birds. You dont need to be familiar with T&I to enjoy this though!
The worldbuilding was incredible, the descriptions were so vivid and not overdone (a pet peeve of mine when it comes to speculative fiction). I loved the descriptions of the different kinds of birds and how much they made sense! Owls = house of knowledge for example, so obvious.
The multiple POVs were something it took a while to adjust to, they switch at random rather than an order. If you struggle with that usually, I'd recommend the audiobook as it helped to keep the voices distinct (especially with dialogue, thanks to Sarah Sampino's fab performance). Cassie was a surprise fave for me, it took me a while to warm to her but I'm looking forward to her thread in the next book.
The romance tropes are instalove & forbidden love. Although the instalove isn't too sickly, there's a fair enough reason why it happens and it's not all down to some prophecy. The romance is believable! It's sweet, lusty and written correctly for the age too.
If you are like me & not a huge fantasy reader, I'd recommend listening to the audiobook version (I think this advice goes for most fantasy you're intrigued by, give it a go!) as it definitely made it more accessable. Those thick page counts feel much less scary! I'll be reading the rest of the series on ebook but now that I'm sucked in.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with the audiobook version!
This was probably my first full on leap into fantasy, I didn't find it completely intimidating and this is a BIG deal.
The Raven and the Dove is a retelling of Tristan & Isolde but with a world filled with Avian people, human with the wings of birds. You dont need to be familiar with T&I to enjoy this though!
The worldbuilding was incredible, the descriptions were so vivid and not overdone (a pet peeve of mine when it comes to speculative fiction). I loved the descriptions of the different kinds of birds and how much they made sense! Owls = house of knowledge for example, so obvious.
The multiple POVs were something it took a while to adjust to, they switch at random rather than an order. If you struggle with that usually, I'd recommend the audiobook as it helped to keep the voices distinct (especially with dialogue, thanks to Sarah Sampino's fab performance). Cassie was a surprise fave for me, it took me a while to warm to her but I'm looking forward to her thread in the next book.
The romance tropes are instalove & forbidden love. Although the instalove isn't too sickly, there's a fair enough reason why it happens and it's not all down to some prophecy. The romance is believable! It's sweet, lusty and written correctly for the age too.
If you are like me & not a huge fantasy reader, I'd recommend listening to the audiobook version (I think this advice goes for most fantasy you're intrigued by, give it a go!) as it definitely made it more accessable. Those thick page counts feel much less scary! I'll be reading the rest of the series on ebook but now that I'm sucked in.
s_wandering's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lo_the_stan's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
bookwormpersephone's review against another edition
2.0
Dnf @45%. I put this on-hold and eventually forgot about it... Says a lot about how lackluster everything is. The cover is very pretty though.
atrailofpages's review
3.0
This was a highly anticipated book for me, especially since it’s a retelling of Tristan and Isolde one of my all time favorite tragic love stories! This definitely was very similar, but has more to the story than the two star crossed lovers.
I love that this book had 4 POVs! That came as a surprise for me, especially since I really liked Xander from the start and wanted to read his POV, and I did!
I really loved how well written this book is. The story followed Tristan and Isolde very well, along with the rest of the story that the sequels will get into. The world is beautiful and so captivating! I loved the different worlds and the different avian people. It’s so unique and really tested my imagination, which I LOVE in a book! I truly loved the world building and character building in this book, and the story is well written.
Now, saying that, I’m giving this book more of a 3.5 star rating for now because I didn’t really love any of the characters, I just liked them. Xander is my favorite, I will say and look forward to reading more about him(and the others) in the next book. There’s also a scene at the end that bothered me a lot and there was no explanation that caused me to lower my rating too because it upset me a lot(I get a little too emotionally involved with my characters) and I was not okay with it. I need an explanation! I’m sure the next book will explain, and I may end up changing my rating, but for now, 3.5 stars.
Other than that, I do recommend this book because it is beautiful, tragic, heartbreaking, and if you love that, then have at it!
I love that this book had 4 POVs! That came as a surprise for me, especially since I really liked Xander from the start and wanted to read his POV, and I did!
I really loved how well written this book is. The story followed Tristan and Isolde very well, along with the rest of the story that the sequels will get into. The world is beautiful and so captivating! I loved the different worlds and the different avian people. It’s so unique and really tested my imagination, which I LOVE in a book! I truly loved the world building and character building in this book, and the story is well written.
Now, saying that, I’m giving this book more of a 3.5 star rating for now because I didn’t really love any of the characters, I just liked them. Xander is my favorite, I will say and look forward to reading more about him(and the others) in the next book. There’s also a scene at the end that bothered me a lot and there was no explanation that caused me to lower my rating too because it upset me a lot(I get a little too emotionally involved with my characters) and I was not okay with it. I need an explanation! I’m sure the next book will explain, and I may end up changing my rating, but for now, 3.5 stars.
Other than that, I do recommend this book because it is beautiful, tragic, heartbreaking, and if you love that, then have at it!
centrifugepolitics's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5