The glittering magic of high society faerie life, with a hint of forbidden romance ...
When design student Raven Rosewood, daughter of high society fae, is almost killed in an explosion, her parents insist on assigning a bodyguard to protect her at all times. Raven agrees, but only if she can choose the guard.
Flint’s life couldn’t be more different from that of his employers. He doesn’t agree with their extravagant ways, but he’s admired their daughter Raven since he first met her. When asked to guard her more closely after her life is threatened, Flint is happy to take on the assignment.
Despite the gulf between their stations in life, Raven and Flint can’t help growing close to one another. As the pressure of Raven’s final fashion show builds, along with the threat of her parents discovering her relationship with a guard, Raven and Flint must decide whether their differences will push them apart or bring them closer together.
Raven is a companion story to the bestselling YA fantasy Creepy Hollow series. While it is best enjoyed in conjunction with the rest of the series, it is a standalone story that can be read on its own.
Rachel Morgan spent a good deal of her childhood living in a fantasy land of her own making, crafting endless stories of make-believe and occasionally writing some of them down. After completing a degree in genetics and discovering she still wasn’t grown-up enough for a ‘real’ job, she decided to return to those story worlds still spinning around her imagination.
These days she spends much of her time immersed in fantasy land once more, writing fiction for young adults and those young at heart.
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I LOVED THIS. Missed Rachel Morgan's writing style and her amazing characters sooo much. The story is funny, relatable, action-packed, romantic, heart-breaking. And this doesn't surprise me, I mean, Rachel Morgan is the MASTER of making emotional roller coasters and this one was no exception. This novella is a great addition to Creepy Hollow universe and I loved every single paragraph of it.
This is such a wonderfully cute story and it is filled with magic, love, design, family drama and action! It is definitely worth a read, whether you’ve read the Creepy Hollow series or not.
Full Review: *I received an ecopy of this book from the author. This has in no way influenced my review.*
This was an enjoyable little addition to the Creepy Hollow series. It had a story all of its own though about characters who have been very minor in the overall series (to be honest I didn't even remember who Raven was), so you don't need to have read the rest of the series to enjoy this. The only thing that might be a problem is understanding the world and some of the magic, like the Faerie Paths they travel through, but even that probably wouldn't be that much of a problem.
Raven was a likeable, relatable character, Flint was sweet, and I liked their forbidden romance. It was also fun getting to see a different side of the Creepy Hollow world since all the main books have been about Guardians and battles and saving the world and whatnot whereas this was about fashion and clothes-casting magic and high society (or rather, a girl who lived in high society but didn't feel like she fit in with it). And there was still a bit of action and mystery in the plot, though it stayed uncomplicated since the book was more focused on the romance and Raven kind of coming into her own instead of following in her parents' footsteps.
Honestly my only "issue" is that I'm just not much of a novella person. I like to read whole series about the same characters, so a novella just isn't enough for me. But if you do like novellas, or if you just love the Creepy Hollow world and want to see another side of it or get to know more about one of the minor characters, this was still an enjoyable and well-written story that I can recommend!
Recommended For: Anyone looking for a quick, light read about faeries, forbidden romance, and fashion!
Raven follows titular character Raven Rosewood, the only daughter of an elite Fae family, as she is approaches graduation from Fashion and Design school. We see Raven as she seeks to do her best in her chosen field, as she’s threatened by an unknown source, and as she grows closer to Flint; the guard assigned to protect her.
To prepare for this story I did go back to The Faerie Guardian (book 1 in the Creepy Hollow series) to get a feel for Raven and Flint. In the Faerie Guardian, we see Raven as a romantic with a kind and helping disposition and Flint as a Guild member with a humorous nature. This story allows us to see more of their characters, their struggles and their journey towards each other.
I loved seeing Raven’s passion and drive, specifically in her designs. She is an accomplished designer but strives to challenge herself and use innovative techniques and methods. It was quite inspiring to experience her dedication, especially in the face of her parent’s lack of personal support outside of what constituted a “proper image.” I feel that the weakest points in the story are related to the antagonist’s final plan, which are criticized by Raven in the story as well.
I think Raven is a nice addition to the Creepy Hollow series. We see a completely new side to the Fae world in the Fae fashion and high society parties, which are so removed from the Guild and human world. Raven also allows us to get to know characters who are briefly mentioned in the other Creepy Hollow books, but are deeply loved by characters we know from the series. Overall, I had a pleasant time re-entering the Fae world in this series and look forward to more from Rachel Morgan.
I am a Big Fan of Creepy Hollow and it was good to get the back story on Raven!
I loved that Raven is such a different character from all the other fae I met in the series. I really liked that her strength wasn’t in her abilities, but in her character. I loved how, as she discovered who she was and what she wanted to be, she embraced it and was willing to grow into it. I also liked the fact, that even though, what was important to her had caused a rift in the relationship with her parents, that she was still building a bridge of relationship with them. That, to me is real strength. It’s easy to build a wall, turn your back and walk away from stuff that is hard, but she was willing to take the harder route.
This was my first read from Rachel Morgan. I'm not really sure what I was expecting. What I got was the story of Raven, a magic student who specialized in clothing design. This is her story. While trying to finish school, she uncovers a murder plot and now her life is in danger too! This was interesting. Some profanity, no sex.
The Creepy Hollow series is one of my all-time-favorites. I had this novella preordered months ago, I'd read any snippet or hint Rachel Morgan gave, and I just could not wait to read this the second I downloaded it.
This story is a cute one, but a bit more fluff than actual content. I still enjoyed it (I mean, come on, who could not squeal whenever Tora hinted about Flint?) but Rachel Morgan has definitely written better stories.
For the most part, the characters were well rounded and the world was as enchanting as always, but there's just something about this story that's making me not give Raven another star.
Maybe it's the plot. It felt all squished together, like there wasn't enough space for the entire story to play out. There wasn't enough detail, enough character development, enough plot, really. This would've been so much better as a fully fledged novel. In fact, I'd sell my soul for a prequel book (or series!) with Tora, Raven, and Flint...hint hint wink wink slap (though I doubt Rachel Morgan will ever read this review).
I wonder if she'll ever write more little stories like this and Scarlett. Maybe one with Gaius? Or one of the reptiscilla?
What a sweet read. I've been really excited to read this novella ever since I heard who and what it's about. I liked Raven in the original Creepy Hollow series but it didn't tell much about her and Flint and their life before. The glimpses I had of Tora in this book made me tear up. I really liked the new perspective. Pretty much all of the Creepy Hollow books are centered around badass guardians and their everyday bad-assery. "Raven" has guardians, too, but the theme is mainly high society and fashion -- magical and fabulous gowns, and glittery shoes. And a little bit of bad guys, too. It doesn't have Filigree or dragons in it but I also love me some glittery shoes ;)
I absolutely love reading the stories of other characters from the Creepy Hollow world. It is great seeing how some of the lesser known personalities fit in together. I especially liked the glimpse of Tora, who we already know as a guardian mentor, as a young precocious child. Raven is a wonderful character, smart and level headed, despite almost being faerie royalty. When she stumbles across a possible plot that may or may not involve her, her life is turned side down. This is a short book but there is still time for Raven to develop and also for a twist that will surprise you. I can't wait for the next book! I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This story is about Raven and Flint and how they met along with their budding romance. Raven comes from the high class of the fea world. Flint is a one of her house guards. He is a nobody to Raven's parents who look down on anyone who isn't part of their class status. They form a friendship, which leads to more while Raven is in fashion college finishing up her last year and preparing for her final runway show. Her world gets a bit crazy with an ex shows up, her college almost being blown up, and then having a bodyguard. She doesn't mind the last one, since she got to choose her guard. All in all, it's a great addition to the Creep Hallow series.
While I felt the author's building of Raven's world and her dress creation was magical, excellent and descriptive, the ending felt too rushed. I would have also liked more detail about Creepy Hollow, and Flint's perspective/life. Edited to add: I increased this to 4 stars because I see now this is a novella, which totally makes sense! So with that in mind, it's a good, lighthearted quick read with a great moral of sticking to your principles.... but I still knocked a star off for the rushed feeling at the end and missing information.
I'd finished all 9 of the other books a while ago and was really pining for some more out of this world I love so much.
It was a really great read and I would recommend you give it a go.
I maybe didn't quite click with it in the same way as the others but I think that has more to do with the fact it's a novella and not a long book which I usually prefer.
Some parts of the story were quite clever and funny which was great!
Raven was another fun character I enjoyed reading about in the Creepy Hollow series. She was a fun-loving romantic who was easy to love so I couldn’t wait to read her story and how she and Flint came together. I thought they were perfect for each other and very sweet. I loved reading about everything that happened with Raven in her earlier years before she came to be where she was in the series.
So I've had this since it first came out. Why haven't I read this before?! I probably thought I had. Super adorable story on Raven before she was half of Raven & Flint. And a mom! And Tora! In dragon slippers lol. Pretty awesome to get to know how Raven became the clothes caster she is today. I had almost forgotten Flint was a Guardian too. Fantastic addition to the Creepy Hollow storyline.
This was a cute little side story for the series. I wasn’t very interested in learning ravens story.. but I figured what the hey, why not? (Since I’m impatiently waiting for book 9 anyways!) Happy to say I was pleasantly surprised ! Definitely a good read 😁
I love the stories that fill in the gaps. This was a great short story on its own but the fact that it filled in the back story on other characters from the Creepy hollow series is wonderful! If you like magic, fairies and a little mystery then this is for you