Raven by Stacey Rourke

​This is book two in the "Legends Saga", and it is just as compelling as the first.  The author has a wonderful ability to take a story and a character we thought we knew well, and infuse a new sense of tension, excitement, and detail that surely, the original author would have exploited, had he been as creative.

Put aside everything you think you know about Edgar Allen Poe and his history, for this story will introduce you to his parents and his wife in a way that you never could have imagined.  Couple that with the strength of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and continuing curse the Headless Horseman, and you’ve got a riveting tale that will not relent. 

The new subplot characters we meet along the way, and the ones the author brings with her from book one, "Crane", enrich the connectivity to the old legend and add, simultaneously, a relief and an apprehension to the challenges they all must face together.  This book was so compelling, that I must admit, I ignored many of my household chores simply so I could read.  It is mesmerizing and the reward for the time I invested was returned to me a hundred times over. 

The third book in this series, "Steam", is next on my reading list, and I am eager to discover how this marvelous author will weave everything together and deliver an ending that I am certain will live up to the wonderment of the other two books.  If you enjoy a refreshing twist on a story and characters you thought you knew, this author is for you!

Highly Recommended!  I read the audiobook and rate it Five Stars for both performance and story!

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