On point! Cat Winter's deserves a round of applause for pulling this off so seamlessly.

There was a sublet similarity in the spine chilling poems of Poe that Winters carried over into The Raven's Tale that was so freakishly good I was uncertain this was a work of fiction at moments.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4


Thanks to Netgalley and Amulet Books/ ABRAMS Kids for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

My first and only encounter with Cat Winters was in the YA anthology Slasher Girls and Monster Boys. In her most recent work, Winters introduces us to a teenage Edgar Allen Poe and his supernatural muse, Lenore. Although I have never shied away from the poet and his works, I cannot say I am an ardent fan.

On the other hand, Cat Winters is definitely in the Poe fan club and her extensive research shines as she shows Poe's internal struggles with his Gothic style by giving him a Gothic storyline. While I felt "Eddy" was a bit hard to take for the majority of the novel, I was truly captivated by Lenore. It is her narrative voice that still haunts me and truly shows the writing depth of Cat Winters.

Because the writing is the true gem of this tale. Every sentence is so vivid in detail that I could see the whole story before me like a painting. I am glad that I gave Cat Winters my attention and now I am curious as to which of her previous works I should check out.

Goodreads review 23/03/19
Publication Date 16/04/19

I've always been interested by Poe so I found this an interesting fictionalize account of his late teen years. I love his muse and the author's inclusion of parts of his poems and parts of her writing stylize like his poems. The cover is beautiful and I liked the added details to the chapter pages and the pages between separate parts of the book.

I received a little teaser of this book during YALLfest, and it intrigued me a lot. Unfortunately, I couldn't really get into this. The book was well written, but the genre just isn't my favorite and I didn't really care for the plot. It wasn't my speed, but I know others will love it, so I will still recommend it to anyone who might be interested.

Cat Winters doing a book inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's muse/life? I'm all here for that! I really enjoyed this one but it's ODD, no like really ODD.

Honestly, I have no idea where to even begin with this book - it's a strange one, but I'll do my best. The Raven's Tale in a very unique, haunting and beautiful tale. It centers around our main protagonist, the famous author Edgar Allan Poe and his muse, Lenore. We start off by learning that Edgar was adopted after losing his parents to a fire. His adoptive parents are well off and he has had the best of everything but is still seen as a bit of an outcast because his biological parents were into the arts and that is completely frowned upon. Edgar's adoptive mother is caring, but fairly weak and now sickly - she doesn't really stand up for Edgar but she does love him and tries to support him in her own quiet way. His adoptive father, on the other hand; is a complete bully of a man. He obviously cares very little for Edgar and lets him know it at every chance he can get. He's ashamed at Edgar's love of poetry and wants him to go into the family business. He's abusive, neglectful and just an all around horrible human being. I couldn't find one redeeming quality in this man.

Edgar is finally going to University and is very eager so he can get away from his controlling father, hopefully for good. Edgar is in love with a young woman and she seems to feel the same way about him, but her parents are not at all happy about the match, so they have to have their romance in secret until he comes back a better match for her when he's through University. Of course, nothing goes as planned. Edgar can't give up his love of poetry - it's his life force, it's what makes him who he is and lately his poetry has gotten more and more dark.

In this world, if your passion/vision is strong enough than your muse can enter this world and become part of it, eventually morphing to it's full potential when fully realized. Edgar's muse is Lenore. Yes, Lenore from the very famous poem, The Raven. I'm a huge fan of Edgar's work and I'm so happy it focused on Lenore because I don't think there is anything more iconic than her in his works. The muse, Lenore is a dark and morbid character. She feeds off creativity and needs it to live. However, Edgar is horrified that she has come to life and completely ashamed and denies her the creativity that she so desperately needs by denying himself. We see both Lenore and Edgar fall into a desperate dark depression. One that can truly only be undone by Edgar giving into his passion - his writing.

This story is very dark and deals with themes of abuse, depression, and poverty. It's a very polarizing read - it would be very easy to be confused by this one since it's such a odd concept. It's told in two POV's - Edgar's and his muse, Lenore. Lenore chapters tend to be more lyrical and dark, which I doubt will be for everyone but I loved it. The writing is stunning. Cat Winters has a wonderful talent of being able to blend historical fiction with elements of the supernatural so seamlessly. This is my third book I've read by this author and I just love her writing style.

I recommend this one to people who love a dark tale or fans of Poe. This is also a wonderful book to maybe branch out a little if you tend to stay on the straight and arrow with your reading choices. This one will definitely challenge you I think.

A story about a young Edgar Allen Poe and his muse Lenore with a twist.

This book is beautifully written and atmospheric. The writing just pulls you in from the very beginning.

You can tell that Winters has done a lot of research as this feels authentic to the time period and her writing has the same dark, creepy, gothic feeling you get when reading Poe.

Chapters are told in alternate perspectives between Edgar and Lenore. It’s interesting to get 2 points of view; however, it can feel repetitive at times.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher via Net Galley.

I have loved most of Cat Winters books and was incredibly excited to see what she would do with a book about Edgar Allan Poe. This ended up being a bit disappointing to me. While it was a neat idea, it was honestly kind of boring. There is a lot of flowery language but not much of a story here.

Edgar Poe is constantly pulled between the demands of his art and the demands of his foster father. He desperately wants to attend University and his foster father has agreed to send him..for now. When Poe’s muse takes on human form she ends up causing a number of issues for him that lead him down a dark path.

I did enjoy the idea of an artist’s muse being a living/tangible thing; basically the human embodiment of their artistic talent. Lenore is all of Poe’s dark tendencies and urges wrapped into one disturbing girl. Eventually another muse shows up who fights with Lenore over Poe and this muse is the embodiment of Poe’s ability for satire.

Unfortunately this story was both too much and not enough for me. Having the second muse enter the scene was distracting and this second muse was just not very well developed (I can’t even remember his name). It was just too much and really defocused the story. I also felt like Lenore was not enough. She just wasn’t dark enough, committed enough, and didn’t feel passionate and developed enough. The whole thing ended up being a bit of a muddle.

If you look back at what actually happened in this book it’s really not all that much. It was fairly boring to read, the only bright spots being the poetry excerpts throughout. I also enjoyed the afterward that talked about Edgar Poe’s actual history.

Overall this was a disappointing read for me; it’s okay but feel very short of my expectations. The story is just too slow, boring, and a bit muddled. You don’t get a lot of story and the muses weren’t quite as intense as they should have been. This is one of the weaker Cat Winters books I have read. I started reading it with a huge amount of enthusiasm and by the end just wanted it to be over.

I honestly don't think I mesh well with Cat Winters writing, because this is the second book by her that I am not enjoying. This is supposed to be like Edgar Allen Poe which you know, I should be enjoying, and yet.... I just found this to be incredibly flat and all around meh.

It's always a delight to see what Cat Winters will come up with next. I find her to be one of the most interesting content creators in the historical fiction/historical fantasy genres, and this unique and compelling tale of Edgar Allan Poe's early life was no exception.

Atmospherically the book is exceptional. Winters didn't borrow from Poe as much as I would have expected in that capacity, but her style still works for the story and probably prevents the book from coming off as an attempt to emulate its subject's work.

All of the characters are well drawn and compelling (especially impressive considering Winters made every effort to be historically accurate regarding the human characters), and while the concept of the corporeal manifestations of the muses felt a little wonky at first, Winters somehow makes it all feel very natural and fitting fairly early in the narrative.

The ending was a touch abrupt and frustratingly so, though the author's note at the end dispels some of that frustration.

Overall, I continue to be impressed by Winters' unique and captivating body of work. As always, I'm eager for more.

I’ll start by saying that I knew little to nothing about Poe before I started reading this book, I think I had read an abridged version of The Raven in a poetry book once but other than that I’ve never really got on board. That’s not me being snobbish about Poe or anything, we just never really crossed paths -part of that’s just chance, it’s also partly because I don’t like horror very much and since I get scared by most things in real life I don’t tend to want to add to that! But finishing this I think I need to maybe dip into some Poe if the fancy takes me! But yes, I can’t really speak to the historical accuracy of this story - and maybe you wouldn’t want me to. There are some interesting authors notes at the end of the book for those who do want to delve further into the history of the thing.

Overall, I thought this had the bones of a good book. I loved the idea of muses being a physical thing and the theme of nourishing your muse and your muse reciprocating and all of that stuff. It’s an interesting way of looking at the creative process and thinking about what you do personally to feed your own muse (I’ve been so busy lately my muse is probably looking like a bedraggled pidgeon). It does a great job of depicting all the horrible things Poe went through with his foster family (again, can’t speak to the accuracy of this) some of which I found genuinely upsetting. It’s a little bit of insight into the early years of a figure who, I think for most people, has become little more than a series of wacky facts.

So why wasn’t this book as impactful for me as it could have been? I think this says more about me than it does the book but I just kept finding it funny when I don’t think I was supposed to. The mental image of this goth (in the modern sense of the word) woman following Poe around university and badgering him all the time just felt so silly to me. In part I think that’s because the author is almost too earnest at times - it’s hard for me to take it that seriously, but again it’s also on me and how I read this. If you see me in person in the next few months ask me to do my impression…

But if you’re more mature than I am (or more willing to suspend disbelief maybe?) then I think you’d enjoy this. There are smatterings of Poe’s writing to keep you engaged as well, which gives a bit of variety and context to the story that I appreciated.

I think this is a good, quick read that many will find informative. Personally, I wasn’t totally sold on the gothic aspect of the book but that was more of a me problem than it was with the book!

My rating: 4/5 stars

I received a free digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

The Raven’s Tale is out on April 16th!

The Raven's Tale blends historical fiction with gothic fantastical elements as it retells the life of a young Edgar Allen Poe. It's a really interesting approach and ultimately I do think it works, although it took me a little while to get a feel for what the author was doing. Largely based on real historical events, this rendition weaves in Poe's muse, personified as a macabre young woman named Lenore (name taken from iconic poem The Raven). This is a dark story, and Poe certainly did not lead an easy life, but the mythology surrounding Lenore is woven into the story in interesting ways.

I would particularly recommend this for fans or admirers of Poe's writing who want to know more about his life and some of the influences on it. The orphaned son of an actress, he was fostered by a wealthy family but has a dysfunctional relationship with his foster father. Be aware that there is definite emotional abuse taking place, along with images of death and violence. Overall, I found this to be interesting, compelling, and creepy. Worth checking out. I received an advance review copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

At my school an entire grade level does a Poe unit every single year. They LOVE him and students always want more afterwards (who doesn't?!?), so we are always on the hunt for different Poe or Poe-like books.

This was good, not ground breaking, but really enjoyable. I would probably put it at 3.5 stars personally, but from a student perspective I'm rounding up to 4 for this review.

The characters are developed well, the pacing is mostly good (there were a few slow-downs but they were short lived) and really shares a lot about Poe's life with the reader.

Would I suggest it to a Poe fan? YES!
Would I suggest to a non-fan or someone not familiar with his work? Nope.

*note: because this was a DNF for me, I didn't actually rate it on my blog or Goodreads*

DNF @ 30%

Lately, I’ve stopped writing reviews for books that I DNF, but since I received an ARC of this in exchange for one, I figured a brief summary of why this didn’t work for me was necessary.

You should know that I adore Cat Winters. This is the first book by her that I haven’t flat-out loved. I will still one-click buy literally everything she writes, so take this review with a grain of salt.

Usually, I find her prose so enthralling that I tend to inhale her works in a single sitting. This one was a struggle to get through. And Winters for me has always had this haunting, poetic way of writing that stays with me long after I finish reading. For a book about a haunted poet, the writing here wasn’t up to her usual scratch.

This book read like it once had a lot of info dumps that were heavily edited out and instead shoved into dialogues and inner monologues in a way that felt forced. In the forward, Winters mentioned how much research she did for this. It shows. Not in a good way. Usually I find her world-building to be effortless and organic. This felt stilted and forced in comparison.

This also lacked her usual elegant prose. Instead, this story suffered beneath the mimicry of a century-old writing style.

So, brilliant concept, but the execution fell short for me.

Well. What a curious, interesting little book.

I really enjoyed this. I would definitely say I’m a fan of Edgar Allan Poe, but only insofar as that I’m intrigued by every work of his I’ve read, which are not many. After reading this, I’m keen to read more of his poems and stories.

I suppose I can see how this book wouldn’t be for everyone. Some people might find it a bit boring or just too strange. I, however, liked it from the very first page. The story opens with a young Poe in church, reflecting upon how the building is built on the remains of those who died from a fire many years past. As he considers this macabre fact, the pastor drones on about how one must kill their artistic muses, resulting in an interesting and dark juxtaposition between the sermon and what’s going on in Poe’s head.

The plot revolves around Poe going off to college and dealing with the fact that his harsh adoptive father doesn’t want him to pursue his poetry. The conflict is very internal, as Poe struggles to decide whether he wants to abandon his artistic muse or nurture it against his father’s wishes. What makes this book super unique and intriguing is that the muse is personified as another character and a second point of view. Her name is Lenore (which some of you might know is the name of a poem by Poe) and she is something of a spectre that follows Poe around and begs his attention. Other people can see her, as can the spirits of the dead, and she’s a ghostly, frightening thing given that she represents Poe’s fascination with death.

"I’m obsessed with death but terrified of dying."

Feels, man.

Poe keeps trying to hide Lenore from the rest of the world, and she desperately wants to be seen. If her poet only accepts her, she can evolve into her “final form” - this is hinted at being a rave, since she’s called “raven girl” and becomes more bird-like as she convinces Poe to disobey his father and gives her more attention:

"...The difference between us is that (he) fears your potential, whereas I’m the electricity igniting it."

Trouble ensues when Poe is at college and a second muse emerges - this one representative of his skill with writing satire. The poetic muse and the satirical muse fight for Poe’s attention, and he simply doesn’t know what to do. In the end he must reconcile the two and decide whether he is going to let his father influence his future.

Guuuuys, the atmosphere and prose in this book were so #mood for me. Winters writes in a way that evokes Poe and tells a great story while sneaking in that trademark creepiness and sense of melancholy.

She makes references to some of his stories (House! Of! Usher!) and even weaves in lines of his poetry. I caught quite a few of those references, but it made me wish I knew his work even better so that I could pick them all out. I don’t usually include quotes in my reviews because I don’t like stopping my reading to jot them down, but this one had SO many beautiful, contemplative snippets:

"Love poems fall out of fashion over time...Humans’ enjoyment of satire and humour is equally fickle, and epic adventures stop seeming so epic when new heroes accomplish new feats. Yet mortals’ fear and bewilderment of death will never die - not as long as people keep dying."

Or:

"Dark works of art require great wit, and satire sips from uncomfortable emotions."

Or my personal favourite:

"The kindest thing you can do for the dead is to weave their names into art."

I definitely recommend this if you want a quick atmospheric read devoid of romance. This had a different, deeper kind of relationship, and I was here for it. I couldn't stop thinking about the story for the rest of the day. After reading so much YA lately that either disappointed me or bored my pants off, I feel as though THE RAVEN’S TALE has cleansed me.

I definitely want to read Winters’ other books now. So far, she has won over my weird, dark soul. :)

Thanks to #partner @netgalley for an egalley of The Raven’s Tale in exchange for an honest review.

Cat Winters’s The Raven’s Tale is a sort of origin story focusing on a seventeen-year-old Edgar Allan Poe struggling to find self-acceptance. Poe has an early conflict in nearly every facet of his life. His adoptive father, John, expects young Edgar to give up his art for a “more serious” career in something like business, holding hostage funding for Poe’s education in exchange for his compliance. Edgar also fights against his own poverty-stricken beginnings, in the disparity between the luxurious lives of his current peers and his childhood with impoverished actors. His society as a whole is set against him. His church criticizes his parents’ lifestyle and is literally built on the ashes of their theater. His friends and romantic interests can not definitively move past his low parentage. And there is, again, Pa, who does not hesitate to remind him of every area in which he falls short.

Enter: Edgar’s muse. Yes, his muse, Lenore, comes into his life as the physical embodiment of a grotesque drawing, there to provoke and bully Poe into accepting his affinity for death and all things Gothic. Lenore can be seen not only by Eddy, but by everyone, and as she moves through his world, she unsettles everyone because of her ghastly appearance and her disturbing behavior. The novel moves through the alternating perspectives of Poe and Lenore, and her presence is a definite reminder of the place of women (and, particularly, dead women) in Poe’s stories, of women’s morbid hold on his imagination and of “the beauty in horror” (loc. 376).

In The Raven’s Tale, Winters takes the historical facts of Poe’s life and embeds them into a world reflective of the fantasy he embraces in his writing, one where ghosts and spirits are real, where his muse torments him (and competes with a second, more conventional, male muse), and where Poe’s sporadic use of alcohol makes him unable to write . . . because it makes his muse sleep. Through the novel, Poe fights his inclination toward darkness because he does not think he will find acceptance if he follows that path.

The strength of this book lies in its enthusiasm for its subject matter. Winters clearly loves Poe, his life, and his poetry, and she immerses the reader in his style. This immersion happens most clearly in Lenore’s chapters, where Winters writes in mimicry of Poe: “I awaken in the shadows, ravenous for words, hungering for delicacies dripping with dread” (loc. 155). As Lenore strengthens, the style intensifies, demonstrating the increasing bond between artist and muse. Winters’s describes her research in an extensive Author’s Note, which is fascinating in its consideration of the connections between this novel and Poe’s life.

Though I found many elements of The Raven’s Tale appealing--including the grounding in historical detail and the incorporation of Poe’s early writing process--the novel didn’t completely work for me. The characters fell short: though I love fantasy (the more complex and strange the world, the better), I never felt as if I had my footing in this realm of embodied muses, and Poe himself felt more like a collection of character traits and information than a fully realized character.

The Raven’s Tale, which will be published on April 16, 2019, is a solid choice for those readers interested in learning more about Poe or beginning to imagine how he embraced the darkness that came to dominate his art. It did not, however, succeed in capturing my imagination or the spirit that makes Poe’s works so captivating for readers.

Following the life of Edgar Allan Poe, this is clearly based on meticulous research but with a wonderfully macabre style that pays homage to Poe’s writing.
Poe at seventeen is about to head to university. He wants to write, but is discouraged by his foster father. Poe tries to ignore his dark muse, Lenore, but we see him struggle with his passions and interests as he adjusts to life as a student. Spiralling debts burden him and Poe cannot bear to abandon the one thing that gives him pleasure though it leaves him open to criticism.
For those familiar with his writing/life I imagine this will add another rich layer, but it’s a fascinating story regardless.
Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me access prior to publication and to Cat Winters for her quirky imaginative style being let loose on such a rich topic.

I honestly really enjoyed this book! It's about a young Edgar Allan Poe! Which was so cool a nd so well done! I loved the characters and the writing and the world! It was so dark and just so delicious I was living for it! I loved Edgar I loved Lenore! Highly highly recommend this novel if you’re an Edgar Allan Poe fan! You’ll be in love and addicted with this novel for sure! I liked reading about his muse and his love for Elmira! Was addicting! I didn’t want to stop reading it! This novel also makes me interested to see ,Cat Winter’s work as I don’t think I’ve read anything by her before! But again read this book! It’s so fun and dark and just gah! Loved it!

This book is fine for Poe fans, but I was a bit let down? I still can't decide if it was the writing that I wasn't liking or the pacing or both, but it did bog the story down. I did like how she wrote the time period and you can tell that Winter's put a lot of research into this story. Yet, though things started to pick up after the 75% mark, the wait was a bit too late.

Seventeen-year-old Edgar Poe counts down the days until he can escape his foster family—the wealthy Allans of Richmond, Virginia. He hungers for his upcoming life as a student at the prestigious new university, almost as much as he longs to marry his beloved Elmira Royster. However, on the brink of his departure, all his plans go awry when a macabre Muse named Lenore appears to him. Muses are frightful creatures that lead Artists down a path of ruin and disgrace, and no respectable person could possibly understand or accept them. But Lenore steps out of the shadows with one request: “Let them see me!”

When young Edgar Poes muse becomes reality, everything changes for the young writer. His dark, and macabre writings flowing like a rivers mouth!! However it is his pride that may also destroy her. She must convince Edgar that his ways are meant to be, his words are meant to be dark and tradgic so she may transform into what she should truly look like. Just when she thinks she is getting through to him, another of young Edgars muses comes to play. Attempting to destroy his dark inspirings, but Lenore is his forevermore. Featuring works from Edgar Poes early years throughout the story made it that much more invigorating!!! I really enjoyed the final poem from Poe at the end and how they tied into the story itself. Definately recommend to fans of Poes dark writings, as well as fantasy readers!!

I love everything Cat Winters writes and I have read lots about Poe so I was so excited about this book. I was not disappointed. Devoured it in just a few hours.