The Ravens is the first instalment of a young adult fantasy series of the same name and is the perfect read to curl up with during spooky season. It is told from the alternating perspectives of two students at the prestigious Westerly college in Savannah, Georgia. They are both part of a coven of witches covertly hiding in plain sight disguised as sorority sisters. Vivi is new and hoping to use her move to Westerly as an opportunity to reinvent herself. Sick of being dragged around the country by her eccentric fortune-telling mother, Vivi wants to finally settle down somewhere and make friends. Scarlett is a senior member of the Kappa Rho Nu sorority with her life meticulously planned out in front of her and one main goal – excel at everything in order to impress her mother and sister, both former presidents of Kappa.
Kappa is no ordinary sorority. Rather, it is a convenient front for one of the most influential covens in the world and only the most powerful witches are invited to join its ranks. This year, Vivi is among them (much to her shock) but a series of misunderstandings immediately set her and Scarlett at odds with one another. However, a number of dark events in the sorority’s recent past seem to be coming back to haunt the current crop of witches and the sisters of Kappa Rho Nu are going to need one another’s strength more than ever to overcome the evil they are facing. But are all of them to be trusted?
This is a captivating YA fantasy which moves at a brisk pace and is nicely plotted, however, there is a bit of an infodump at the very beginning in order to set the scene, introduce the characters and impart the backstories, but it is worth continuing if you can manage to get past an issue often associated with the first book in a series. It's a relatively lighthearted, fun and easy read and one that can be devoured in a few short hoursm and what could be more fitting than a tale of witches living among humans this spooky season? Whilst it is predictable from early on in the narrative, I found didn't stop me gaining enjoyment out of it and it did throw up some twists in the tale that I hadn't foreseen. An entertaining and interesting take on the supernatural spellmakers, complete with some pretty solid characterisation. Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for an ARC.
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