A review by sixofwoes
The Raven and the Dove by Kaitlyn Davis

4.0

"The cause we fight for is greater than you or me or any one person. Our lives don't matter. We're the casualties of a war we have no choice but to win.

4⭐️

It's been a while since I've read a high fantasy book, so I was a little worried going into this novel that I wouldn't be able to concentrate. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this read, and was fully immersed in the world. It's a retelling of Tristan and Isolde (the love story thought to inspire Lancelot and Guinevere), and I had a lot of fun researching the original tale to see the connections with this book.

The fantasy world was really intriguing to me. The characters are like the Illyrian warriors from Sarah J Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses series, but with different variations of bird wings and abilities. Leading on from this, the characters live in the sky and have architectural differences to suit their wings, which I thought was interesting.

For me, the best aspect of the book was the characters, who felt very fleshed out and relatable. There is a tragic love triangle between Lyana and two brothers, which honestly had me so confused about who I was rooting for, since I love both Rafe and Xander. I started off liking Cassi but events towards the end made me so angry with her, and I can't see myself forgiving her from here. I think the multiple perspectives were very helpful in allowing me to get to know each character individually, too, otherwise I would not have cared as much as I did.

The reason why I dropped a star from the rating is because the plot and world-building were quite chaotic at times, which made it hard to follow. I found myself wanting to skip those scenes, even though I needed the information for later on in the novel. I'm hoping that with most of the world and plot already established, the next book/s will be easier to follow. Nevertheless, I am very excited for the next instalment and i just hope all my faves will be okay - especially Xander.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.