The Raven and the Dove Review

*BEWARE, A FEW SPOILERS*

On the dawn of her courtship trials, Princess Lyana knows she should be focused on winning her perfect mate, yet her thoughts wander to the open sky waiting at the edge of her floating kingdom. One final adventure calls. Upon fleeing the palace, the last thing she expects to find is a raven prince locked in a death match with a dragon.

I was immediately engaged with the storyline upon starting this book. The trial aspect of the story was definitely a plot point I was the most interested in and I kind of wish it went a little more in depth and we got to see more of it instead of just being told the results. The whole concept of the trials and being able to pick the mates was interesting and I thought quite unique.

Lyana honestly I wish she would of spoke up a bit more and explained to Lysander how she felt and was just a bit more honest. She seems a little entitled to me as well and takes her life a little for granted before the trials and then pays for it. I kind of wish she would of tried a little more to cultivate a relationship with Lysander instead of just being antsy and wanting to fly out and explore all the time.

Rafe for the most part I enjoyed his character, I just felt like he was a tad too broody for me. I can understand his loyalty to his brother and agreeing to take place in the trials for the honor of the rest of the Ravens but he still pines for her throughout the entirety of the novel behind his brothers back. It’s I think the fact that he wasn’t honest with himself and tried to push her away by being nasty. Why couldn’t he just be honest from the start and tell his brother the truth and save a lot of feelings.

I thought the concept was interesting, I’m not all that knowledgeable on the origin of Tristan and Isolde so I can’t really comment on the adaption of the tale. The pacing of the story was a little up and down for me. I appreciated the different perspectives and the overarching storyline with Cassie’s deception, it was intriguing and held my attention.

⭐️3/5 good not great, will definitely continue on!