Book Review: A Raven's Revenge
I remember reading through the first book in this series and feeling so excited to have found such a precious gem in Christian fantasy. The Rebel Christian is always on the hunt for excellent Christian fiction—I don’t think I have to tell you that I’ve found it here.
A Raven’s Touch was an exciting story filled with great characters and a haunting darkness that followed protagonist, Justice St. Michaels, into this installment. What I liked most about A Raven’s Revenge is that it picks up right where the last book left off. I’ll admit, I don’t always like when books pick up the story like that—I’m a reader who really enjoys the passage of time between books … I really can’t explain it, I suppose it boils down to an odd preference. Anyway, I loved this part of the series and I’m excited to share my thoughts with you.
Justice St. Michaels is in over her head. So much has happened in such a small amount of time, she has a hard time keeping up but that doesn’t stop her from diving into the secrets and mysteries that threaten to overtake her and everyone she holds dear. Justice confronts her fears and faces the truth of her origins but none of this is able to knock her down because she has a Savior who is full of grace and waiting to rescue her.
Speaking of a Savior, Bloodworth has not forgotten her Christian roots. What I loved so much about Book I was the inclusion of faith and Bloodworth’s refusal to leave out Christian elements in her writing. A Raven’s Revenge brings back all the Christian themes from the first installment and combines them with strong messages and topics like love and faith and hope.
Character development is exciting and even emotional in some instances. It was nice to see the rest of the cast step up and fight through their own battles. The idea of fighting your way through different levels of hell was mind-blowing! Bloodworth gave me a fair warning about the intense situations the characters face so I was prepared to read content that might be offensive to some readers, however, I loved the writing and thought the struggles the characters faced were very realistic and brought a sense of complexity to the story.
Watching Justice struggle with her past, her present, and fight for what remains of her future is suspenseful, but it also reminds you to keep pressing toward the mark and never give up on God. I loved the Christian messages in this story—Christian fantasy gets so many complaints when it comes to books that are openly and boldly faith-filled. I am so tired of seeing authors shy away from their own faith, this book is a breath of fresh air!
I would recommend this book to YA readers and fans of fantasy. This will be most appreciated by Christian audiences but anyone with an open-mind and appreciation for well-written fantasy will love it too.
*The Rebel Christian received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*