HOUSE OF RAVENS
The Nightfall Chronicles #2
by Karpov Kinrade
BLURB:
USA TODAY bestselling author Karpov Kinrade defied genre convention with Court of Nightfall. Now, they continue the epic saga of Scarlett Night, a rebel torn between two identities, in House of Ravens.
You think you know the path to victory? Then tell me how you'll win.
Will you buy triumph with gold and favors? Will you marshal armies and trade in blood? Or will you be the hand in the dark, your fingers on the strings? Whatever you decide, know this. If you put the innocent at risk…
You will answer to me.
I am the keeper of secrets and the teller of lies. I am the shadow of death and the bringer of light. I will become a Knight of the First.
And the Orders will crumble.
Excerpt:
I head to my
room as quickly as I can and collapse on my bed. Nox jumps onto my chest and
curls into a warm, purring ball of fur. I close my eyes, squeezing out a
renegade tear. I don't want to see Jax whipped tonight. But I don't want him to
go through that punishment without my support, either.
This makes
me sick, that we do this to each other, that these kinds of punishments even
exist.
There's a knock at my door and I groan.
"Scarlett's not here right now."
The door
opens and my grandfather comes in, closing it behind him. "Then she won't
mind if an old man rests in her room for a moment."
I sit up and
move the reluctant cat to my lap, while my grandfather sits in the chair at my
desk.
"No,
she won't," I say.
"Jax
said he told you about tonight," he says. Nox jumps off my lap and onto my
grandfather's, who pets him.
"Yes."
"Are
you alright?"
"No.
It's not right, what they're doing to him."
He nods.
"You're right, it's not. But it will help Jax."
"How
so?"
"Right
now he's the Knight who went rogue. He didn't have authorization to hunt down
Apex, and as awful as it is, many in our Orders benefited from the work Apex
did."
I'm about to
get very vocal on that topic when my grandfather holds up his hand. "I'm
as appalled as you by the trafficking of Zeniths. That doesn't change the fact
that many in high positions of power feel differently. And they watched a
high-ranking Knight destroy something they helped build, without penalty.
Tonight he will be the Knight who faced the consequences of his choices with
bravery. It will help him in his career. It will appease those who are angry at
what he's done, and it will allow Jax to continue his climb to the top. He will
be fine. He's more worried about you than himself."
I sigh and
flop back on my bed. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm meant for this
world."
"I
think we all feel that way from time to time." He stands. "Shall we
go? I think he'd like you to be there for him."
I stand.
"I suppose I should."
Nox rubs
himself against my grandfather's leg. "He's a good cat, but this might not
be the best place for him, cooped up in this room all day."
"You're
probably right," I say, leaning over to pet his head before we leave.
"Perhaps he's not meant for this world either."
My Review:
I received a free copy of the book from the author for my
honest opinion.
I read the first edition of House of Ravens in March 2015
and second edition in January 2016. I read somewhere that the authors had
mentioned that there were only subtle changes nothing drastic. I agree with
that to an extent. I thought when reading the second edition that I had seen
something or recognized something in the revised book that I did not see in the
first edition but after reading my review again I realized that I did see it
the first time but I was just more open to it the second time. I felt more in
tuned with not only Scarlett and the other characters but with the authors as
well.
I feel like I know Scarlett, Nightfall, Zorin, Kai, Wytt,
Corinne, Trix, TR and even King Varian more. I feel like I got to know more of
Scarlett’s everyday life as a Templar in training, and a student at Castle V. I
love how she will stand up and fight for what she believes in no matter what
the cost to her maybe. I love how she stands up to her instructors and won’t
back down when they don’t agree on something or maybe doesn’t believe the same
way. She is a very honest person with a
great big heart and would never hurt anyone unless they really and truly
deserved it.
Scarlett Night is a Nephilim who lives a double life. As
Scarlett Night she is just a human teenage girl just going to college during
the day, training to be a Knights Templar. And at night she is Nightfall and
like a super hero; a Nephilim with special abilities that no human has.
Scarlett wants to make the world a better place for Zeniths, Nephilim, humans
and anyone else out there they may be different. She wants everyone to treat
each other the same and to open up their hearts and minds and grow to be a
better soul. She wants to stop all the hate and killing someone just because
they are different than they are. She wants the world to wake up and see that
we are all one. Scarlett tries her best to see the good in every person that
she comes in contact with. But it is almost impossible to find any good in
someone who has an evil heart.
Scarlett meets a lot of new friends in her new life in and
out of her new school. She meets some pretty amazing people at this new school
that she has chosen to attend. She has their back while they have her back all
at the same time. Scarlett does run into some pretty difficult situations and
decisions that she has to make. In a way I don't see how she could make the
choice that she did. But at the same time I do think she made the right choice
for everyone involved considering what the outcome could have been if she had
went down another road. Scarlett has some amazing friends, have I already said
that? Oh well it is true either way and sure doesn't hurt to say it over and
over. Scarlett had a couple of great admires who cared for her more than their
own lives. They would do or give up whatever they had to so they could keep her
safe and alive.
HOUSE OF RAVENS is so full of twists and turns that I was
getting very dizzy every time I turned a page. I felt as if there were so many
hidden messages that were being dropped all over the place that I didn't know
which way to turn myself. I was spinning and spinning so fast that I thought I
was going to go right off the edge and step right into insanity trying to
figure out what everyone was up to and what they were hiding.
I kept thinking who is Jax? What is his secret? Is he for or
against Scarlett? Is he trying to protect her? Does he know who she really is?
Why did he leave and where did he go? I hated that he told her he loved her and
then just walked away. What was he thinking? What was he feeling?
What about Kai? What is his story? Is he for real? Does he
really care or love Scarlett? Is he a pawn for his father, the king? What about
Wytt and Corrine? Are they truly her friends? Whose side will they all be on in
the end?
You know I have always heard that when you read a book for
the second time or more that you can see something new or in a different light
than the first time you read it. This is very true I know because I have done
it on more than one occasion. This duo writing team are amazing authors and are
climbing right on up that author’s ladder right up there on the top right along
with Stephen King. They have put so much more in this second edition which I
never thought could happen but it has. I would have to say that I do like the
second edition of House of Ravens a lot better than the first. All the little
add-ins and changes help to make it a better book.
I highly recommend HOUSE OF RAVENS to anyone who loves
reading about Nephilim's with a heroine that is learning who and what she is
and what she can do. Scarlett is a very tough girl who has been through a lot
and has had to grow up way before her time but she is strong and can handle
herself and others well. Not only do I recommend HOUSE OF RAVENS and COURT OF
NIGHTFALL the first book in The Nightfall Chronicles I would recommend you read
any book that is written by this amazing duo; Karpov Kinrade..
About The Authors:
Together, they write fantasy and science fiction, including the ever popular ongoing Nightfall Chronicles.
They live with three little girls who think they're ninja princesses with super powers and who are also showing a propensity for telling tall tales and using the written word to weave stories of wonder and magic.
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