3.5 rounded up. Overall, a good read full of magic, political schemes and monsters. This was also very fast paced. At times I wished the pace slowed down for some parts. Also I would have liked more interactions with Katyani and Queen Hemlata's and their soul bonded relationship and also if we could've spent more time when Katyani was bonded to Bhairav.

I enjoyed the Indian mythology and the very slow burn romance between Katya and Daksh. I would've preferred a different ending between them though.

I absolutely loved the twists in plot, and the betrayals and secrets lurking throughout the story, which kept me constantly on my toes. The world is surrounded in magical detail that constantly hooked my attention and made me read well into the night. In addition the hints of romance, with the combined banter and tension, had me enveloped into the characters and story.

Title: Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove

Author: Rati Mehrotra

Release Date: October 18th, 2022

Page Count: 352

Start Date: October 12th, 2022

Finish Date: October 17th, 2022



Review:

Story: This book was a very intense ride. I'm not even sure how to describe it well. Not that I ever really describe the book in my reviews. But I digress. For this particular one, I feel like if I say anything about the book it will kind of spoil something. I think I'll leave it at this. We follow a girl who seems to hit bad fortune at every turn. Everything she knows as true is not. She must discover the truth for herself with barely any help from anybody who she thought she could trust.

Characters: Katyana is the main character. She's adopted by the Queen in the kingdom she grew up in. She also shares a powerful bond with the Queen. It's a first person book, so we mainly only see it from her point of view, but I really enjoyed it. I think it makes the story more intense that way.

Critiques: None that I can think of. Maybe I'd like to see a bit of a back story leading into this book.

Final Thoughts: The cover really doesn't do this story justice in my opinion. It's such a wonderful story. It's very action packed. It may be told in first person, but you get a good feel for all of the characters in this story. You feel an empathy to those who have done everything they can to help Katyana. Well, at least I did. I'd love if this became a series. I'd totally read more book in this world. I'd even love a prequel with a bit of a back story leading up to this book. I'd love to see things that were referenced in the book. Definitely recommend!

A fast-paced and lushly detailed story that will hook you from the beginning until you read the final sentence.

The entire world crafted in these pages is endlessly fascinating and exciting. Every character stands out as someone unique and our protagonist is a fantastic narrator.

I’m so excited to continue this series.

Disclaimer: This book and I had an interesting journey. I was able to access the audiobook to read alongside my ARC which usually enhances my reading experience, but the narration made reading this book feel like such a chore even at 2x. So I DNFd the audiobook but continued with the ARC.

NIGHT OF THE RAVEN, DAWN OF THE DOVE is a story about betrayal, family and redemption. While it takes a bit to get off the ground, about 150 pages in Katyani's story takes a fascinating turn and I was really into it. I loved the world-building in this one based on medieval Indian history and folklore. Mehrotra does a wonderful job bringing Katyani's world to life in lush and vivid detail. This one is filled with a ton of secrets and political intrigue, as well as monsters and magic that made Katyani's story even more compelling. I loved watching Katyani wrestle with the truths of her past and her relationships with her family and her soul-bond with the queen in the aftermath of the brutal attack on the palace. The inner conflict Katyani deals with really made her an even more compelling character. The romance in this one felt like a very slow burn but Mehrotra does a great job in developing both Daksh and Katyani as individual characters and their relationships. Character development is definitely one of the author's strength and you can tell. With vivid world-building and twists that will keep you turning the pages, NIGHT OF THE RAVEN, DAWN OF THE DOVE is a story about redemption and second chances and what we do with them.
I will mention the only issue I had with this book: the author tends to do a lot of telling as opposed to telling, and the beginning of the pick reads very info-dumping and feels incredibly slow, which is why this is a 4 star instead of a 5.

Okay this cover is gorgeous for one, but the story is even more. In the beginning i was a little worrisome but it had my attention so much happens in this book i am amazed, happy, sad, laughing literally my emotions have been going every where.

The premise of this book sounded wonderful! Bonds, royal families, monsters, tragedy, betrayal? Sign me up. However, this book fell flat for me. I don't know if it's because I read a lot of fantasy, that it just seemed very basic to me. There was really no character development so it was hard to route for any of the characters. I also saw all of the "twists" before they came. I did enjoy the world that was built but I felt like it wasn't fully complete at times. The magic was also basic. It didn't fully make sense and it was a lot of telling and not showing. The love interest was very insta-love and didn't make sense to me because there wasn't a lot of character development. I just wanted more from this story. There was SOOO much potential so I was disappointed.

A solid YA fantasy, I really enjoyed the Indian inspired world. Katyani's journey was interesting and fun to read.

Katyani grew up as an adopted princess of the kingdom of Chandela, trained to protect and advise the crown prince. Bound to the queen through a forbidden soul bond that saved her life as a child, Katyani never questioned her place in court and the circumstances that caused the bond. But when the queen sends Katyani and the princes to learn spiritual wisdom from the famous Acharya, she begins to question everything she has ever known. This is a wonderful standalone fantasy story! This is the first fantasy I have read that is set in a world based on medieval India, and I loved it! It was full of political intrigue and mythical creatures! The characters were wonderfully written, and the plot kept me guessing the entire story. I wish the romance had been a little more fleshed out, but the characters were so sweet together, and I loved the few romantic scenes there were. I loved this story and can't wait to read more books by Rati Mehrotra!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was very excited about this book, especially when I received a physical ARC (my first ever!) And while I really enjoyed the unique monsters in this story, and learning a little about medieval India, even an alternate version of it, the character development and world building fell a little flat for me. I didn’t feel particularly attached to any of the characters, including Katyani, whose perspective we follow through the whole story. I felt like there was a lot of telling and not a lot of showing. However, that being said, this book is definitely written for the younger range of the Young Adult audience. There is adventure and a very slow burn romance that will appeal to a lot of readers. It’s got diversity, really cool monsters, and magic. And it’s a stand alone story that won’t leave you on a cliffhanger. Overall this wasn’t the book for me, but I do recommend it to younger readers looking to dip their toes in the fantasy genre.

3.5* rounded down

I’m a big fan of alternate histories and mythology, so when I saw this on NetGalley, I was interested.

The story was well-paced; hooking you in right away. It wasn’t the kind of book that I couldn’t put down, but that’s not a con. I wanted to figure out what was going on, it just wasn’t at a breakneck pace. This is preferable to me right now. There were a lot of details that I didn’t know and the author did a really good job of showing rather than vomiting exposition. I’m not versed in medieval Indian history, so I can’t comment on whether this was a good alternate. I can say I enjoyed it and it felt real to me. Katyani was certainly fully realized.

She’s steady and confident but also felt like she had real emotions. She trusts the people around her, until she can’t. The way the book is told, it felt like 3 sections of her life. Katyani also deals with some complicated emotions; a bit of instalove, that I thought was handled well on her side. She also has to figure out and deal with the soul bond. Without getting into spoilers, that’s a main thread in the story and it drives the story from the middle to the end.

I didn’t understand the basic motive for it though. Or rather, it felt a lot like: the bad guy is bad and does bad things. Not my favourite part even if the consequences were interesting.

I liked that this was a standalone too. It didn’t end on a cliffhanger. It was neatly wrapped up. Generally a good thing, but a little too neatly for me.

Because you’re so completely in Katyani’s head, some of the other characters didn’t feel fully realized. For example, Daksh was supposed to be her love interest but he’s so silent and so stoic that I had no idea whether he actually cared. This drives Katyani crazy but that crazy turns into love, that she then denies feeling? And no wonder. She respects him and his skill and that is obvious but for a major character, he’s too flat for me. This isn’t really a romance so it’s not a huge drawback, but he isn’t the only side character that felt a bit paper thin.

I enjoyed this story. It was an easygoing read and I felt good when I finished it. It wasn’t forgettable. I’d recommend to fans of historicals, alternate histories and even some fantasy.

Included as a top pick in bimonthly October New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached)

I tried MULTIPLE times to get into this book and just found it hard to get excited about. I thought the characters were kind of flat and found it hard to get invested in them. I wanted more showing and less telling. Unfortunately had to DNF :(

This book would be good for readers who like political intrigue and fantasy!

Set in a world inspired by medieval India, Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove follows Katyani, a guard soul-bonded to the Queen of Chandela. Katyani loves her adopted family, and the queen especially because she saved Katyani’s life when she was just a child and that formed the soul bond between them. Or at least, that’s what she’s always been told and she has no memories of the time before the bond to refute this. When Katyani is sent off to a famed gurukul (a type of school) of Acharya Mahavir with prince Ayan and his cousin Bhairav to study statecraft and weaponry, she is initially resentful because she doesn’t wish to leave the remaining royal family unprotected from the assassination attempts that have plagued them for months.
This portion of the book provides important set up for what happens when the trio are called back early from their studies. Behind the scenes there have been numerous events that lead to conflict with a neighboring kingdom, which is largely unknown to the reader aside from very brief mentions of threats and troop movement. Tragedy strikes and Katyani is set upon a path of retribution and the truly surprising part is the target of her fury. I hesitate to give any spoilers because this story has several dramatic twists that I certainly didn’t anticipate!
Let’s back up a bit to Katyani’s time at the gurukul. Here she first meets the infuriating, yet handsome Daksh, son of the Acharya. Katyani’s constant needling of him is amusing, particularly because it’s almost entirely innuendo or the implication that he fancies her. This was somewhat unexpected and I think that’s why I appreciated it so much - honestly, young adult fantasy doesn’t go for that type of humor often but it’s so appropriate for the age group! It wasn’t overly crude, just the kinds of things people say to each other all the time amongst friends (especially if they might have a crush on one of those friends).
This story was a great blend of myth and monsters, political intrigue, revenge, and a slow-burn teen romance. For the most part, I felt it was a mature book in its approach to most situations, with dashes of juvenile behaviors that make sense for the age of the characters. The ending was bittersweet and wrapped up the story very nicely. I appreciate the increase of solid fantasy standalones because it’s wonderful to have a whole story in your hand without knowing you’ll have to wait years for the whole thing to conclude!

Thank you Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this wonderful book. I enjoyed this mythical, fast paced adventure filled with great character development, set in alternate medieval India. I believe that listening to the audiobook version while reading the electronic version really enhanced my experience. Can’t wait to see what Rati Mehrotra creates next, hopefully in the same world.

4.5 Stars!!!!!

Take me back now please! I really loved this book and want more.

Magic. Fantasy. Ghosts. Monsters. Political rivals. Warring kingdoms. Plot twists. A kick ass female MC. Yes, please!!!

Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove starts off with a bang and never slows down. I was so enthralled that I read this in a day (with a helpful assist from a bout of insomnia). I loved the setting of an alternate medieval India. I loved the characters.

Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove comes out 10/18. I highly recommend it for YA fantasy fans.

4.5⭐️!!!!

Thank you to Wednesday Books & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

This book has a decent premise, but it failed to capture my interest. I didn’t find the characters that interesting, and there was a lot of telling vs. showing.

4.5/5

Oh my god this was incredible. I loved Katyani with every piece of my heart this entire book she was dealt blow after blow. Everybody she loved either betrayed her, died, or did both and I wanted to give her a huge hug. Also she was just a complete badass and I loved it.

And her and Daksh. Shy easily flustered Daksh and bold flirty Katyani flustering Daksh have my heart. They deserve the world and I will not be told otherwise.

Overall this book was just amazing the court politics were politicking, the world building was so cool, and, again, Katyani was amazing. (If you can’t tell I’m in love with Katyani.)

A night of the raven and the dove is a fantasy story set in a retelling of medieval India. Something new for the fantasy genre makes for an exciting world-building setup. As we follow our main character, Katyani, who is bound to the queen, one could die without the other. However, I felt like the magic system was not explored enough, and there was no explanation of the finger spelling between the characters. DI also felt like many things were not explained, and I felt disconnected from the novel as it was more plot based than character based. The story had some good plot twists that I was not expecting; this did not live up to the experience I thought I would get.

Okay, I stayed up WAY too late reading this book and then finished it the next morning as soon as I had a second to sit down. It’s a super immersive story packed with magic and intrigue. I loved the characters, especially Katyani and Daksh.

Outspoken and fierce, Katyani had me from the first page. I loved the complex relationship she shares with the royal family and of course with Daksh and the way so many things change as the story unravels. The plot is fast-paced and intense– definitely the thing that kept me reading. That and the romantic tension between Katyani and her love. I really invested in that thread of the plot, and couldn’t stop until I knew how it resolved.

I’m seeing a lot of reviewers on Goodreads calling the setting of this book an alternate medieval India, which makes sense. The story world felt rich and easy to get lost in.

I think readers who enjoyed THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN by Roshani Chokshi will love this one.

Will post on 10/17/22