Mark of the Raven (The Ravenwood Saga) by Morgan L. Busse Reviewed

About the book:

Title: Mark of the Raven
Author: Morgan L. Busse
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers

Lady Selene is the heir to the Great House of Ravenwood and the secret family gift of dreamwalking. As a dreamwalker, she can enter a person's dreams and manipulate their greatest fears or desires. For the last hundred years, the Ravenwood women have used their gift of dreaming for hire to gather information or to assassinate.
As she discovers her family's dark secret, Selene is torn between upholding her family's legacy--a legacy that supports her people--or seeking the true reason behind her family's gift.
Her dilemma comes to a head when she is tasked with assassinating the one man who can bring peace to the nations, but who will also bring about the downfall of her own house.
One path holds glory and power, and will solidify her position as Lady of Ravenwood. The other path holds shame and execution. Which will she choose? And is she willing to pay the price for the path chosen?

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About Morgan:

Morgan L. Busse is a writer by day and a mother by night. She is the author of the Follower of the Word series and the award-winning steampunk series, The Soul Chronicles. Her debut novel, Daughter of Light, was a Christy and Carol Award finalist. During her spare time she enjoys playing games, taking long walks, and dreaming about her next novel.

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My Thoughts:

I'm not what you'd call a fantasy fan. I read it, but I'm very picky about who I read. Mainly because the world building and language has to be comprehensible for me. I read the back cover copy to this book and I was immediately drawn to it. 

Morgan Busse is a new author for me, I haven't read any of her work before and I am now a huge fan.

I loved this book and the story! 

Ms. Busse creates a world that can not only be understood, you become immersed in it and don't want to leave.

Selene is a heroine you cheer for. She's trying to not only understand the heritage of dreamwalking  but figure out why they use the information gathered to harm instead of help. 

Overall, this is a great fantasy read one that draws you into the story makes you feel like you have not only entered the world but feel as though you are dreamwalking with Selene.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book as a member of Bethany House blogging team. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Renegades by Marissa Meyer Reviewed

About the book:

Secret Identities. Extraordinary Powers. She wants vengeance. He wants justice.
The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies — humans with extraordinary abilities — who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone... except the villains they once overthrew.
Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice — and in Nova. But Nova's allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.

My Thoughts:

I am not a big fan of the fantasy/sci-fi genre. It's not one I gravitate to when I am just looking for something to read. I read the Lunar Chronicles and loved them so when an author friend was doing a group read of Renegades by Marissa Meyer, I thought why not, and I'm so glad I did.

All the extraordinary powers each of the characters have made the book extra fun, and definitely added lots of action to the story.

Even though I don't read a lot of this genre, I didn't find the story hard to follow or full of words and descriptions that were confusing. When I read Dune eons ago I had to put it down for that very reason. Ms. Meyer knows how to write and engage the reader.

My Bottom Line:

A fun book, and a great change of pace for what I normally read. Lots of action, a little romance, and a vacation from reality. I highly recommend it!