Title: The Raven and the Dove

Author: Kaitlyn Davis

Pub. Date: March 9, 2020

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

A princess longing to be free…

On the dawn of her courtship trials, Princess Lyana Aethionus 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.

A bastard aching to belong…

Reviled son of a dead king, Rafe would do anything for his beloved half-brother, Prince Lysander Taetanus, including posing as him in the upcoming courtship trials. When a dragon interrupts their secret exchange, he orders his studious sibling to run. After suffering a fatal blow, Rafe is saved by a beautiful dove who possesses forbidden magic, just like him.

Fate brought them together, now destiny will tear them apart…

Unknown to the world above, on the foggy sea ten thousand feet below, a young king fights a forgotten war. He believes Lyana is the queen prophesied to save the world, and with the help of his favored spy, hidden deep in the highest ranks of the dove royal house, he will stop at nothing to have her.

This will be a spoiler free review.

I was really sad when NetGalley denied me this months ago. I’ve been on such a high fantasy kick for the last few months that I desperately wanted this book. Then I saw it was on sale for Kindle so I bought it.

Then like an utter noob, I didn’t touch it.

Then my friend started yelling at me to read it, because she was reading an advanced copy of The Hunter and the Mage and wanted me to get caught up before its release.

Then, I saw that the book finally had an audiobook version out so I listened to it at work.

Y’all.

I’m so annoyed at myself for taking so damn long to get to this book. I inhaled this and promptly needed the second one…which wasn’t out yet.

Is it any surprise that I fell for Rafe? Legit from the first moment I met him, I was a goner. It took a little while longer to fall for Lysander, but I was sitting over here shipping Lyana with both of them by the end.

And the ending! What the fuck!!!
It’s been weeks and I’m still not over it. Not at all. I stopped what I was doing at work, just so I could process.

AND THEN THE WHOLE WORLD UNDERNEATH THEIRS??

Jfc, this book had so many twists and turns and they were so well done. I was hooked from the moment I started and couldn’t stop until I got to the end. I really, really cannot wait to dive into book 2. I have so many questions and I need answers. I need to know if certain characters are okay, and what the actions of other characters means for everyone else. So much is at stake, and things aren’t what they appear and yet, we know very little about what is at stake! It’s stressful, but I’m here for it.

The author took a tale – Tristan and Isolde (which, I’ll be honest, I had to Google) – and gave it a new life. The world she created just comes to life and really makes you wish you had wings. I loved that Lyana was a bit of a troublemaker and liked to cause a bit of chaos. I liked how Rafe was more reserved, and Lysander was a quite scholarly type. It made for a really interesting dynamic that was so incredibly frustrating and so wholly enjoyable to read. If you read the book, you know why I say frustrating – how it all plays out, who Lyana ends up with…let me tell you!

Ooof, I nearly rioted lol.

If you love high fantasy and want something fresh and new to dive into, to get lost in – I highly recommend this book. You’ll be hooked from the first page and you won’t want to put it down. I promise.