Review: The Ravens by Kass Morgan and Danielle Paige

Author: Danielle Paige and Kass Morgan
Edition: eArc
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers (November 3, 2020)
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
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Synopsis

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My thoughts

A sorority full of witches hiding plenty of secrets, past mistakes coming to haunt them and the power of friendship: The Ravens was exactly what I wanted it to be. It’s full of magic that is both awe-inspiring and twistingly dark and tackles themes of sisterhood, expectations and the lines we are willing to cross to belong.

Plot and Pacing

I love anything witchy and magical, so my love for The Ravens shouldn’t be a surprise. The setting and magic system immediately drew me in. I especially appreciated getting to read about characters who are at college and thus a bit closer to my own age. The witches’ magic is based on tarot cards and as a tarot reader myself it was fun to see the cards used as the basis for various spells!

For some reason, I assumed this book was queer, specifically sapphic. It is not! Maybe I just associate witches with sapphic stories so I was slightly disappointed when I found out that the main romances are straight. This is of course not the book’s fault and while I did not particularly enjoy the romances (more on that in a second), I just thought I’d mention it in case anybody else also got queer vibes from The Ravens!

Now, the romance. Admittedly, getting me invested in romance sub-plots is pretty hard so take my opinion on this with a grain of salt. But man, I really think this story could’ve done without a petty rivalry over the same guy. Luckily, it really is just a sub-plot but it does inform some of the important conflicts and miscommunications that drive the main plot forward.

The Ravens has pretty fast pacing, if you’re looking for a book that moves fast and sweeps you along with it, it might be a good choice. A downside to that: I wish I could have spent more time with the characters! I also felt like the faster pacing didn’t quite allow the space for secondary characters to be fleshed out beyond a few general descriptors which didn’t really help me in telling them apart.

Characters

Scarlett is not a likeable main character. She is self-centred and at times a true mean girl, but I understood and empathised with her actions every step of the way. Having to live up to an impressive family legacy under the scrutiny of my mother and older sister would make me act much the same way. Although this is not directly addressed in the book (and might be me reading into it), I felt that Scarlett being a young Black woman contributed to her needing to work incredibly hard to be perfect and excel beyond her white peers. She doesn’t just have a legacy to live up to but the cards are stacked against her.

Let’s talk character development! As a reader, it’s very satisfying to see a character be taken apart and having to put themselves back together and Scarlett was a perfect example of that. She really gets put through her paces as her world falls apart but she emerges stronger and wiser, that’s the kind of character development I’m here for!

Unfortunately, I didn’t vibe as much with Vivi. She felt fairly one-dimensional at times and I just generally would’ve liked to get to know her and her powers better. Subsequently, I didn’t care about her as much as I would have hoped to but I’m excited to see how she develops in the sequel.

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This book is for you if…

…you enjoy anything witchy or fantasy with unique takes on magic
…you’re looking for a fast-paced mystery with strong themes of sisterhood and belonging

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