I enjoyed this story with all the characters within. The main character was Lucas.

Lucas Rurik is a riftborn and a fighter. He was part of the Raven Guild but something had to them. Now he trying to find out what happened to his team. While trying to find out his friend calls him up to ask for help. He decides to help his friend.

This was a fun story read. It had twist and turns that were fun trying to guess. It had action, adventure and suspense throughout. It had a few giggles within.

I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. This is my honest unbiased opinions.

I actually enjoyed this book more than expected. The world building was done quite well and I liked the idea of the rift and riftborn. Looking forward to reading more from this author

This is the first book in a new Urban Fantasy series. It come out of the gate fast-paced, and maintains that momentum to the end. It's dramatic and gorey and has just the right amount of feeling bad for our characters.

The Last Raven follows Lucas. The book isn't shy about telling you right away that Lucas has recently seen all of his friends murdered, and he isn't feeling too good about that. in the middle of him struggling to get back on his feet, he's called in to help with a suspicious magical investigation.

While the book does dump onto you that the character is angsty, it takes its delicate time introducing you to the world and magic system. The information is fed to the reader at a manageable pace. This also provides some anticipation, as we don't get to find out what our protagonist's powers are until later in the book, once we're already comfy with the system. It's a solid world, and I'm excited to see more of it in future books.

My video review: https://youtube.com/watch?v=g4sV2O7Iw7M&feature=shares&t=315

Thanks to Podium and Netgalley for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.

I love when I discover an urban fantasy novel that has solid world building. The Last Raven is one of those books. The protagonist is wonderfully flawed, and I enjoyed watching him recover from rock bottom. The author even made jumping from the present to flashbacks work. A writing style choice that 90% of the time annoys me. If you want solid character development with a fast moving plot then this is for you. I am excited to read the next book in the series.

The Last Raven is the first installment in author Steve McHugh's Riftborn series. Once upon a time, a dimensional tear opened and poured energy from the rift which changed people forever. This rift has power/magic that can bring both human and animals back from the dead if the timing is right, but they come back different. The peace between the rift and humanity has always been tenuous. It’s up to the Guilds to protect it, removing whomever—or whatever—poses a threat, whether human or rift-fused.

There were once (7) Guilds: Falcon, Owl, Eagle, Hawk, Vulture, Kik, and Ravens which Lucas Rurik belonged to. Lucas used to be part of the Raven Guild, that is until someone murdered all of its members—except for him and stole the Raven medallions of his guild. The story tends to alternate between 5 years ago, and the present to fill in some blanks. 5 years ago, Lucas entered Netley Asylum hoping to get information on what happened to his Guild by Dr. Callie Mitchell and ended up becoming human.

In this world, Fiends are animals touched by the energy from the rift while Riftborn are humans that died and were transported into the rift, healed, and given exceptional powers. One of the more curious aspects of this story is the existence of an actual city in the Rift called Inaxia which is where part of the story takes place after Lucas tries to regain his powers lost after he temporarily becomes human. Lucas spends just enough time in Inaxia to be told to get his priorities in order and stop wallowing in self pity.

For most of the past 7 years, Lucas has kept to himself in Brooklyn, New York, avoiding getting too close to anyone lest they become targets themselves. But when one of his oldest friends at the Rift-Crime Unit, Isaac Gordon, calls upon him for help with a case that’s already taken down people who mean a lot to him, Lucas can’t resist stepping back into the fray. Something is killing FBI and RCU agents alike—something unlike anything Lucas has ever seen before, on Earth or in the Rift.

When Lucas is betrayed, and ends up back in the Rift, he realizes these killings aren’t just the random attacks of some terrifying new kind of fiend. They’re connected to whoever killed off his Guild all those years ago—and that’s something Lucas just can’t let lie. Even more concerning, the gruesome assaults seem to be linked to Dr. Callie Mitchell, a depraved and disturbed individual who treats the rift-fused like her own personal lab rats.

One of the things this author does very well is write action scenes. A friend of mine said that this story reads like a Harry Dresden novel. That, I think, is high praise. Lucas, once he gets his powers up, and grows a set of balls, is an interesting character. Do you have to have read any of the authors previous series to enjoy this book? Nope. You'll be just fine since the world is pretty much explained in great detail.

The Last Raven by Steve McHugh
Riftborn #1

Exciting, action-packed, intriguing introduction to a splendid new series set in a world we know but one that is so much different than we now know it now. The Riftborn are unique, lethal, varied entities with a complex history, mythology, abilities, laws, realities, and more that completely captured my imagination. Well done indeed!

What I liked:
* Lucas Rurik: ancient, lethal, powerful, Tallon of his guild, seeks vengeance, capable of cruelty but on the side of right – really liked him
* The world created with the Rift, Embers, Tempest and all it entailed
* The cast of supporting characters – humans and Riftborn – and the parts they played: Isaac, Gabriel, Bill, George, Hannah, Nadia, Ji-hyun, Emily,Booker, Zita, Dave, and any others I might have forgotten
* The guild idea and wondering how it and those that belong to the guilds will play a part as the series progresses – great idea that the guilds all have bird names
* The wide variety of Riftborn and their differences
* Being able to hate the bad guys…do hope they ALL will be dealt with ruthlessly…eventually
* Reading a new-to-me author that I really enjoyed
* The plot, pacing, writing, being drawn in, feeling a part of the story, and caring about the outcome
* Wondering who is behind the evil that Lucas is facing and who he will face next
* Knowing that there is another book to read coming – hopefully soon

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* The death of some good characters
* Having to say goodbye to the characters while waiting for the next book to be ready

Did I enjoy this book – Yes
Would I read more in this series – Definitely

Thank you to NetGalley and Podium Publishing for the ARC – this is my honest review.

5 stars

This is a urban fantasy book set in a present day in a world that's quite similar to ours but with a catch: linked to other world is yet another dimension which changes things a bit: there are people with demonic powers and there are monsters that get through the rift.

The weird: there are several pages in the part about the FBI crime scene investigation where characters retell each other the same long paragraph of text with only minor changes. If felt like it hasn't been proofread at all.
Author's obsession with expensive cars and watches is something that got me wondering. Every time there's a car in the picture - we always learn it's model and pretty much the same goes with watches.

The bad: first 1/3rd of the book reads like a b-rated action movie from 90s: we got badass character who's here do rink beer and kick asses and he's all out of beer. The author tells us a lot about magic in this world in a sort-of encyclopedic manner. He dumps lore which is somewhat irrelevant at the moment and doesn't show the cool parts.

The ugly: characters are bland, which you half expect from an urban fantasy novel. The main protagonist has a 3-page backstory written, but it doesn't translate to his character at all, the only thing the reader can tell about this guy after finishing the book is that he's got a small anger issue problem and can't keep his mouth shut. And that's the most deep character of the book.
Fighting scenes are nothing to write home about with the exception of "final boss" fight, which is okay-ish/good.

The good and the excellent: the world that Steve McHugh describes is unique and it's probably the reason I will be coming back for book 2. The magical system (it's not magic per se, but let's call it that) is intriguing and keeps your craving for more. The idea behind the rift and the embers is excellent.
After the initial slump the book picks up the pace and is tightly action-packed, which makes for exciting and fun read, so you're unable to put the book away.
The plot hooks for 2nd book are great and worked on me 100%.

The book takes itself too seriously for my taste but all in all if you want a lighter read which feels like an episode of "Person of Interest" - this book is a solid choice.

The unrelenting pace of the book delivers a bloody and deliciously gory telling of the last guild member of the Ravens..This is everything I love about the genre. Fast paced, vengeful hero, dastardly villains, and all the spectacular characters spot on delivered in an engrossing and action filled bomb of a book. Otherworldly magic and monsters are icing on the cake. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book from Netgalley.