Savage Lands author Stacey Marie Brown is back with a brand-new romantasy series, introducing and totally engrossing readers into the world of Wrennlyn Stallard, the titular White Raven. Nearly 200 years ago, the Blood War between two factions left the realm cursed, and in the White Raven, our teenage protagonist is destined to unite its people and heal the land. If you’re looking for a thrilling, steamy read to finish in a weekend, we’ve got the perfect recommendation. The book is set to launch Brown’s Messengers of the Realm trilogy.
White Raven is written simply and fast-paced, with magnetic characters who will leave you wanting more. On the first page, we meet Wren, the only child of the Day King who lives a very sheltered life. With the responsibility of having to fix what had been broken in the war when her powers come to life on her 19th birthday, she spends her days alongside her handmaidens, learning about her people’s history and training how to fight.
Her only knowledge of the world comes from what she’s been taught by those around her, which paints a pretty damning picture of their enemies, led by the Night King. As it’s explained, the war took away magic and divided the land into groups: Day, Night, and Dusk, and she is not to trust anyone outside of the Day Ravens. As she awaits her next birthday, Wren receives shocking news: her father is marrying her off, and soon. And reality takes another major turn when, on the eve of her wedding, she is kidnapped by one of their thralls, who is actually a soldier of the Night King.
White Raven’s first chapter, consisting of 17 pages, is very exposition-heavy, which is actually the only part of the book I started to feel a bit bored over. The introduction of Wren and her best friend, her handmaiden Sarina, are strong, and I wanted to continue reading for them. But the lore is a bit of an explanation dump, and I wish it could’ve been spread out just a little bit more. It’s a lot of names to remember right out of the gate, and it bogs down the breeziness of the story.
White Raven’s strengths are in its characters and pulp
That said, the pros certainly outweigh the cons in White Raven. The characters aren’t the most developed, but their fun and distinct personalities have you hooked from the start. Along with Wren and Sarina, we also get to know the thrall named Onyx, a physically intimidating man who is actually much more powerful than Wren could ever imagine. Although he was purposefully captured to work for the Day Ravens, back home he is the leader of the Night King’s soldiers, and a handsome one at that. As Wren starts to realize—and resent—her attraction towards Onyx, she also learns how much of a sought-after womanizer he is.
As Wren travels along the dangerous Shadow Rift as Onyx’s captive, she learns that maybe what she’s been taught her whole life isn’t the truth. Though the Night King is terrible, her father might not be a saint either. And beyond the men in power, innocent people on both sides have been hurt. She begins to question everything she knows as she grows closer to Onyx, who, despite acting like he hates her, very clearly forms a soft spot.
If you can look past the “falling for your kidnapper” trope, then the relationship between Wren and Onyx delivers satisfying forbidden romance sex appeal, with the perfect amount of tension, heat, and momentum.
With its high-octane action scenes, surprising reveals—including a huge plot twist that I did not see coming to end on a cliffhanger—and irresistible steamy moments, White Raven checks all the boxes of a page-turner.
It treads very familiar ground
Beyond the lore dump early on in White Raven, a complaint I bet will be common among readers is how similar it is to romantasy books before it. The Nordic mythology gives it a fresh feel which I really enjoyed, but other than that, many elements do feel like a rehashing of titles I’ve read before. It probably doesn’t help that I’m about to start the sixth book in Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Blood and Ash series, which also features a prophesied young woman kidnapped by her enemy (a very handsome enemy, of course) who reveals to her that her whole life has been a lie.
There are definitely many differences between White Raven and From Blood and Ash, and I would consider the former a bit darker and grittier, but the comparisons are impossible to ignore. Though we romantasy fans love our reliable tropes, it can be easy to feel fatigue of the genre when the books start to feel too similar.
White Raven probably won’t challenge you or make you think differently about the world, and that’s okay. Especially during summertime, sometimes we just need an indulgent romantasy that delivers pure entertainment while lounging by the pool or in the sand. It doesn’t reinvent the genre, but it’s undeniably fun and hard to put down. I’ll be checking out the second in the series to see what happens next for Wren and Onyx.
Rating: 3.5/5
Add us as a preferred source on Google