I was pleasantly surprised with The Raven and the Dove! I wasn’t completely sure what to expect beyond a Tristan and Isolde retelling, but Lyonna stole my heart with her adventurous spirit. I was so broken hearted for her when she discovered the duplicity that had been committed to earn her hand in marriage. Rafe also deserved so much more than the fate he was dealt and by the end, I was so disappointed in Xander. I understand why he acted as he did, but I wish he had offered the same grace that he expected to receive. I’m hoping that he will have the opportunity to redeem himself to his brother and his people. I thought the idea of a winged race lifted to the sky above a tumultuous realm was a very good one and I am very excited to see what happens as Lyonna and Rafe adjust to their new realities below. I was very impressed with the plot development and the imagery and I’m so glad I was finally able to dive into this world! I didn’t even realize their were four books in the series and I feel like there is so much potential here for an amazing story.

It is a good one.. at first its was a like just a walk in the park kinda thing, simple and a little bit predictable.. but then you have to wait. It gets interesting from the half till the end. Didnt expect whats coming, and now im intrigued. The story gets better and better as it goes and theres a lot going on that will leave you hooked. I liked it! 3.5 stars for me… I want to give a solid 4 but I’m still looking for something, maybe it’s in the second book.

dnf

I really couldn't get into this one. I tend to be pretty picky when it comes to the pacing of my fantasy reads, and I felt like this one just moved too slow for my liking. I wasn't really invested in the storyline or the characters, either. Also, I wish there was more narrators in the audiobook. I may resurrect it in the future, if I'm feeling it.

The Raven and the Dove by Kaitlyn Davis was a 3 star read for me and here's why.

My biggest pet peeve in books is a main female character that doesn't jive with me. There wasn't anything inherently bad about Lyana, but I found her taxing rather than cute most of the time. She was... young. In her actions at least. Often foolish and self-serving. I did like the part of her that was filled with passion and I did appreciate her at points in the audiobook, but the times she was immature turned me off from her. There were points where I enjoyed the bubbly elements to her, but other times it grated on me. But enought about Lyana.

I did really love listening to how the world slowly came together. In fact, I would have liked to hear more about the world and it's history (I don't often say that about books). Usually in a fantasy sort of novel- I feel drowned in the info-dumps. But that wasn't the case here. I loved hearing about the world Davis was building.

The other mixed bag piece of the book for me was the romance. There were times when I really enjoyed Rafe and Lyana together, but their love story just felt a little fast-tracked and that took away from the chemistry between them. Maybe it's the slow-burn reader in me, but I like when characters burn for each other over long periods of time. It drives me insane, but it makes it all the more worth it when they get together. And in this book- they fell right into each other.

However- Lyana and Rafe are both young and Lyana's personality lended to the inst-love feeling. So, to a degree, it's understandable how quickly they fell for each other.

Two more things I loved about the book- the side characters, especially Cassi. And I was loving the mystery around King Malek. And secondly- I really enjoyed that this was written from multiple POV's. That's really my jam when authors do that.

Overall- this was an entertaining book. It wasn't earth shattering, but it got the job done. There were good things about it, bad things about it. But at the end of the day, it made me forget about my life for just a little while.

3.5-3.75 Stars
An intriguing story about forbidden love and duty.

This was an entertaining retelling of Tristan and Isolde. I only wished there were more character/relationship development and world-building.

*** Thank you to NetGalley and Kaitlyn Davis for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own. ***

I thought I was going to love this book but I was just kind of eh about it. It had all of the elements I love but I think I'm at the point where YA just isn't hitting the way it used to.

I really enjoyed this audiobook! The narrator did a good job and was easy to listen to. The story was fast paced and left me wanting more! The world building was interesting, I can’t wait to learn more about the mysterious world below! The characters were well written and likeable.
I really liked the forbidden romance aspect between Anna and Rafe. I can’t wait to see what happens after that ending!

I really loved immersing myself in this world and really enjoyed the characters in the story. I also liked the character development throughout as well. 10/10

yeah…i don’t have much to say aside from “it was ok”. i didn’t find it exceptionally good or bad, just ok. the characters were your typical fantasy romance protagonists, the cool girl who can fight, the dark love interest with family issues and the sunshine prince. add the sassy best friend and you’ve got yourself the perfect formula. now i must admit that the world building and the overall concept was pretty cool, people with bird wings but you have different types of birds, it changes from the overused faes for example. also someone teaches the narrator how to do a proper british accent because this wasn’t it at all and it was straight up ridiculous. 3⭐️

This story has two major tropes that one will need to keep in mind before reading:
Instant Love and Deceptive Marriage.

If those are two things you would like, then I recommend the audiobook which was the main way I had consumed this story.

I wanted to like this, truly I did. The world is creative in their magical realm, but the story is heavily character driven and I couldn't personally attach to them.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As any good YA book, it has the hard headed heroine who can't be told what to do, the hero that's grumpy because of his past, the best friends that helped them along, betrayal and a higher force at play which throws everything out of whack. The story kept me hooked, trying to figure what would happen, and how it would all play out in the end. I can definitely see myself picking up the next one in the series to see what happens next.

I do wish we would've gotten to known about the world and the different types of avian beings as we got a very small view of it during the ceremony. I didn't see it as a "Tristan & Isolde" retelling, just more like extremely loosely based on the premise of that story. I do wish the character's had a little more personal growth, but I'm guessing that may be for the next books in the series.

I received this book from NetGalley and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) as an advanced listener's copy in exchange for an honest review.

i saw this randomly while looking through the netgalley audiobooks and figured i'd give it a shit. this turned out to be one of my most fun impulsive reads. not only was i audibly gasping and giggling, i was at the edge of my seat by the end. it kept me entertained the whole time, always looking forward to what drama was gonna unfold next.

the romance was so so good, i love lyana and rafe as separate characters, and loved them even more as a couple in this forbidden romance.

there is nothing i love more in a book than a good friendship and this book delivers when it comes to the friendship between lyana and cassi AND between rafe and xander which is a double win in my book.

this was really such a good romantasy

The raven and the dove follows four winged young people as they try to navigate their responsibilities to themselves and their people as they find that the two may not always align.
Lyana is coquettish and mischievous, and I found her to be extremely relatable to my teenage self. I love it when my fmc are unabashedly girly. There was none of that “I’m not like the other girls” energy even when she proved herself with her fighting and intellect.
The twist with Cassie was very unexpected. I don’t forgive her, but I do understand her. I’m excited to see her character arc in the next book
Predictably, I loved Rafe. His self loathing got a little repetitive sometimes, but he’s so earnest and well meaning that I can’t help but root for him.
Lysander is the only one i can’t pin down. Clearly he loves his brother and his people, but I could see him easily becoming villainous in the next books if things go wrong.
All in all it was an addictive read, although the audiobook narrator could have been a bit better. I think the multiple POV aspect would have been better if there had been one make narrator and one female narrator to distinguish between all of them a bit more.

I received this audiobook as an ARC.

I went into reading this with high hopes. How could you not when this is described as Tristan and Isolde with wings. So little happened to make Leanna and Rafe fall in love that the rest of the book fell flat as there was no foundation for all the angst, or lack there of. I didn't find any of the characters very enjoyable. Leanna was very childish and stubborn. I also wish Davis had included more world building. Most of the settings fell flat for me when they should have felt rich and vibrant. Everything felt flat. Hope that Davis remedies these issues for the later books.

I finished all 4 books in this series in less than a month! I needed to know what happened next and couldn’t stop listening to the audiobook. The story was thrilling, enchanting, and romantic. I loved the romance as much as the twist and turns. At first this book was slight to much avian focus but the story quickly picked up and I forgot about it! I loved Lyana as the MC she was someone I completely resonated with. I thoroughly enjoyed every character in this story. I cannot wait to see what Kaitlyn Davis does next!

This books follow two kingdoms facing threats,star crossed lovers,winged people and much,much magic. I don't think I could've asked for more ! Kaitlyn is a skilled author who knows how to twist the reader's heart on their chests. The narrator also did an amazing job e,her voice is just as gripping as the book. I would totally recommend this one.

Turns out I have already read this previously through a physical copy from my library... I did like the narrator though.

Narrator is great! This story kept my attention all throughout, glad it’s a series because I want to listen to more of this story!

An okay read overall, but it was difficult for me to get into it. I didn’t really connect with the main characters all that much and the plot didn’t always grab my attention. There were a couple of moments throughout though where I was enjoying myself. This series has a lot of potential.

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon for sending me this audio book!

Wow! That audio book was fantastic! The narrator Sarah Sampino did a fantastic job. He voice kept my attention and I was highly engaged through all 12 hours of the story.

Kaitlyn Davis, girl! You know what you did with that ending! I am so emotionally distraught from everything that happened the last 15% of the book. hahaha

This story was so good and so action packed. It touched upon some of my favorite tropes, FMC saves the MMC (She even patches his wounds via candle light!), forbidden love, and grumpy x sun shine.

I love seeing a strong FMC who can protect themselves and Lyana was perfect!

Rafe was such a little grump, but it was interesting to learn why he behaved in the manor that he did. His backstory was truly heartbreaking.

I adored Xander! Ugh, it tore me apart to listen to the story unfold. He is such a sweet little bean and I want nothing be the happiest of endings for him. My only critique about his character is that wish his disability wasn't seen as so much of a weakness. I understand that is was sort of necessary for the story with this book, but I am hoping in the future books to see Xander become incredibly powerful and learn how to fight though with his disability.

Cassie.......the delusion is real with this one. Man, I know it was going to be bad with her, but man did she surpass my expectations. haha I hoping that she is going to have a redemption arc for her sake, but if she thinks that Lyana is going to just understand and forgive her, delusional!

The world that Kaitlyn created was so unique. I loved it. I cannot wait to see what the other kingdoms look like. I am hoping we will get to see them all in the future books.

I absolutely loved this story. I cannot wait to binge listen to the rest of the series, because it is amazing!