The Antlered King by Marianne Gordon is a breathtaking, immersive fantasy that will captivate readers from start to finish. With its rich world-building and fascinating mythology, Gordon crafts a world where magic, power, and destiny collide. The story follows a strong protagonist on a journey of self-discovery, filled with danger, betrayal, and heart-stopping twists.

Gordon’s writing is lush and atmospheric, bringing the world to life with vivid detail and emotional depth. The characters are well-developed, each with their own flaws, strengths, and growth arcs, making them incredibly relatable and engaging. The balance between action, emotional depth, and complex relationships creates a story that is both thrilling and poignant.

Themes of power, sacrifice, and identity are explored beautifully throughout the book, making it not only a gripping read but also one that will linger long after the final page. The Antlered King is a must-read for fans of dark fantasy with rich lore, complex characters, and an epic journey. Highly recommended!

I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of The Antlered King through Harper Collins via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, so I would like to say thank you in advance for that. My opinions are my own.

I initially requested this book because the description of it seemed like something I would enjoy, I however was an idiot and did not realise until - and I wish I was joking about this - the 40% mark that this is the second book in the duology... That being said, the way this book was written made it not difficult to understand the plot or characters.

Hellevir is a complex character and we initially see her in this book living a nomadic life, only to return to the city and Sullivain, the Princess she has romantic entanglements with and who she has revived four times to the point that their souls are tangled immensely, to help her ascend to power as Queen.

Both Hellevir and Sullivain are complicated and complex characters, even though the story is told entirely through Hellevir's POV you see how the two struggle and grapple with the choices they have made, as well as their understandings of themselves. For Hellevir, she is a healer as well as a resurrectionist. She knows her limits, her body is a testament to this and no matter how many things she gives in return for life - despite losing teeth and bone, limbs, she still continues to try and bring back as many people as possible knowing that if she continues she will wither to nothing. For Sullivain, she's been fashioned into a weapon, a bloodthirsty killer since she was a child. Hellevir sees this, knows this, sees her memories of blood caked under her child-self's finger nails and Sullivain even recounts her first kill, her father, and says she was too far gone from the get go. And yet with Hellevir's belief in her, for a moment Sullivain had hoped she could be better, not be the killer she'd been told she was. She yearns for that life and yet falls victim to her learned behaviour time and time again.

The two women's relationship is also complex. They're toxic, souls twined together too tightly. Hellevir realises later on in the book that Sullivain is too far gone and that they cannot be together when they're on two sides of a war, and yet neither can truly hurt the other. They lash out but still seek each other in their dreams, Sullivain in particular. Hellevir is the only peace the now Queen has ever known and when Hellevir decides to cut the connection, the loss is felt.

There was a moment after the final battle where I felt empty, like I myself had been to war and won. Maybe it was the Skyrim cinematic music playing in the background but I felt like I was Hellevir in that moment. I felt the ending of the book was perfect too, it had been hinted at throughout the book so I wasn't too surprised but it felt like it was the best ending for the Antlered King and Hellevir. I also loved seeing Eloe and her son again because I did grow attached to the bard in the beginning, and I'm glad a certain someone did keep her word and protected them with her final revival.

I wish I had realised this was book two in a duology/series before reading this book, but as I said it wasn't too difficult to understand what was going on. I can see myself rereading this in the future and actually starting from the beginning. I would recommend this to any fantasy lovers and will be purchasing a physical copy at some point!

Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me. While I enjoyed the first installment, I already had some issues with how Hellevir was treated by those around her and, even more concerning, how she allowed this treatment to occur.

I had hoped for some redeeming character arcs in the sequel because I was not convinced by the love interest and the direction the story took in the first book. Unfortunately, my hopes were not fulfilled; the redemption arcs of certain characters felt forced, and I truly wished that Hellevir had ended up with someone else.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The writing is still gorgeous, and the world-building was on point yet again. Without giving too much away, I would’ve enjoyed seeing the lovers story go to the other person - she deserved the kindness they were offering compared to what she got.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. My one word review: wow. This is a stunning conclusion to the Raven's trade duology. I was genuinely moved by the ending, while it is not the end I would have chosen for Hellevir, it was beautiful and perfect all the same. What I love about these books is that there is a cost to everything, and the characters have to live with the consequences of their decisions. We get so much depth from the characters because of this, and each of them are flawed in their own way. I loved it in every way, and its not a stretch to say that this is one of my favourite duologies of all time. I eagerly look forward to whatever the author has coming next!

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for approving me to read this early. I’m rating this 4.25 stars.

Wow what a conclusion to this story, my heart! I really admire our FMC Hellevir, she was so genuine and she suffered for it along the way. This book picks up from book 1 in a place where we get to see who Hellevir is outside of the capital a little scorned from her experience and still reeling from all she has given of herself to save others. Along this journey so many secrets and sly behaviours occur and it truly does hurt to see Hellevir rarely ever catch a break.

Hellevirs journey has a beautiful and maybe bitter sweet conclusion depending on your view point, and the author very neatly ties up all loose ends giving all characters a conclusion.

I received this as an arc from Netgalley.
I had a great time with the whole duology. I found the second book and the conclusion to be really satisfying. There are parts of this book that really pull at your heart strings and things that made me chuckle. There were some great and important themes in this series that really made me think and self examine.
The relationships between the characters were on the whole great. There were one or two characters that seemed to have a change of heart too rapidly that I felt a little whiplashed but the main relationship between Hellevir and Sullivain was so complicatedly fascinating. I loved the scenes with them together and how things between them progressed in this book.
I will definitely recommend this series and be on the lookout for more from the author.

4,25/4,5⭐️


POSSIBLES SPOILERS BELOW


The Antlered King by Marianne Gordon is the second and final installment of the Raven’s Trade duology.

It’s been a while since I’ve been so invested in a series and, while I admit that the ending felt a bit bittersweet right after finishing the book, the more I think about it the more I believe that the author really wrote the perfect conclusion for this duology.

Every character is very complex, especially Hellevir and Sullivain, and the entire cast of characters is particularly well-drawn.
I have also grown genuinely fond of the new characters that were introduced in this second book.

In conclusion, I recommend this duology to any fantasy lover and to anyone who is particularly fond of well-written characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC.

Sequels can sometimes lose some of the magic of the original work. Not this one. The author has created a stunning fantasy world that is unique and fully realized. The characters are complex and interesting and the plot took twists and turns I wasn’t expecting. I loved every minute of reading this book.

Thank you to netgalley and HarperCollins for giving me a copy of the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Wow.

After reading The Gilded Crown I knew I had to start the sequel sooner than later, so I was very ecstatic to be able to read this before the release.
Being able to dig into a book with beautiful writing and characters is honestly such a privilege, I felt engaged with the plot the whole time and I felt the pain the FMC, Hellevir, experienced throughout this whole book.
The only time I felt a bit iffy was during chapters 9 and 10 where things felt a little rushed, but the whole story takes a drastic and darker turn that works far too well and made me even more obsessed with this story.

Overall, amazing book everyone must read this duology as it is BEAUTIFUL! And it also made me sob, which is extremely rare.


Release Date: 27 Feb 2025

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book. A gorgeous 4 star read book from me. What an exciting plot, vivid storytelling and relatable, rich characters. I could put this book down – absolutely loved it.

A captivating read from start to finish, full of action, adventure, mystery and romance. I enjoyed every second of this!!

This book is brutal from start to finish! Hellevir simply cannot catch a break at all. For those that prefer high fantasy, I would recommend this as long as you’re prepared for some pretty dark twists.

From start to finish there are a lot of awful choices to be made, I didn’t entirely enjoy all of them and on some occasions I didn’t see the need.

It’s a constant battle between Hellevir wanting to help and losing all common sense. And when you throw in the fact everyone just wants to use her and beat her down her, you can’t really blame her for being misguided.

Without giving too much away, I would’ve enjoyed seeing the lovers story go to the other person - she deserved the kindness they were offering compared to watch she got. But, how Marianne Gordon ended Hellevir’s story was truly satisfying, I feel like she ended up in the best place for her.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review