Love the book 📚 a captivating witchy fantasy loved the book so much what a way to start a series 🖤🖤🖤🖤

I was really excited to read this, because as a university student I feel like there aren't enough good college/university-set stories, or maybe I just haven't read them! I particularly enjoyed the Southern setting of this book, with its massive campus and strong Greek life, because it is so different from British universities but so fun to read about. Saying that, The Ravens certainly put a spin on typical sorority life, which I enjoyed, as I also did with the whole tarot element and them being witches in general. I think having it tied into a sorority really helped place the importance of the book on sisterhood, while any romances took more of a background role, which is refreshing to see. The drama of the story wasn't entirely groundbreaking, and the antagonists were somewhat predictable, but I honestly didn't mind because the book was so enjoyable to read! I will definitely be reading the sequel as soon as I can get my hands on it.

I enjoyed this book. It was a fun and enjoyable read that I was able to speed through. The writing style was fun and captivating as well as being cohesive (I have a pet peeve about books with multiple authors when their writing styles don’t fit together). The story was a little bit predictable but that didn’t affect my enjoyment.

I did have some slight issues with the ending though. It just felt a little rushed, the final showdown could have done with an extra few chapters I think. Same with the romances, everything just felt rushed and it was hard to root for a couple when I’d only seen them have 3 very brief interactions.

The other thing that threw me a little bit was some of the descriptions of characters when they were first introduced. Whilst I appreciated the diversity of characters it did feel a little bit clunky how the first thing that was mentioned about every character seemed to be their race, as if the authors needed to make sure you knew it was a diverse cast.

The Ravens is a fast-paced, deliciously witchy, contemporary fantasy that will keep you addicted until the very last page.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this one, having not read from the authors previously, but I couldn't turn down the opportunity to read a book about a Sorority of Witches.
This is exactly what is says on the tin. The Ravens are a powerful coven that recruits new blood through their Sorority. There's some bitchiness and drama, as well as a few mysterious secrets trying to resurface from the past, but overall, The Ravens value Sisterhood and Craft above all else.
This book is told from two perspectives, the first is Scarlett, who is trying to become the new president of The Ravens, like her mother and sister before her. The second is Vivi, who has come to Westerly college trying to lay down some roots having spent her life constantly on the move at the whim of her superstitious mother.
I enjoyed reading from both perspectives and was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I became invested in both the characters and the story. My only real criticism is that as the Sorority is rather large, it was hard for me to differentiate between some of the side characters a lot of the time.
This book is ultimately, a fun witchy story with a thriller-esque plot in the background to keep things moving. I actually thought I had it all figured out by the mid-point, but was still shocked by the plot twists that hit me out of nowhere.
Would recommend for a fun, addictive read.

This just wasn't for me. I was a bit bored, the dual POVs were essentially the same voice and I thought all the twists were pretty obvious.

My fault entirely but due to my poor mental health I'm behind on my netgalley reads. I went to go read this one and for some reason I cannot find it on my kindle and it is now archived. I have a hard copy of the book so I will definitely be reading in the future.

An interesting and somewhat traditional take on witchcraft. I love that the magic felt realistic. The premise of the book was great, a coven of witches moonlighting as a sorority.
It was a bit predictable at times and quite slow paced.
Overall it was ok, but nothing special.

Wow! This is a story about a girl finding yourself as much as it is one of friendship, love and deep heart breaking betrayal.

Its collage setting is certainly a new and refreshing take on magic and spellwork. I love that its still set in a school setting but the school itself isn't for only the magical community.

Two girls very much opposites in every way find themselves connecting coming to understand that sisterhood is nice but before that friendship is a must.

It has some light hearted moments and some very dark ones that will have you hanging on to the edge of your seat half wanting to continue and half wanting to stop. A powerful combination if ever there was one

A gripping addition to the dark academia trend, The Ravens is a refreshing take on witches complete with an eclectic magic system tied to the Tarot.

The Ravens is predominantly set around Kappa Rho Nu - a sorority, however it’s no ordinary sorority, it's a sorority of witches hidden in plain sight. The book is written from the POVs of our two main characters- Vivi and Scarlett. Vivi arrives with absolutely no idea she’s a witch or that she’s trying to get in to a sorority full of witches, meanwhile Scarlett is determined to become president of the Ravens, just like her mom and sister before her.


This definitely sounded like a book I would love and while I did enjoy it to a certain extent, I think I expected it to be aimed at an older YA audience, but the writing felt quite immature. I had to keep reminding myself it was set in college rather than high school.
I also found it quite peculiar that characters were introduced by their skin colour.. I’m not sure what the purpose of this was or what the authors were thinking when they decided to do this.

I’m a bit disappointed it didn’t quite live up to my expectations and a lot of the plot lines were obvious, however The Ravens is a quick, somewhat enjoyable, easy read.

2.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Ooof, maybe I should have known this wasn't going to be my cup of tea. Yet, I've enjoyed books by both of the authors separately (especially Paige's retelling of The Wizard of Oz is a series I still love to remember) and so I thought I'd give this a shot. But the writing was really hard to get into and never flowed - which was surprising considering both of these authors have very distinctive writing styles in their separate novels - and the plot was just not executed that well. The premise was great but I feel like the execution was lackluster; I loved the idea of secret covens but then the clunky writing would take away my enjoyment.
While I might not have enjoyed this as much, I do think that especially younger YA readers may enjoy this quite a bit and especially if you liked the P.C.Cast's books in the past, this might be right up your alley!

The Ravens tells the story about Vivi, a witch, attending college and Scarlet, following their life on campus. I liked the plot, but didn't love it.

Having previously liked books from both Danielle Paige and Kass Morgan, I was eager to read The Ravens. However, for every book of the authors I have liked, there have been ones I haven't. So, going in to this I was curious as to whether they'd combined the elements of their writing that I liked, or the bits that I hated. Unfortunately, it was the latter.

I ultimately did not finish this book. I got around 30% in, and just couldn't do it anymore. I didn't like either one of the main characters very much, and I didn't find the plot compelling enough to keep me invested, either. I don't know how to explain, but with the melodrama and the cliques, it just sort of felt like a parody. Just not very memorable and I think it focused too much on drama for dramas sake, as opposed to just telling a good story.

Verdict: Is it too early to call my favourite book of the year?

When Vivi joins Westerly College, she discovers the sorority known as the Ravens are actually a secret coven of witches. In her pledge to join, she quickly gets on the wrong side of Scarlett, a legacy Raven, who desperately wants to be voted president to meet her mother's unreasonable expectations. Although the dark events of last year are catching up with Scarlett, putting the whole sorority in danger.

For me, this will go down as one of my favourites of all time. It has everything I loved about 90s Charmed combined with everything I adore in YA fiction. It's fast paced, full of complex family history and teen drama, and had enough magic and mystery to keep me enthralled throughout. It has a darker edge to it too, like the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, plus a couple of lines of humour, and tons of mystery.

The story is told through third person dual POV, and both Vivi and Scarlett grow a lot throughout the book. Vivi starts out as a lost lamb, and is very much the outsider which helps introduce us to the magic system alongside her. She's naïve but her heart is the right place. Scarlett is self-assured and ambitious, although haunted by the terrible event that happened during her previous year at Westerly. To me, she was the more intriguing character as the events of the year before drip into this year and show that Scarlett is not the same person who initially joined the Ravens.

It's worth noting that while this book is set in a sorority, the target age still feels firmly in young adult territory, rather than awkwardly straddling the new adult category as many YA fantasy books do. I expected it to be older in tone because of the college setting, but nope. The romances feel very much like first crushes, and the main themes are around found sisterhood. I really loved that this book focuses more on friendship than romance.

The prose is also a brilliant example of strong, clean writing full of voice and emotion. It's not lyrical in the slightest, and instead keeps the pace, leaving some of the magical mechanics to the imagination. This is where it felt very Charmed-esk. The magic in this is linked to a mix of rhyming, emotions, and ingredients for heightening spells, which is a style of magic I've always quite liked and felt was executed well here.

One small note: There's an attempt to include diversity that felt...iffy. It seems as we encourage more inclusive representation from our authors, so comes those who mean well but aren't sure how to handle it yet, and that's what it felt like here. Another slight criticism would be that the book takes a while to rap up after the main shebang. The ending ticks all the boxes more thoroughly than necessary, although it helps the book feel complete. It doesn't end of a cliff hanger, and I massively respect that - so maybe that's not actually a criticism.

It might be the first book I've read this year, but it's set my expectations very high. Is it too early to call my favourite book of the year? Video review to follow!

The Ravens is about a sorority, Kappa Rho Nu, that is secretly a coven of witches. In The Ravens we meet Vivi and Scarlett, our main characters. Scarlett is a legacy Raven and her biggest goal this year is to become the next President of the Ravens but her past actions and secrets might screw that up. Vivi is longing for a fresh start. Arriving at Westerly she has no clue that she's actually a witch until she gets a bid to become one of the Ravens. Two girls with different background will have to work together when a mysterious evil is bringing danger to all the Ravens.

I was actually quite surprised at how much I enjoyed this story. The sorority full of witches part drew me in but the suspense, magic system and sisterhood kept me truly entertained. The magic system was easy to understand and divided into four kinds of magic. Each witch has their own kind of magic that they are strongest at, but they can rely on other witches to pull their strenght together and practice the other kinds of the magic. The four kinds are Cups; water, Wands: fire, Pentacles; earth and Swords; air.

The mystery element was written really well and I was surprised by the two different reveals. This is also the first time reading a book that's written by two authors and I have to say that I definitely couldn't tell, which is of course a good thing. The writing felt smooth and connected. I'm curious to see what the sequel will bring.

I found this book really difficult to read and get into. I found that some of the description of characters was problematic: introducing a character "the white girl with straight red hair" and the "white boy with brown curly hair" ruined what I had anticipated to be a good read. I did not finish this book.

The Ravens is one of those reads that you know from the first page you are just going to love and get swept away in to the world it creates.
It's such a strong series opener and sets the tone for what looks like will be a fantastic and original series.

A fun YA witchy book. Great atmosphere and a story you want to keep reading because you want to know what happens next.

2.5 stars
The premise was intriguing and I loved the idea of a sorority being a front to hide a witches' coven. But the execution and plot were disappointing and lackluster. It wasn’t bad per se, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Sisterhood was a central theme throughout the novel and I liked how everyone supported each other. It’s gratifying to see all the Kappa sisters stand up for each other and kick butt.

In terms of the plot, it was rather predictable and I figured out who the culprit was pretty early on. The rest of the story was enjoyable despite this.

Diversity was handled rather strangely in the novel. As soon as a character was introduced on-page, they were only described by their skin color and nothing else. The only thing I knew about that character was that they were POC or white. This felt like it was bordering on tokenism.

Scarlett: Wow, I loved her! She was ambitious, determined and had all her priorities sorted out. Initially, she was really catty but that is to be expected when you have so much pressure resting on your shoulders. Scarlett had to deal with pressure from her family to become Kappa’s president, overlooking the sorority’s initiations, as well as balance her relationship with Mason. Girl’s got a lot on her plate.
I loved Scarlett’s character growth. By the end of the book, she had so many terrible things thrown at her yet she still continued to stand tall.

Vivi: She was just so bland. If it weren’t for Scarlett, I would have stopped reading because Vivi’s chapters were so dry. Vivi, unfortunately, suffered from a case of the “I’m not like other girls” trope. She’s described as awkward and not Kappa material. Vivi’s lived her whole life without knowing she’s a witch, and of course we find out her magic is powerful.

The romance was unnecessary. The two love interests were interchangeable and had no personality. What I did not like was that Scarlett and Vivi’s dislike for each other stemmed from a guy. The book would’ve been so much better without the boy drama.

I am so disappointed because I really wanted to love this book. The premise was everything I wanted but unfortunately, everything else fell flat.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc to read!

I ended up really loving this new YA fantasy series by authors I already knew I liked. I went into this book with no expectations other than I really like the cover but ended up being blown away by this! The setting really drew me in and I found myself scrolling for hours, when normally I can only read a few pages at a time. I am eagerly anticipating more from this seriously amazing series and I highly recommend that people pick this up! It might just be their new favourite YA read of the year!