Soul of a Raven by Catherine Bloor

Book Blurb
When Serin discovers a hidden family manuscript, she has no idea what she has set in motion. The old pages reveal the bewildering tale of an ordinary Victorian girl, Wren, who is given an enchanting pendant that changes her life.

Serin reads all night, compelled to discover the fate of her ancestor. Will Wren fulfil her destiny to protect the cursed London Stone, like the witches before her? Or will the relentless raven man be her downfall? Will she lose everyone she ever loved? Will she lose herself?

As Serin reads Wren’s tale, strange things start to happen, and she begins to believe she may have unleashed dormant dark magic upon herself.

This is a gothic tale of magic and myth, family secrets, love and revenge. It is a tale of the extraordinary, hidden beneath ordinary Victorian lives.

My Review

Soul of a Raven is the debut novel from Catherine Bloor, that mixes historical fiction with a touch of the gothic and magic. In the book blurb it says this is the story of Serin in the present day and Wren from the nineteenth century. However, I woukd say that over ninety percent of the book is Wren’s story. There is no preamble with this book, from the first page we are straight in to Serin, clearing out her mohter’s attic and finding a manuscript written by her great grandmother Jay Budden, the centre of this book. I would say Serin is in a similar position to Pandora, her curiosity gets the better of her in reading the manuscript and bringing down a box of artefacts linked to it. Serin doesn’t heed her mother’s warning and unleashes a set of circumstances that once started can’t be stopped.

Wren was a fascinating character, knowing she was different from not only her siblings but also from other people, affirmed when she is given a pendant of a hare by a gypsy. Wren is aware of her magic capabilities, something inherited from her grandmother and has to learn quickly to protect herself, the pendant and with that the London Stone, something I knew nothing about. As in life, where Wren is the light, the good in this book, then Corvus, her nemesis is the dark. Corvus is a shadowy figure whose story goes back to 49AD, and is the Raven Man in the manuscript. His story is just as fascinating as Wren’s, and although he is the evil element in the story, there were times I did feel empathy towards parts of his life; his is a story of love and betrayal.

When I first started this book I admit that I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it. I was unsure about the start where Catherine Bloor just goes straight in with no real introduction to Serin, her mother or the circumstnces they find themselves in. However, as I mentioned earlier it is Wren’s story that makes up the majority of this book, and it was this that changed my mind. Catherine Bloor’s descrptive prose, and historical detail make this such an immersive read. I completely lost myself in this world, in the magic, the story of the London Stone and the magic of Wren, to such an extent that I didn’t realise how much time had passed. I do think that in parts, especially in the present, that there was room for expansion of character and more detail of their situation, but it didn’t spoil my reading experience.

I found Soul of a Raven to be a captivating read full of historical detail and wonderful characters. I loved the storyline, the magic and the opposing characters of Wren and Corvus, and how their lives became so intertwined. Utterly compelling this is an intriguing read and I look forward to seeing what Catherine Bloor writes next.

I would like to thank Cranthorpe Millner Publishers for my copy of this book in return for my honest review.