Raven's Shadow by Patricia Briggs

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Strong Language


 
Seraph is a Raven mage and among the last of the Travelers. Unwelcome among those who fear magic, the wizard clans have been decimated by the very people they've sworn to protect. But Seraph is spared a similar fate by the ex-soldier Tier - and together they build a life where she is no longer burdened by her people's responsibility.

But now Tier is missing - or dead - and Seraph's reprieve from her duty is over.

Several years ago I read the first book in Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson series and I was hooked. I immediately looked up other books by the author. I went on to read each of the Mercy Thompson books, the Alpha and Omega series, and the Hurog duology, but somehow this one got buried deep under my to-read pile. I always intended to read it, but there was always something else that I needed to read first. I am happy to say that I finally moved this book to the top of the stack and I'm so glad I did!

This is one of the few high fantasy stories that Briggs wrote and I loved it. I thought it was really refreshing that it features a whole family who works together and is devoted to each other. I did have some reservations at first. I wasn't sure about it when there was a twenty year time gap in the story. I was afraid we had missed out on a lot of character development and story, but it ended up working out just fine, and those details were woven into the story. I loved every one of the characters in this book and I'm looking forward to reading the second book soon.