I was granted a copy of this book by Netgalley, in exchange for my honest opinion.
There are Tw in this book, gore, necromancy, violence, sexual assault, rape.

The plot felt unique, and it capture my attention, I never knew what to expect, witch was very pleasant. The author writing style is really good.
An epic fantasy with a breeze of fresh air, was very interesting to see a diversity of characters and subjects I can’t deny that this book gave massive “the crow” vibes ( the movie).
But who doesn’t like a bad ass main character, I definitely need to follow the series.

A dark, gritty, enthralling start to a new series.

Not even death could take vengeance from her. Illyria; broken, beaten, killed; will not accept death as the end. She makes a bargain with death himself to enact vengeance on behalf of her wrongfully slain kin. With ravens by her side, she will confront the Chosen ones and take her revenge.

I couldnt put it down and am anxiously awaiting the release of the next!

To get this out of the way first- I LOVED the cover. It drew me in and I found myself stopping just to look at it.
The content warnings were greatly appreciated because this book does have graphic stuff. It is definitely an adult book. Initially, I was hesitant to read a book where a female MC is a victim at the hands of a group of men that was written by a man (scarred from George R. R. Martin's writing), but I thought the MC's thoughts and feelings were well done.

The concept of the story was unique, and I never really knew what as going to happen next, so I tip my hat to Dave Reed for this. His writing style is PHENOMENAL. It is very atmospheric and I read paragraphs multiple times to appreciate them. I will be waiting impatiently for the next book in the series.

Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC.

Raven Queen was unique in the way it’s written and how it draws you in. An epic fantasy that kept me on the edge of my seat always guessing what was going to happen next. iOS different and unique than other fantasy books I’ve read. I enjoyed all the different plot twists and the writing was so good.

Here's the thing. At first, I was really into this. The concept behind the gods, goddesses, chosen souls, and forbidden magic were all very interesting. Also at first, Illyria reminded me so much of the female MCs from G.A. Aiken....just...dumber. A warrior to her core, she was always a fight first never ask questions kind of girl. Which I think is what, as the story progressed, had me disliking her more and more. She rushed into everything seemingly without thinking anything over and when someone wanted to explain things, she was too impatient to listen. Then got mad at them for not telling her everything.

The story in general was really good. Often times violent and occasionally disturbing. Illyria has dreams of becoming someone important who helps the people and doles out justice. She's a devote follower of her chosen god and can't wait to serve him. So imagine her surprise when her entire peoples are ambushed at what should have been a peaceful gathering and her own family is offered up in forbidden rituals to the gods. Oh, and she gets herself killed trying to save them. But unbeknownst to Illyria, she has caught the attention and affection of the god of death (and numerous other titles). So instead of being claimed by the god she had dedicated her life to, she finds herself amongst the shades of the unclaimed being courted by Z'nnek.

At this point, all Illyria cares about is getting justice for her family and her clan. So she makes a deal with Z'nnek to be returned to her (dead) body so she can make those responsible pay. Her quest for vengeance has her finding herself the center of attention for the high gods and some of the small gods. Her enemies are the chosen of the high gods so she finds herself walking a very fine line of starting another god war. But nothing will stop her as she carves her bloody path.

One of Z'nnek's courting gifts was giving Illyria the form of one of the bird species he commands. She chooses a familiar raven with one eye to be her guide, and gets the ability to take that form. So that was cool. As was her ability to now communicate with the ravens who are more than simple birds.

I will say that I think the "romance" aspect of this book was unsuccessful. As Z'nnek is courting her, I can see how those two would end up together. IF Z'nnek had actually spent any time with Illyria. Which he barely did. So when she ends up professing her love for him it was quite the surprise. Then you have her raven guide, Tourak (I think I spelled that right). They actually have a history together from when Illyria was a child and he does spend most of their time together. So I can also see how these two could end up together. But it just seemed so awkward, and while I understand Illyria doesn't have an issue with multiple partners, it didn't seem appropriate here. Especially considering both of the males' feelings about it.

At the end, Illyria simply decides to accept things as they are. The whole time she has fought against being called a goddess and a queen, but no longer. Which was good. But she also ends up making such stupid decisions because, again, she just doesn't think and it was so incredibly frustrating. But at this point she has managed to take some of her revenge. Unfortunately, her bad choices have left her body dying again and soon she will be leaving for Z'nnek's realm again. But all we get when she arrives there is the three of them having sex. And the end of the book.

I honestly don't know how interested I am in continuing this. Yes, the story was really interesting. But I just ended up finding Illyria to be so incredibly irksome.

First, what an amazing cover! This was an ok read, but definitely not bad. An interesting premise and world building.

I went into this book sceptical due to other reviews however I was absolutely blown away.

The story follows unique themes and characters with a wide range of diversity in race, sexuality and more. The world is well written along with the lore and love of Gods. Illyria is written in a way that makes her human, she isn’t perfect and she’s aware doing the best she can to avenge her family.

There are darker themes such as gore, necromancy and dark arts and more, however if accustomed to them then this book will be perfect. I, who holds an interest in such things found the writing brilliant and overal really well done, not having gore just for the sake of it but for reason.

One of new favourite books, would recommend to anyone who isn’t phased by some of the darker themes

It had potential but then halfway through I just couldn’t even focus on it anymore so I dnfed it, something about the story didn’t pull me in, which is disappointing because I was so excited for this one but it just didn’t do it for me.

I have to say, I don't usually read books by the "male population" but I was very pleasantly surprised by Dave Reed. The book gave me spooky season vibes so I would recommend this book for the autumn reads. You can find violence, blood and gore in this book. Vengeance and an overall sense of mystery are also very prominent in this story. I enjoyed the female protagonist a lot but what I adored was the mythology and the uniqueness of the story. That takes the top spot. Overall, a good book, maybe a little too long and some things are a little bit confusing and I still don't grasp their meaning..

I DNF this book basically within 10 pages. The amount of graphic violence and sexual content is a little too much for me.

This story was definitely interesting to read. It has unique mythology, incredible writing and a captivating main character. I really enjoyed watching The Raven Queen become who she was meant to be. However, I’m a little confused by how quickly she did. It felt like there wasn’t much acceptance with her new role and just an immediate transition. In fact, I’m still a little confused by a couple of other things as well. One of which is how the God of Death began to love her. That all seemed very instantaneous. I will not be mentioning the rest of the confusing moments here in case it is a potential spoiler.

I absolutely loved the twist that was put on the Gods and Goddesses in this mythology. It was a very entertaining idea that I will be thinking about for days. It’s not something I’ve seen done before, which makes me like this story even more.

This story was almost like a horror story in the beginning, which makes it perfect for spooky season. There’s violence, gore and horror themed in this book. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes unique mythology and a strong female character.