Item: The Hunter and the Mage
Rating: 4.5
Author: Arielle

BOOK REVIEW: The Hunter and the Mage (The Raven and the Dove #2) by Kaitlyn Davis

The Hunter and the Mage (The Raven and the Dove #2)
by Kaitlyn Davis
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Return to the world of The Raven and the Dove, where winged people rule the skies, a lost kingdom lives at sea, and two star-crossed lovers hold the fate of each in their palms. Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Sabaa Tahir, and Leigh Bardugo!

A mage written in prophecy…

When Lyana wakes in the Sea of Mist, adventure is the first thing on her mind. But between her unruly new magic and an unyielding young king, the world below comes with more responsibility than she ever dreamed. An entire civilization exists within the fog, and its survival depends entirely on her.

A hunter forged in blood…

Adrift at sea on a ship full of strangers, Rafe fights to cope with his new reality. He'll do anything to return to the sky and the people he left behind. When a surprising offer comes his way, he instantly accepts, sparing no time to consider the consequences.

Loyalties are tested and an ancient war begins anew…

With rebellion in her heart, Cassi defies her king and befriends the prince she's been ordered to kill. Oblivious to the threat, Xander welcomes her into his inner circle, determined to rescue his mate. As one works to help and the other to hinder, an ancient enemy stirs, forcing Cassi to choose between trusting the man who broke her heart and turning her back on everything she's ever known.

Review

Damn. DAMNNNN. I found and devoured book one via NetGalley in March and I was DELIGHTED when Kaitlyn reached out, asking if I would be interested in reading and reviewing the second book. At this point in my life, I feel like I’ve read thousands of books, traversed a thousand skies and lands, and lived through the eyes of thousands of characters. There have been many similarities, how could there not have been? So when I come across a book that feels completely new, I pay very close attention. This story is one of those instances.

There’s an entire world with floating islands, each hosting a different kingdom home to a different race of bird people (I mean that sounds weird when I word it like that but really it’s just the type of wings those people have, lol). They fear magic and when they find any of their people with it, they either kill them out right or rip off their wings and throw them over the ends of their lands (messed up, right???). They think that magic represents and is given by a god that all of them fear and that he lives below their lands in the mist that hides dragons and other terrible things.

In that first book we discover that that is NOT the case. There is an entire world of people down there without wings, where magic is NOT a crime and where the people live in that perpetual mist just trying to survive. Their King, Malek, has been working his entire life to find the queen of a prophecy who is supposed to help him save the world.

This book is broken up below and above the mist in the POVs of Lyana, Rafe, Malek, Xander, Cassi, and a new character, Brighty. Getting to know more about the world below the mist was soooo intriguing and seeing Lyana come into her power was so amazing. She might honestly be one of my favorite heroines of all time. She’s just so fucking bad ass and GOOD. Malek on the other hand got on my shit list for MANY different reasons. Rafe. Oh sweet baby Rafe, you tortured soul. I just love him. I love Cassi’s strength and her budding relationship with ~a certain someone~ and was so glad when she finally was able to tell people her secrets. Xander is just also such a pure soul and I cannot WAIT to see him as a King some day for his people. Seeing him react to Cassi treating him like a normal, strong person was everything. Overall it’s just such a memorable cast of characters and I am dying to find out more about new developments with the prophecy and the lands above the mist and relationships and EVERYTHING.

The writing is so damn good. It had my heart beating wildly on so many different occasions, especially towards the end. I need moreeeeeee!

Huge thanks to the author for letting me get my hands on this early in order to shout out my honest thoughts and opinions to the world♥

The Raven and the Dove (The Raven and the Dove #1)
by Kaitlyn Davis
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Four fates collide in this avian-inspired, epic fantasy retelling of Tristan and Isolde perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Sabaa Tahir, and Leigh Bardugo!

A princess longing to be free...

On the dawn of her courtship trials, Princess Lyana Aethionus knows she should be focused on winning her perfect mate, yet her thoughts wander to the open sky waiting at the edge of her floating kingdom. One final adventure calls. Upon fleeing the palace, the last thing she expects to find is a raven prince locked in a death match with a dragon.

A bastard aching to belong...

Reviled son of a dead king, Rafe would do anything for his beloved half-brother, Prince Lysander Taetanus, including posing as him in the upcoming courtship trials. When a dragon interrupts their secret exchange, he orders his studious sibling to run. After suffering a fatal blow, Rafe is saved by a beautiful dove who possesses forbidden magic, just like him.

Fate brought them together, now destiny will tear them apart...

Unknown to the world above, on the foggy sea ten thousand feet below, a young king fights a forgotten war. He believes Lyana is the queen prophesied to save the world, and with the help of his favored spy, hidden deep in the highest ranks of the dove royal house, he will stop at nothing to have her.

Three shocking betrayals. Two star-crossed lovers. One unforgettable journey. If you like fierce heroines, brooding heroes, forbidden romance, and action-packed magical adventures with twists you'll never see coming, don't miss The Raven and the Dove!

Review

She was more than a princess.
She was a force.
If anyone could bring color to a house made of black, it was she. If anyone could return laughter to streets that had grown quiet from so much misfortune, it was she. If anyone could could erase the past and restore the future, it was she.

As soon as I saw that this was a retelling of Tristan and Isolde I knew that I both needed to read this right away but also that I would need to guard my poor lil heart while doing so. I don’t know how many of you know the story of Tristan and Isolde, and while I have never read the actual tale, the movie that came out in the mid 2000s with James Franco and Sofia Myles was my favorite for a really long time. Call me a glutton for punishment but that is my most watched movie of all time. If you don’t know anything about the pair, you might want to look up a synopsis before you dive into this to see what you might be getting yourself into.

On to the plot. This entire book was built upon an incredibly unique premise. Right away in the epilogue, this King who is on a boat on a sea surrounded by mist feels a presence come into the world, “she” he refers to her as. It’s not clear who this “she” is exactly but before he dies from wounds he sustains from a dragon, he tells his only son, “Your queen is here” and then basically makes it sound like they are destined for each other and that their pairing will save the world. Since we don’t know much of anything at this point, we also have no idea what problems this world even has to solve. I was sure intrigued, though.

Once we get into the actual book we learn that this is a fantasy world that features a bunch of floating…islands? I think they’re islands anyway?? That make up different kingdoms that feature a different group of people who have wings of a specific breed of bird. Our main female character, Lyana (dove wings) is the princess of the House of Peace. Since their House is kind of the main one, the courtship trials which are held once in a generation are being held there.

On the morning before it all starts, Lyana and her best friend Cassi fly to a secret spot of theirs just to catch a peak of even the first of the other kingdoms to arrive. It turns out to be the Ravens. Somehow a dragon (which it seemed never usually made it up that high) shows up and one of the Ravens is engaged in battle. Long story short only the crown prince (Xander) and his bastard half brother (Rafe) which had planned on participating in the trials in place of his brother who is missing a hand were ahead of their group. Xander flies back for reinforcements and Rafe is left to try to take on the dragon. He sustains life-threatening injuries. Lyana saves him and they bond when they figure out they both have healing magic in a world where magic is seen is a horrible thing and people are usually killed for.

As you can imagine, things go to hell because as expected, Lyana goes through the entire trials things Rafe is the prince when really he is not and she wins up promised to Xander.

A few other pretty big things happen, too. We catch a few glimpses of that prince I mentioned from the prologue and there’s a spy involved whose identity I never would have guessed and that person ends up in a very interesting predicament at the end of the book. Well, everyone does, really. To be honest, they’re all in a pretty shitty place (which, again, since I knew the story of Tristan and Isolde it really didn’t surprise me).

I’m just now seeing that this is a four book series which I am so happy about because I’m pretty sure this story is going to go to some pretty amazing places. The writing was incredible honestly. From the world-building to the characters, to the flow of everything in general–I was so impressed and am dying for that next book.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Kaitlyn Davis for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! ♥