The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson Series: Eternal Path #1
Published by Hodderscape on 17 April 2025
Genres: Epic Fantasy
Pages: 656
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
Let us fly now to the empire of Orrun, where after twenty-four years of peace, Bersun the Brusque must end his reign. In the dizzying heat of mid-summer, seven contenders compete to replace him. They are exceptional warriors, thinkers, strategists—the best of the best.
Then one of them is murdered.
It falls to Neema Kraa, the emperor’s brilliant, idiosyncratic High Scholar, to find the killer before the trials end. To do so, she must untangle a web of deadly secrets that stretches back generations, all while competing against six warriors with their own dark histories and fierce ambitions. Neema believes she is alone. But we are here to help; all she has to do is let us in.
If she succeeds, she will win the throne. If she fails, death awaits her. But we won’t let that happen.
We are the Raven, and we are magnificent.
I had heard nothing but good things about The Raven Scholar before going into it, but when a book gets that much hype there’s always something in the back of my mind that questions it. Are all of these people ACTUALLY enjoying the book that much? Is it ACTUALLY that good?
Reader, The Raven Scholar is ACTUALLY magnificent.
The Raven Scholar ticked all of my boxes when it comes to a murder mystery (multiple twists, things that aren’t as they seem, big bang surprise moments) and a fantasy book (politics, a long, long history, secrets about the world). I’m so happy to have found a five star read already in 2026.
My favourite thing about The Raven Scholar is definitely the narration. The author got very creative with it, and it added to the atmosphere. The first time the narration switched up a bit I got a bit confused, until I realised what the author was doing and then I was cheering her on. The narrator being omnipresent added so much to the story, as well as the history of the world, and it added a lot of tension when the narrator knew things that the characters did not. Or did the narrator ACTUALLY know anything? We’ll see.
I’m also pleased to say that I came out of this book with two ships. YES, TWO. I shan’t say who they are because, again, I like to go into my books with just vibes and work things out for myself. I think a lot of people are going to be annoyed by the love interest to begin with, and I was rolling my eyes at them a little to start, but they really grew on me. And then, of course, there is my crack ship. I so want it to happen, but I have a feeling I’m alone in that. Again. IT’S FINE.
I’m really looking forward to rereading this so I can write my recap. I can’t remember everything that happened off the top of my head because everything was so complex, and I’m looking forward to going back to the start and looking for clues which I’m sure are there!
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