Book Review – The Raven Heir by Stephanie Burgis
The Raven Heir by Stephanie Burgis (The Raven Crown #1)
Fantasy | Middle Grade | 272 pages
Published on 14th September 2021 by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Synopsis
A set of magical triplets, two warring dynasties, and a broken crown waiting for its rightful owner…
Deep within an enchanted forest lies a castle where a set of triplets and their sorceress mother have lived for years — safe from the decades-long war for the Raven Throne that rages in the kingdom beyond. Cordelia, one of the triplets, has the power to become any animal with just a thought, and she yearns to discover more about the world outside her castle.
But one day, the world comes to her, when the eldest of the triplets becomes the newest heir to the throne. Knowing that being named heir means certain death, Cordelia’s mother hid the truth about which child is the eldest when she hid them in the forest. When her family is captured, it’s up to Cordelia to use her powers to keep her siblings hidden and discover the truth about the Raven Heir — before it’s too late.
A thrilling new fantasy full of magic, adventure, and the power of family.
My rating:
Review
I received this book from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
I was keen to pick this up after thoroughly enjoying Stephanie’s previous middle grade series, plus the premise sounded really intriguing. I’m so glad I did, it was so fun and magical!
I really liked how we got to see glimpses of the politics of the world, even though the children don’t actually know much going in – we learn with them which is a lovely touch. Cordelia is particularly endearing of our three main characters – she is wild and just wants to run free and I really felt empathy for her. Plus I am very jealous of her shape shifting! I loved that Giles’ life ambition is basically to be a bard, and that Rosalind wants to be a knight. They are both so wonderful.
There is so much packed into this book, it really captures the longing to grow up and the frustration of adults not telling you things so clearly. It is about family more than it’s about magic and royalty too – there’s so many little moments that I could mention, but I won’t because you should just read it!
I also saw a comment that this would make a wonderful movie, and I honestly couldn’t agree more! it has a great story, excellent moral and honestly I can really picture the way some of it would play out. 🙂 Pick it up producers!
4 stars.
Buy The Raven Heir by Stephanie Burgis from Waterstones or Blackwells.
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