Kaitlyn Davis spins us a fantasy retelling of Tristan and Isolde featuring avian characters in a world that would appeal to fans of the Grishaverse and Sarah J. Maas.

We are plunged into a world divided into seven floating kingdoms, each ruled by a race of avians, and a water world below the mist populated by humans on floating cities. The seven kingdoms have been at peace ever since they rose into the sky whilst the world below fights a chronic war.

The avians populating the floating isles attribute their fortune to a pantheon of gods said to have raised the kingdoms from the earth into the sky as a means of saving their people from a vengeful god below. As a reward for their devotion, the people are gifted with wings upon their birth. Magic is said to be reserved for the gods and anyone found to posses magic is swiftly sacrificed.

Back on earth, humans are confined to massive ship-cities, fighting dragons said to be sent by the wrathful fire god. They largely live in darkness thanks to the shadows cast by the floating isles. Magic wielders are revered members of society down here. Magic is the best defense the people below have against a brutal environment.

Lyana, dove princess of the House of Peace, yearns for adventure but is bound by her duties to her people. This doesn't stop her from slipping away at any given opportunity to explore her world and marvel at its beauty. She knows what she wants and she fights hard to get it. She possesses forbidden magic, a secret only shared with her loyal friend Cassi, yet risks her life to save a stranger.
Lyana was my favourite character. She was well fleshed-out and her child-like wonder and desire to explore her world is a refreshing take on a heroine. She is able to love her world while accepting that there are flaws, and leading the best life she can. Gone are the days where broody heroines dominated the pages!

Rafe is your typical dark and surly love interest. There's not much going on with his character to differentiate him from other fantasy love interests. As the bastard son of a dead king and the sole survivor of the event that killed his parents, he is distrusted by his kingdom. His only friend is his half-brother. Together, they protect the secret of Rafe's magic lest he be beheaded as a heretic.
Even though we have chapters that follow Rafe and give us a peek into his psyche, I don't feel like I ever really got to know him. We get his backstory and it explains some of his motives, but other than that his personality was "surly love interest that FMC is inexplicably infatuated with".

Cassi is Lyana's closest friend. She's an orphaned owl in a world of doves. Loyal to a fault and busy catering to the whims of those she sees as her leaders, she doesn't have much time to spend on herself.
Cassi was meant to be a deep and complex character with an angsty backstory, but it just turned out flat. There was a lot of telling and not enough showing. She's also more of a vessel for us to see what's going on in the lives of side-characters than a fully fleshed-out character herself. I really think that removing her chapters completely would have made the twists at the end mote shocking.

Xander is the raven crown prince of the House of Whispers. He's a lover, not a fighter. Being born without his right hand allowed him to spend his life in the pursuit of knowledge rather than honing his fighting skills. He loves his people and embraces his role as the future ruler of his kingdom.
Xander's disability wasn't made his whole personality but it did play an important role in his character development. He's very sweet and by far the character I identify with the most. I'm very excited to see where his character goes.

I'm eager to see where Davis takes this story. There's a massive world filled with well-established cultures to explore. I'm particularly intrigued by Malek, the king below. We don't know him very well and it's difficult to discern his precise motives. In this first installment we've only gotten to know him through the eyes of one of his devoted followers suggesting that all the information we have on him is heavily biased.

I really hope we see the development of Cassi and Rafe's characters in future installments. As of now their chapters just feel like filler content unfortunately.

I just wanted to point out that the winged people are not angels and there doesn't seem to be any Christian themes in the story. He author explicitly describes them as "avians" and never once as angels. I'm not an expert on religion, so I may be wrong, but I wasn't getting any preachy vibes.

Great first book in the series in a re-telling of Tristan & Isolde. The first half of the book concentrates on world building and Lyana's journey of the Royal match trials. This book contains forbidden magic, dragons, floating worlds, unknown worlds and mysterious mist. I feel like it's a lot to take in and would recommend reading the book either first or alongside listening to the audio book as I found I repeated a lot just to understand the world building.
Overall, a great start and skilful writing especially given the complex world building and morally grey characters. I just wish I knew about cliff hanger endings!

Leider war es absolut unmöglich für mich das Hörbuch zu beenden. Während die Storyline mich durchaus interessiert hat, war die Leistung der Sprecherin nicht zu ertragen - männliche CHaraktere klangen allesamt so, also hätten sie den Mund voller Marshmallows. Echt nicht anhörbar...

What is it about?
The synopsis is described as “an action-packed fantasy romance in which winged people rule the skies, a lost kingdom lives at sea, and two star-crossed lovers hold the fate of each in their palms” which I think is the best way to describe it.

What did I think of it?
I really enjoyed listening to this book. The worldbuilding had me mindblown, it always amazes me how authors manage to build such a creative world and visiualize it for us readers.
It felt original, exciting and funny at times. There are some big plot twists I never saw coming which added up to the overall experience of this book.

Even though there’s a nice pace to the story, there is a lot going on under the surface and while reading this book you find how layered the story actually is.

Would I recommend it?
I would most definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoyes reading fantasy novels. Here are some keywords I think describe this book best and could help you decide to read it:
High Fantasy
Multiple POV
Forbidden romance
Magic
Court intrigue

Kaitlyn Davis’s “The Raven and the Dove” is the first book in what is sure to be an epic fantasy romance series. Mistaken identities, prophecies, and mysterious plots all play a role in the drama. In a world where the goods grant people living on floating islands the wings of birds, but magic is forbidden, Lyana and her brother enter the annual courtship rituals of the royalty. Lyana thinks she has chosen one prince but finds out she has ended up with his half-brother instead. She and her best friend, Cassie, follow him to his land for the impending nuptials. There are other plots at work, however, and the ending is not the wedded bliss anticipated by Lyana and her betrothed.

Narrated nicely by Sarah Sampino, this fantasy was an entertaining listen. The world-building was intriguing, and I look forward to learning more about the mechanics of magic versus the power of the gods as interpreted by the different cultures in the world. The love triangle between Lyana, Rafe, and Lysander was a little predictable, but it did its job in the overall story. There is no satisfying ending in this book, ensuring that you have to read it before you read the sequel. It doesn’t stand alone. I do look forward to what is next for the characters and how the conflict will resolve in the end.

Give me birds, give me wings, give me magic and take my heart away! I love reading fantasy and that is no news! I love reading about all the things I just mentioned, so I had to read “The Raven and the Dove” too! And I loved their story! Now, I need to read the rest of the books in the series!!!

The Raven and the Dove is an epic fantasy retelling of Tristan and Isolde that will make your heart melt! We have a slow burn romance. Main characters with bird wings, like the Dove, the Raven, the Owl and more. We even have dragons… So buckle up, grab a drink and enjoy the ride!

In a land like no other, so many years ago, the islands were lifted from the sea and are now hanging above them mist. Each of these islands host a different kingdom, a different type of bird people. Nobody knows what caused the islands to be lifted in the air. The people of old would say it was magic, but magic is not accepted in this world. It is most probably their Gods that are keeping the islands in the sky. And anyone that displays signs of magic would be punished by death.

Princess Lyana Aethionus is not yet eighteen, but since it is not so long until she reaches that age, she will participate in the courtship trials and if she wins, she will be able to chose her mate. The trials are organized by her father, in order to find a suitable mate mostly for her brother but for Lyana as well. That’s not exactly what the princess wants, but it will be a great chance for her to travel outside their island, a big adventure, one she always longed to live. For now, she will have to make do with spying on the other kingdoms’ delegation, before they reach the palace. This is when she finds a Raven. And this is when a dragon finds said Raven and wounds him. Lyana knows it’s dangerous to reveal her healing magic to anyone but her most trusted friend, but she cannot leave the brave Raven to die. Little did she know, he has a secret of his own.

Rafe is the bastard son of the late Raven King. Thankfully for him, his brother, Prince Lysander Taetanus, loves him as equal, even though the people are not so fond of him. After all, Rafe did survive the fire that killed his parents without a scratch. He was just a boy, but he couldn’t save anyone else but himself. He and his brother the prince, have made an agreement. Rafe, the warrior of the two, will participate in the courtship trials instead of Xander (Lysander). The participants are always wearing masks, and the brothers have the same built and hair, so Rafe can easily pass for Xander. They have a reason to do that. They need to get a mate for the Raven Prince, so as to ensure stability and prosperity for their kingdom.

But as the people of the floating islands make plans, so do the people below. Because there are people below. There is a King as well. A King with his own plans and a prophecy to fulfil. The prophesy that will bring the end of the war and is reflected in Lyana and that makes her the center of everything. King Malek has a spy close to the princess, someone that also has magic and helps him in his plans!

I loved all the relationships we got to see in this one! The love and relationship between siblings was different in each House. The two sibling of the House of Peace, Lyana and her brother are very close but do not have the same relationship the half siblings of the House or Whispers have. Xander and Rafe express such a devoted love, they would do anything for each other. They trust each other and they keep their most dangerous secrets.

This book is a pretty good start for a series. It has enough worldbuilding to intrigue the reader and also understand the world and the politics, the hidden agendas and the schemes that take place. And there is also a cliffhanger at the end, that haves you begging for more! Especially with all that the main characters go through at those last pages!

I had the chance to listen to the audiobook and I consider myself very lucky to do so! Even though there were so many different point of views in the book, the narrator made it so easy to understand whose POV we were following at the time. I want to keep reading the series and I would preferer to continue with the audiobooks as this was a very enjoyable experience for me!

Thank you to NetGalley & Kaitlyn Davis, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members’ Audiobooks for an advance copy of this book. The views expressed are my personal and honest opinion.

I AM OBSESSED. I'd heard mixed thing about this but I'm so glad I picked it up. As a retelling of Tristan and Isolde I was unfamiliar with the original tale but now would be more interested in reading more like it. I personally don't like the idea of cheating ,or seeing someone behind someone's back but as our characters had met before it didn't upset me as much. Lyana was a really fun woman to get to know, she knows her strengths and is confident in a non-cocky way. She isn't afraid to defy the norms to follow what she believes in.
There's a secret one of the characters is keeping that I really enjoyed and I'm looking forward to seeing where that going in the rest of the series.
The relationship between Rafe and Lysander was one of my favourite elements to this. I often see in books that half-brothers usually have a rivalry but these two, clearly loved each other and wanted the best. There was no jealousy in terms of their stations in life or in regards to their fathers infidelity. It was refreshing to see.

The audio book narrator did a great job distinguishing between characters and showing their personalities through their voices. I can be quite particular with which voices I like in an audiobook but I truly loved this one, I think it really helped with my enjoyment of this series. I will definitely be looking for more from Sarah Sampino in future.

This is a fun fantasy romance in a historical setting, set in a world of winged fae, rivalries, and much distrust. Unfortunately it ended on a cliffhanger, but it was much better than I anticipated.

I had a really difficult time reading this one...
I feel like the narrator was distracting and the plot was all over the place.
The character development was great though, who doesnt love a dark mysterious "I am not worthy" bad boy. I thought that this would be faster paced for some reason? But it was very slow and it was hard for me to get into.

(First of all, thank you so much NetGalley and the publisher for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review).

Synopsis: On the dawn of her courtship trials, Princess Lyana Aethionus knows she should be focused on winning her perfect mate, yet her thoughts wander to the open sky waiting at the edge of her floating kingdom. One final adventure calls. Upon fleeing the palace, the last thing she expects to find is a raven prince locked in a death match with a dragon.
Reviled son of a dead king, Rafe would do anything for his beloved half-brother, Prince Lysander Taetanus, including posing as him in the upcoming courtship trials. When a dragon interrupts their secret exchange, he orders his studious sibling to run. After suffering a fatal blow, Rafe is saved by a beautiful dove who possesses forbidden magic, just like him.
Unknown to the world above, on the foggy sea ten thousand feet below, a young king fights a forgotten war. He believes Lyana is the queen prophesied to save the world, and with the help of his favored spy, hidden deep in the highest ranks of the dove royal house, he will stop at nothing to have her.


Review: 4.5 stars. I saw this book in GoodReads and when I saw it here as an audiobook ARC I had to request it. And WOW, I didn't expect this to be such a good book. But it is (at least for me). I love every POV, being in their heads, and none of them was less interesting. The main female character is incredible: she knows what she wants and fights for it no matter what. And the rest of the characters... my babies. I love the worldbuilding with floating islands and a world beneath the mist. I like the mate trials, despite being used a lot in books, because of the determination of Lyanna and the tension between her and Rafe. That ship... girl. I need them. The book kept me hyped and the betrayals... OMG, I want to kill those people. I need to keep reading this serie because that end was speechless and you need to start it. Seriously, read this book. I don't understand why this serie doesn't have the recognition it deserves.

Sorry?! Where the heck have I been that I didn’t know this world existed?! This book came out in 2020, and somehow I was under a rock and completely oblivious!
Floating Islands, a layer of mist, mysteries beneath said mist? Nobody knows what’s down there?! I’d stop right there, because that’s enough to hook me, but wait, there’s more! Royal families, a competition amongst the heirs to decide who gets to choose their mates first, out of the select number available. Daring challenges of strength, wit, endurance, speed, cunning?! Okay, yes, I’m 100% here! Now, the kicker?! THE PEOPLE HAVE WINGS! Legit. The Royal houses are birds of prey, birds of paradise, hummingbirds, ravens, owls, doves, and a few more! Give me a competition, a magic world, royals, and a heap ton of tension, and I’m absolutely engulfed! Throw in a little “what is expected of me vs what my heart wants” and I’m literally never leaving this world again. 5/5 stars, absolutely will be continuing with this series!

This is great. I really love the narration. the characters were good, setting was amazing, and writing and plot was beyond my expectations. The Raven and the Dove is about forbidden love, loyalty, and the lack of. I don't remember hearing any trigger warnings. however, there is some trigger warnings that should have been told!

I was intrigued the storyline and enjoyed the two brothers dynamic. I wasn't expecting the violence near the end, so I had to go back and listen to catch everything. It was a good listening experience as well and I enjoyed the narrator. Overall, I will definitely be continuing this series.

🎧This fantasy retelling follows the lives of Princess Lyana Aethionus, Rafe the bastard son of a dead king, his half brother Prince Lysander Taetanus, and the mysterious Cassie. Set in a world divided by a veil of fog and inhabited by various winged beings this book will take you by surprise. It does have a slow start but don’t let that stop you because the world building and characters are so vivid and entertaining. The audiobook narration is well done and the narrator has a great range of voice that adds depth to the story.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the author for an audiobook arc of this fun YA story. Check it out now!

Are you looking for Sarah J. Maas’ ACOTAR mixed with Julia Quinn’s the Viscount who loved me? Look no further this, but be warned it’s fade to black.Don’t let that stop you though. There’s plenty of scheming, dragons, magic and more to keep you interested.

I absolutely tore through this book as if the pages would dissolve if I didn’t read them fast enough. K. Davis has an interesting premise of human forms mixed with bird character traits. The use of ravens, doves, humming birds, owls and eagles instead of making everyone fae was well done. She also added two elements that tickle my fancy, a good ball and a choosing of court for a potential suitors. That mixed with a looming prophecy, forgotten history, betrayal, brutal violence and teen drama. Count me in.

As for the characters, Xander is too pure for this world and Rafe deserves love and happiness. However Lysana irks my nerves and I won’t even get on my soap box about Cassi. Just know, there’s a special place for you when this is all said and done.

The Raven and the Dove drew me in with its beautiful cover! Lyana is a princess of the doves, looking for her mate and hoping that they accept her illicit magic. Rafe is the half-brother of Prince Xander who is the heir to the ravens. To protect his brother’s secret (he was born without one hand), Rafe agrees to compete as Xander in a compeition to find a mate. Lyana and Rafe meet and are intimately connected even after the ruse is revealed. Despite the trick, Lyana is bound to live in the court of the ravens. Yet Lyana and Rafe can’t seem to stay away from each other despite the many obstacles keeping them apart. And on the sea below, a mysterious presence lingers and plots to use Lyana as a vital piece of his plan…

I really enjoyed this book! It’s been on my TBR for a while and I was thrilled to listen to the audiobook. The narrator does an excellent job distinguishing between characters. One of my favorite parts was the competition; I especially enjoyed learning about the other types of birds/creatures that fly. I look forward to more world-building and hopefully learning about the other courts. Cassi is such an interesting character with many deeply-held secrets. I’m so curious what her next choice will be! Lyana and Rafe have an immediate and intense connection. Due to the nature of Rafe’s deal with Xander, there is little chance for romance in the open and instead their romance is a simmering slow-burn. I hope t0 see more of their romance developed in the sequel. I’m excited to see what happens next after that cliffhanger!

Thank you so much to Kaitlyn Davis and Netgalley for a free audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I had high hopes for this when I saw it was a retelling of Tristan and Isolde with Wings. But all the worldbuilding was never used and the plot felt all over the place.

Audiobook arc in exchange for review.
I feel like I would have liked this book much more had I read it myself physically, as opposed to an audiobook. I really did not enjoy the narrator and there was a lot of characters to keep up with, I feel it’s unfair to let that affect the rating though in this case it caused me to really not enjoy the book.

I would have liked to see the romance played out a little longer. I was slightly confused by the world building, bored at times and it took a lot of effort on my part to stay focused on the story and look past narration. I would love to try this again at a later time, preferably physically!

The cover of this book is what made me want to read this - Stunning! Princess Lyana is in love with a man that lies to her - meanwhile, she's supposed to be mated to another man - and they are half brothers.

Lyanna has bigger goals and dreams - she wants to be true to herself and keep her people safe. Cassie is her only ally; meanwhile, she's also been keeping secrets.

While Lyanna is doing her duty, things are in play behind her back. I loved the fantasy of this book and the world that was created.

The middle had some lag time for me - there was way too much time spent on the trails and the deception - since it's in the description, I didn't need chapters and verses.

The last half is where things get interesting, and ill be reading the other books in this series.

Sarah Sampino did a great job with the many characters, genuinely giving them a soul.

Thanks for NetGalley and Kaitlyn Davis for this audiobook :)

The story was very well written and exciting, but i just realised i dont really enjoy audiobooks and cant concentrate. So i will try my luck again when i have a physical copy or a pdf.

Thanks again !