Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to view this arc in exchange for an honest review, **

TW: SA, Child Abuse, Misogyny, War

I had high hopes for this book, its just not the book for me. I loved the premise of a dark Mulan with political intrigue and a diverse cast of characters, the execution however left much to be desired in my opinion. The MC, Lara and her love interests are very thought provoking and have a passionate relationship, but their reactions to the abuse she suffers is just so messed up. After Lara is sexually assaulted, her love interests make her suffering about them. They flow between viewing her as this object that exists exclusively for their fantasies, to viewing her as this innocent, virginal being that needs constant protection from every man in the world. Also the fact every single male character wants to hook up with her for some reason and call her little one??  Alessandro and Nicola were very stereotypical "alpha men" who sexualize Lara at every chance (enough to walk out of the room to "control themselves" around her) even though their entirely aware of the trauma she's been and  continues to go through. Lara is also referred to as "little lara" for a majority of the book, which gave me the ick. One of the only positive things i gleaned from this book is the positive representation for polyamorous relationships and sex work, which were handled very well.

Heed the content warnings this book can get very dark. While no sexual assault is described in detail it is still mentioned to have happened and has a pretty disturbing lead up scene to it. If you are not in the right mind frame do not read this book it can get dark.

I like the world building in this book and like that the given rules are never broken. There are three main characters in this book and throughout reading it you really fall in love with all of them. The main girl character Lara goes through a lot in this book and I love to see her journey through this world. 

Lara as a young child is told by a mysterious women that she is worthy of the raven but has no idea what that means. From then on throughout her life whenever something bad is going to happen a raven is there. Her father wants to go to war with their enemy aka the Skin. Her best friends Nicola, Alessandro and all the men in their land are then forced to go to a war they do not wish to fight in. 

While I love the world building the one thing I would like to be a little better is the pacing. It doesn’t flow at times and others it feels rushed through to get to the next point in the story. I never had a good sense of time of when things would take place and only knew because the age of the characters would change. There is another thing I had minor issues with but do not wish to get into spoilers. 

Otherwise I really liked the fantasy elements to this story and thought it had pretty good world building. The romance elements to this book also do not disappoint. My favorite character was Nicola because he was very straightforward and didn’t lie or omit the truth to Lara. 

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. 

I enjoyed the world-building and epic storyline of this book, but overall wasn't impressed with the pacing and writing style. The characters were interesting, complex, and at times entertaining, and the romance was passionate and meaningful. The drama of the politics and war was fun at first but took far too long to reach any kind of conclusion. The ending was fabulous, setting the scene for a future book, but after struggling with the writing errors and weird dialogue cuts, I'm not sure I would seek out a sequel. 

Story was interesting but overall, wasn't engaging enough for me to recommend.

I just reviewed Worthy of the Raven by Y. L. Zamora. #WorthyoftheRaven #NetGalley

4/5 stars
3/5 spice

Great world building, an intense love story, and a badass female warrior who survives numerous obstacles and trauma. 

Tropes:
Childhood friends to lovers 
Polyamory/why choose
Found family 
Touch her and die
Forced proximity
Slow burn
Multiple POV 

This was an dark epic fantasy romance that takes you on a journey. It's important to check the trigger and content warnings because the FMC, Lara, goes through a lot of trauma throughout the book. 

The story immediately draws you in and you get a clear idea of who these characters are. Lara, Alessandro, and Nicola all care very deeply about each other and try their hardest to be each other's protectors. Unfortunately Lara grows up in an abusive household and can't always be protected. When war comes to their home Lara gets the chance to finally become the warrior she always dreamed of being. 

Lara's relationship with Alessandro and Nicola grow under their forced proximity in the war camp. You really see the character development with all of them at this point. But then... it's only half way into the book and SO MUCH has happened already you start wondering what awaits you in the end. 

It's a lot to take in but the story doesn't feel dragged out. The ending broke my heart but also got me excited for the second book. 

If you love epic fantasy that's slow burn with the romance/spice but also great characters and plot... then you'll love this book. 

I wrote a book! I hope you enjoy it :)

Worthy of the Raven is a rich and deeply satisfying epic fantasy. It is full of extremely challenging  content as there are many moments when our FMC is truly suffering, but also so much love and light. The heartbreaking ending is hard to come to terms with, but knowing Lara's journey is just beginning gives me hope that someday she will find peace. 

Thank you so much for the arc!