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shawnainchapterland 's review for:
The Raven Scholar
by Antonia Hodgson
Update: I'm upping my rating to a full 5 stars because I keep thinking about this one, and I know that as soon as the sequel comes out, I will drop everything and read the shit out of it.
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4.5 Stars
I have a lot of thoughts about this one...
First and foremost, it was just a ton of fun. If you like court politics, competitions, a murder mystery with a slightly chaotic vibe, and a snarky animal narrator (in this case, a raven), you’re in for a good time. The whole book has this wry, self-aware tone that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that made for a refreshing read.
I really liked the cast. They were diverse and distinctive, where each character felt like their own person, which I always appreciate in a book with a big ensemble. And I did enjoy our main character, Neema, quite a bit. She’s clearly written as someone on the autism spectrum, and it was handled with so much warmth and humor. Her perspective was both unique and often hilarious in the best deadpan way.
But there were quite a few things that bugged me. They are all pretty minor, but for some reason I'm dying to complain about them?? For one, while I do appreciate the diversity of the cast, the way the author went about describing everyone’s skin tone, especially early on, felt a little... much. It made sense for the main characters, but when she was also doing it at a dinner party full of minor folks, I was like, okay- we get it.
Another thing: the footnotes. I loved them! They were clever and added to the humor and worldbuilding, but they mostly vanished after the first quarter of the book? Why?? Total bummer. I was hoping they’d be a consistent feature, and it felt like the author kind of forgot she was doing them. I want to say there were a total of three in the last 3/4 of the book.
Also, just as a heads-up: this is marketed as adult fantasy, but it reads super YA. I like YA, so it didn’t affect my enjoyment, but be prepared. The prose felt YA, and the adult characters constantly speak and act like teenagers.
Something that really did bother me was the number of times I caught myself thinking, “Well, that’s convenient.” There were a few too many plot moments or new rules that just so happened to swing things in our protagonist’s favor, and while I still had a blast, those moments pulled me out a bit.
Okay, one last grumble, which I think may be divisive but while the raven narrator’s sense of humor was great (I swear I enjoyed it!), the word magnificent was said approximately 25–75% too much. I can't decide on the exact percentage there. And if you've read this book, you'll understand.
All in all, though...super entertaining, genuinely funny, and full of the kind of tropes I love when they’re done with this much charm. Definitely recommend if you're in the mood for something clever, fast-paced, and a little chaotic in the best way.
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4.5 Stars
I have a lot of thoughts about this one...
First and foremost, it was just a ton of fun. If you like court politics, competitions, a murder mystery with a slightly chaotic vibe, and a snarky animal narrator (in this case, a raven), you’re in for a good time. The whole book has this wry, self-aware tone that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that made for a refreshing read.
I really liked the cast. They were diverse and distinctive, where each character felt like their own person, which I always appreciate in a book with a big ensemble. And I did enjoy our main character, Neema, quite a bit. She’s clearly written as someone on the autism spectrum, and it was handled with so much warmth and humor. Her perspective was both unique and often hilarious in the best deadpan way.
But there were quite a few things that bugged me. They are all pretty minor, but for some reason I'm dying to complain about them?? For one, while I do appreciate the diversity of the cast, the way the author went about describing everyone’s skin tone, especially early on, felt a little... much. It made sense for the main characters, but when she was also doing it at a dinner party full of minor folks, I was like, okay- we get it.
Another thing: the footnotes. I loved them! They were clever and added to the humor and worldbuilding, but they mostly vanished after the first quarter of the book? Why?? Total bummer. I was hoping they’d be a consistent feature, and it felt like the author kind of forgot she was doing them. I want to say there were a total of three in the last 3/4 of the book.
Also, just as a heads-up: this is marketed as adult fantasy, but it reads super YA. I like YA, so it didn’t affect my enjoyment, but be prepared. The prose felt YA, and the adult characters constantly speak and act like teenagers.
Something that really did bother me was the number of times I caught myself thinking, “Well, that’s convenient.” There were a few too many plot moments or new rules that just so happened to swing things in our protagonist’s favor, and while I still had a blast, those moments pulled me out a bit.
Okay, one last grumble, which I think may be divisive but while the raven narrator’s sense of humor was great (I swear I enjoyed it!), the word magnificent was said approximately 25–75% too much. I can't decide on the exact percentage there. And if you've read this book, you'll understand.
All in all, though...super entertaining, genuinely funny, and full of the kind of tropes I love when they’re done with this much charm. Definitely recommend if you're in the mood for something clever, fast-paced, and a little chaotic in the best way.