Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Flight of the Raven by Morgan L. Busse (Laurie)



We're so excited to be a part of the Blog Tour celebrating the release of Flight of the Raven by Morgan L. Busse! The first book in Morgan's Ravenwood Saga has made several appearances on Lands Uncharted, including a review by Lauricia and my Top 3 New-to-Me Authors I Read in 2018. Now I get the opportunity to share my review of the second book in this powerful series, Flight of the Raven! Also, keep reading to find out more about the author, the Blog Tour, and the tour giveaway!

***My description of the plot of this book inevitably involves spoilers for Book One, so I would recommend skipping the following paragraph if you haven't read Mark of the Raven yet!***

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In Flight of the Raven, we pick up with Selene reeling from betraying her own house and family and her unexpected marriage to Lord Damien, a man she hardly knows. Her uncertainty only grows as they enter Damien's seaside home and she faces the coldness and suspicion of his people. Now distanced from her cruel, domineering mother, Selene hopes to learn more about the origination of her dreamwalking gift and about the Light, the power worshiped by Damien and many of his people. But instead, she's increasingly plagued by nightmares and disturbed by hints that her gift may be further-reaching than she ever could have imagined. Damien's sweet, thoughtful nature and their mutual loneliness begins to draw them together as a couple, but fears of revenge from House Ravenwood and the certainty of a pending war threaten to keep their happiness at bay. Selene must be stronger than ever and face difficult, life-altering choices if she wants to find a new purpose for her talent as a dreamwalker and distance herself from her family's past once and for all.







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Flight of the Raven satisfied everything I was hoping for coming out of Book One. I enjoyed the opportunity to get to know Selene's character outside the darkness and confines of her family secret, with a nice balance of staying true to herself while experiencing a lot of growth. And Damien! *happy sigh* I absolutely fell in love with this guy in Mark of the Raven, and he didn't disappoint me one bit in the sequel. Strong, kind, vulnerable, a gentleman through and through - let's just say, when it comes to a marriage of convenience, Selene totally struck the jackpot :) The progress in their relationship came about very naturally and really showcased the beauty of marriages in which the spouses open up to each other and do their best to work as a team. Definitely my favorite aspect of the book!

I also found it fascinating to get to know more about Selene's powers. She's already found one positive aspect of her gift, but the extent of what she can do is still shrouded in mystery so I can't wait to see where the author takes it in Book Three! It was sad but eye-opening to get to know Amara better in this book. She tugged on my heartstrings on more than one occasion, and her love for her little sister and strained relationship with her mom added a lot of context to her seemingly harsh exterior. And overall, I just relished the chance to spend more time in Busse's rich, vibrant story world, expanding to new places like Nor Esen and Lux Casta.


Now I just have to survive the wait for Book Three! You can find Flight of the Raven on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Book Depository.




If you haven't had a chance to start this series yet, here's the blurb for Book One, Mark of the Raven:

Lady Selene is the heir to the Great House of Ravenwood and the secret family gift of dreamwalking. As a dreamwalker, she can enter a person’s dreams and manipulate their greatest fears or desires. For the last hundred years, the Ravenwood women have used their gift of dreaming for hire to gather information or to assassinate.

As she discovers her family’s dark secret, Selene is torn between upholding her family’s legacy–a legacy that supports her people–or seeking the true reason behind her family’s gift.

Her dilemma comes to a head when she is tasked with assassinating the one man who can bring peace to the nations, but who will also bring about the downfall of her own house.

One path holds glory and power, and will solidify her position as Lady of Ravenwood. The other path holds shame and execution. Which will she choose? And is she willing to pay the price for the path chosen?






And here's a bit about the lovely author, Morgan L. Busse!

Morgan L. Busse is a writer by day and a mother by night. She is the author of the Follower of the Word series and the steampunk series The Soul Chronicles. She is a Christy and INSPY Award finalist and won the Carol Award in 2018 for best in Christian speculative fiction. During her spare time she enjoys playing games, taking long walks, and dreaming about her next novel.

You can connect with Morgan on her website, Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and BookBub.













Make sure to check out the other stops on the Blog Tour! You can find the full schedule here or by clicking on the image below.







I mentioned a tour giveaway, didn't I? :) Enter the Rafflecopter below for the chance to win paperback copies of Mark of the Raven and Flight of the Raven, plus a $20 Amazon giftcard for the lucky grand prize winner! The giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and ends on June 7th, 2019. 



a Rafflecopter giveaway


Congratulations on your new release, Morgan! Have you read this series yet? What was the last sequel you read that was especially satisfying?


Thanks for reading!
Laurie

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3 comments:

  1. Mark of the Raven is on my TRD pile. I'm so glad it and the second are good. I'm looking forward to reading them.

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  2. Thanks for the opportunity <3
    I`ve read the first and I'm soooo looking forwards to the second!

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  3. Hallo, Hallo,....

    I'm on the blog tour as well - after finding readers through my WP Reader who have embraced Ravenwood, I wanted to double-back through the tour route to see what everyone else has been sharing on their reviews, too!

    I loved the slow burn romance within the series myself - I felt it was one of the best additions for the story's arc because it showed the grace and mercy Selene was seeking in her life. Whilst at the same time, the conflicts Damien had to address in his own walk of faith were also equally compelling to see - whilst I agree, for a marriage of convenience they both were fortunate to have such an equal partnership in their pursuit of a marriage neither of them were sure about in the first place!! Their whole relationship I felt came across very natural and organic between both novels and I can't wait to see what happens next in "Cry of the Raven"!!

    Amara I felt had the shortest end of the stick in the series overall - she had the worst influencer in her life but also was held back from the knowledge I felt might have saved her relationship with Selene if she had only known 'more' sooner than later.

    Overall, like your own sentiments, I could not put these stories down - they were evocative and full of what I desire most out of a Fantasy series!!

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