Marc reviews ‘Lord of Ravens’ (Inheritance Book #3) by Amelia Faulkner. This book was release by LoveLight Press on January 4th, 2017 and is ~406 pgs long.
RGR recieved a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Why I read this book: Well, after book two of this series I had no choice. None at all. I went to the author, begging for review copies of the rest of the series, because I was drawn in and needed to know how the story would continue.
Check out my review of book one HERE and my review of book two HERE. 🙂
Lover. Predator. Killer. Laurence Riley’s inheritance comes with a price – one he’s not at all sure he can pay. When his urge to hunt grows out of control, he sends a desperate prayer to his ancestor for guidance. But he never expected that Herne the Hunter would answer. Scion. Target. Victim. There are horrors lurking in Quentin d’Arcy’s past, but they won’t hide there forever. Something ancient is coming to take him home: a creature of nightmare who feasts on the flesh of children. When the choice is between his own life and the lives of innocents, there is no choice at all. Honesty is the worst policy. A legendary horror comes to San Diego, but it’s merely an emissary. Laurence has seen the real monster, and it’s a darkness which will destroy everything he loves – especially if Quentin ever finds out what it did to him as a child. It’s down to Laurence to prepare for war against a force which far outmatches him. The enemy has the most powerful weapon of all at his disposal, and if they’re to stand a chance, Laurence must master the same power. He must learn magic.
Lord of Ravens is the third book in the Rainbow Award winning Inheritance series and contains mature themes and events which may be distressing to some readers. It has a moderate heat rating and an HFN ending.
Book Links: Amazon | Add to Goodreads
My Review:
This is the third of five books in the ‘First season’ of the Inheritance Saga and my personal favorite so far. Please, don’t read this series out of order. You will thank me later! I also strongly recommend not reading this review, if you have not read the first tw books in this series, yet. Anything that happened in the firs two boos is fair game to be discussed here and WILL spoiler you, if you have not read them. If you have been following my reviews of this series, you may know that it took me some time to really get into this book and warm up, especially to Quinton. The author used her own knowledge and experience to accurately portray the way a British aristocrat might speak. Still, I was so unused to the way Quinton spoke and he kept himself so stiff and isolated that I couldn’t easily connect to him as a character. In book two, his relationship with Bambi made him more open and relaxed and I saw some of his walls break. This character development continues here to my delight. The changes Quentin has undergone in such a short time are staggering and it is beautiful to watch. He seems to be a part of the world, instead of just observing it. Bambi has lured him out of his shell and he is much more relatable to me. I think it really helped that he is now responsible for all those kids as well. He is working, has a purpose and a home. He has friends and people who look up to him and want to learn from him. He has started to grow roots.
What really made me happy, though, was the way Bambi behaved after he drew Quentin out. He’s certainly not the most patient guy and sexual energy seems to vibrate through his whole being. There is a deep need in him that is very strong. Yet he never pounces on Quentin, never uses the man’s vulnerability. He’s a hunter, but Quentin is not his prey. Quentin is the man he loves, the man he will protect by any means. Their connection is beautiful and stronger than ever. And they get closer and more intimate than ever before, because of this love and patience that Bambi shows to the man he loves.
However, there are secrets we all knew would catch up with Quentin eventually, even if he does not remember them. Bambi, like most readers, always thought something bad must have happened to Quentin. With the way he reacted to even the slightest touch or the mention of anything sexual. The way his body seemed to try protecting him and his mind refused to remember specific things. I really wanted the mystery lifted and to find out more about Quentin’s past. Well, I got my wish. But boy, did I get more than I bargained for. Please make sure to read the trigger warning of this book. Even for me, who has no specific triggers, it was extremely difficult to watch what happened to Quentin. Even worse to watch it through Bambi’s eyes as he is in love with Quentin and his pain was painful to watch as well. Given how Quentin reacts to sexual things, Bambi can’t actually tell him what he saw. At least not in a way that wouldn’t destroy his boyfriend. Believe him, he’s checked.
So we have two men readers have fallen for, finally in a solid and committed relationship. Everything seems good, but then Bambi’s gift allows him to watch something unfathomably perverse and cruel done to the man he loves. And Bambi, the ex-addict, is alone with that horrible vision, which he saw like he was there when it happened. What a gift indeed. All those painful secrets can’t last for long. A time bomb if there ever was one.
Quentin’s not the only one we learn more about, though. We discover a lot about Bambi’s past and his connection to Herne. As the author introduces myth and magic, it opens up a whole other world. Quite literally. This journey to self discovery couldn’t have happened at a better time or to someone who needed it more. Not only does Bambi discover things about Quentin that are hard to bear, he realizes that he himself is changing. Not like a werewolf, at least not exactly. But he certainly has a darker side that readers could see when he killed a (barely) human man in the last book. He’s a hunter. A hunter with no prey. At least none he is ready for.
Thankfully Quentin’s father does not attack directly, but when Quentin refuses to come home, he uses monstrous means to try to get a different answer from him. He puts Quentin’s children, the ones who Quentin has promised to protect, in mortal danger. I wondered if it would be enough to make him run or if Bambi would hunt Quentin’s father down first. One thing is for sure, though. Even with their amazing abilities, this challenge is not an easy one for them and the story is not over yet. At least they both have learned very fast how to control their abilities and they are both amazingly strong. However, they both have weaknesses that are easy to use against them.
My favorite new addition to the world was a small companion, though. Wow. He’s a scene stealer. I haven’t yet met a fan of this series who is not a big fan of him and I think you will love him, too. Damn, I want so badly to talk about him, but I don’t want to take this away from you guys. Poop. Oh, well. Also loved that Quentin got closer to his best friend Neil, again. He needsthe only friend he had before Bambi. Quentin’s brother is a very interesting quaracter. I must say, I rather liked him, here. He seems between a rock and a hard place here, but even though he is betraying his brother, he seems to genuinly care for him.
Anyway, this has gotten quite long and I know you guys have better things to do, like reading this book. Let me just say that I am a very slow reader and these 400 pages felt like a mere 200. It was so fast-paced with so many things happening and such awesome character development that I was fully drawn in and utterly unprepared, when the book was suddenly finished. This book gave me everything I wanted, everything I expected and so much more. It just really, really delivered for me and it deserves the full 10/10 pots of gold!!!
My Rating:
10/10 Points of Gold (100% Recommended) – Compares to 5/5 Stars
Website | Facebook | Twitter: @_AmeliaFaulkner | Goodreads
Amelia Faulkner was born in the rolling green countryside of Oxfordshire, and moved to London once she was mostly grown up. She has a degree in Computer Science, and spent quite a long time working with computers until her childhood love of writing could no longer be ignored.
Since then she has written for corporate clients and personal pleasure, and finally stepped away from office-bound working in 2011 to freelance from home.
Amelia is also a keen photographer and film-goer, and resides in the city (not the City) with her husband. She is notoriously camera-shy.
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