The Raven Throne (The Raven Crown #2)
Stephanie Burgis
Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books
Published August 8, 2023
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About The Raven Throne
The unmissable sequel to The Raven Heir and conclusion to the epic middle-grade fantasy series perfect for fans of Abi Elphinstone and Piers Torday.
Cordelia has been crowned The Raven Queen. But with new power comes new danger.
Once their triplet Cordelia became The Raven Queen, Giles and Rosalind knew they would have to learn to behave at court. No more fighting for Rosalind and no more singing for Giles. What they didn’t foresee was having to foil a plot against their sister.
When Cordelia falls into an enchanted sleep and cannot be woken, Rosalind and Giles must quest across the kingdom to seek help from the ancient spirits of the land. But their family’s greatest enemies lurk at every turn, and it will take all of the triplets’ deepest strengths to fight against them.
A thrilling finale to the magical and mystical series.
My Review
I’m a huge fan of Stephanie Burgis’s middle grade novels (I know she has adult fiction, and I’ve bought a copy of one of her books, but I haven’t read it yet. It looks really fun, though!), and THE RAVEN HEIR, the first book in this duology was one of my favorite books from last year. So it was a pretty big no-brainer that this one was going to be on my reading list this year.
When I think about this book and the story it tells, the first word that comes to mind is “ambitious.” I feel like this was a hard story to tell because it’s got a lot of political intrigue and a pretty large cast of named characters, and there’s a lot of action to wrap up in a single less-than-300-page novel.
For the most part, I think it’s a success. I got chills as Ros and Giles confronted the forces they needed to in order to save the day (I’m getting chills again writing about it), and I cried when Cordy named her sister a knight. There were some really great moments like that throughout the book. I loved the theme of the messages people speak about us versus what we believe about ourselves. Powerful stuff.
That said, I did find the opening to be a little confusing because of the number of named characters participating. There are six family members plus various lords and ladies at court, attendants, and relatives. I had a hard time keeping those more minor characters straight, though as I got deeper into the story, it got easier.
Conclusion
THE RAVEN THRONE is the second book in The Raven Crown duology. If you haven’t read THE RAVEN HEIR, which is the first book, I recommend you start with that one before reading this one.
On the whole, I still enjoyed a lot of elements of this book. It’s one of the few about triplets that I’ve ever read, and the relationships between the siblings are still one of my favorite parts. I think fans of UNICORN QUEST by Kamilla Benko or THE FIREBIRD SONG by Arnée Flores should check out this duology.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.
Representation
Major characters are white.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Romance/Sexual Content
None.
Spiritual Content
Cordelia, the Raven Queen, has made a pact with the spirits of the land that she’ll listen to them and protect them. She and her triplets have magic abilities.
Violent Content
Situations of peril and brief moments leading up to battle. One scene describes a battle with nature. In one scene, a woman disappears into a crack in the ground. A man is surrounded by tree growth.
Drug Content
None.
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