Saga of Shadows: Roses and Blood by Raven Silveren
Published October 21, 2015
Self-Published by Colby Williams
257 pages
Genre: Fiction/Fantasy/Romance/LGBT/Politics
Available in e-book and paperback.
*I was sent a copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review.
Synopsis:
Born as the heir to a noble house of the realm, Echo Vulpterus has never had to be uncomfortable. But when changes in his world challenge such comfort, he is prompted to use his power of privilege to defend the rights of the people. Desires and obligations continue to clash as the King passes decree after decree that displease not only the people of the realm, but those of the noble houses. While allegiances are made and broken, it seems that political skill may not be enough to make change… Especially as magic becomes more of a presence in Echo’s life. In a flourish of romance and intrigue, the webs crafted by both allies and adversaries will be tested against passion and will.
My Favorite Line From The Book:
The Library was one of the largest I had ever been in, but containing the least amount of actual literature; I immediately became even more disgusted with House Ithanon. -Echo
My Review:
Saga of Shadows: Roses and Blood was different from any other book I have ever read. It had its own unique style and flow. In the beginning of the book we are introduced to a large amount of characters, clans, Royal and Lesser houses. It was a lot all at once and I had a little bit of worry that I wasn’t going to remember who was who or what was what. Luckily the author was smart enough to put an appendix at the back of the book for us to refer to if we happen to get confused and have trouble remembering. Believe me, it comes in handy because this is a huge world with a lot of characters and houses.
The world building in this book was on point! The author is very descriptive and knows how to describe this world perfectly in beautiful detail. This world was brought alive in my mind. It is a world you will not easily forget. The descriptive writing was done elegantly. The author has a beautiful way with words.
The characters in this book are hard to forget and easy to fall in love with. I loved Echo and Stratus. They were my two favorite characters in the story. Their love for each other was so beautiful and pure. The romance in this story was done very tastefully. It was not trashy by any means. There is a magical element in this book that we get to see a little bit of but it’s not the main focus in the book. The story is more of a political romance with an undertone of magic. This fictional story had a great message as well. The characters fought for what they believed in and for equal rights. The right to choose who you want to love. I really loved the whole concept of this book. For a first novel this was purely splendid!
My only downfalls with this book were that I would have liked to see a little more of the magic side. I felt like I was just told about the magic more than shown. Hopefully in the next book we will get to see more of the magic and the characters powers being put to use. At times I felt a little lost and confused in the story. Only because the main characters had so many cousins, aunts, uncles, and enemies. It was hard to remember at times who was from what house. Yes, again there is an appendix at the back of the book, but when I’m reading a fictional story I really don’t like to have to keep stopping to refer to a key.
I would recommend to read this story slowly and when you can read it in one sitting so you can soak it all in and hopefully remember all the characters and houses in the beginning. For the most part I really enjoyed this story. I loved the characters and the world. I just wish I didn’t have to remember so much all at once. I think maybe the book could have been a little longer so we had more time to get to know the characters and houses. This story was imaginative, elegant, and beautiful. I would definitely read the next book in the series for sure. I definitely want to read more about Echo and Stratus. I loved those two!
About the Author:
Raven Silveren is a new author. This is his debut novel and the first book in a new series. Raven Silveren lives in Utah. He is a coffee and wine enthusiast. A huge lover of animals, especially cats. Raven dedicated and named the character Piper in this book after his black kitty who passed away. The character Griffin in this book was named after his living kitty. When not writing, Raven enjoys spending his time reading, taking beautiful photos on Instagram, hiking, advocating for women and human rights,and sharing a good laugh with friends.
Connect with the Author Here:
Facebook|Instagram|Goodereads