Reviewed by Sarina
TITLE: Ravenhearth
AUTHOR: Lotus Oakes
PUBLISHER: Less Than Three Press
LENGTH: 204 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 17, 2016
BLURB:
In a world covered by a deadly miasma, humans survive by way of the protection of powerful mages known as Keepers. In the town of Ravenhearth, the Keeper requests a companion every ten years. What happens to them after those ten years, no one knows, for none has ever returned.
Ash is a young orphan who dreams of learning magic. When the newest request for a companion is posted, he volunteers. Upon his arrival, he finds the Keeper’s home is nothing like the fearful whispers shared around the village. Instead, he slowly grows to become part of the close-knit family of the Keeper’s castle—and falling for Giles, the butler of Ravenhearth, rather than the mage he’s been sent there to attend.
REVIEW:
All Ash has ever wanted was to learn magic but, as an orphan, he’s never been given the opportunity to do so. When the notice goes up that the nearby Keeper is looking for a new companion, Ash is quick to volunteer as he fears this will be his only hope of fulfilling his mother’s wish for him. Life in the castle, and with the Keeper, are nothing like he’d ever imagined and as he settles into his new home, he gets his wish; Ash begins to study magic. As the months pass, however, he finds his thoughts and desires taken up with Giles, the steward of Ravenhearth, instead of with the Keeper he was sent for. When misunderstandings cause a rift between Ash and those he’s come to care for, will he be able to fix it and get what he desires most?
This was such a wonderful story! I loved watching Ash grow from the shy, scared young man he was when he first arrived to one with confidence in himself. The Keeper was, of course, an enigmatic individual and while I figured him out pretty much right away, it didn’t detract from the story in any way. Giles was interesting in that you get to see him slowly unwinding as the story progressed and it was nice to see him opening up whereas he was really reserved and kind of closed off in the beginning.
The story itself had a good pace and while most of the story deals with Ash’s training and interactions with Giles, I wasn’t bored with it at all. I found the world interesting and the other characters in the castle added a nice balance while keeping the book from feeling too one dimensional. Most of the ‘sex’ in this book takes place in the form of Ash’s daydreams, which was a nice change; I don’t think I’ve actually come across that in a book before. There is a scene near the end of the book that actually takes place outside his imagination for those that want the real thing though. By far my favorite part of the book was the very end, however; it was just a perfect little happily ever after that left me with a bunch of feel good vibes for the rest of the day. If you like fantasy and are looking for a fairly easy read without a lot of drama, you might want to give this a try.
RATING:
BUY LINKS: