Book Review: Apollo’s Raven by Linnea Tanner

Linnea Tanner is a historical romance author that primarily focuses on Celtic tales featuring ancient Rome and Britannia. So, as you can imagine, her books are set about 1800 years or so before the Regency era. However, she extensively researches Celtic, mythology, and druid cultures to weave historical events and other aspects into her work. You will find Apollo’s Raven pulls heavily from druid inspiration and contains many “mature audience only” themes. 

Summary of Apollo’s Raven

Page Count: 394

Series: Curse of Clansmen and Kings, Book 1

Publisher: Apollo Raven Publisher, LLC 

Release Date: January 27, 2020

Apollo’s Raven is book one in The Curse of the Clansmen and Kings series by Linnea Tanner. While this book contains a hero and a heroine, it is an ongoing series, so it does not have a “happily ever after” at the end of the book. 

The hero of this book is Marcellus. He is the son of a Roman senator who comes with his father to stir up trouble and prepare Britannia for Roman invasion, with or without the Roman Emperor’s consent. Marcellus is also the great-grandson of Mark Antony and claimed decedent of Apollo. He is a stone-faced man who can take any situation and remain ill at ease during it with an almost inhuman amount of confidence. Be it drinking and carousing with the enemy or barbarian clans as a hostage or confidently weighing in on negotiations. 

Furthermore, he is said to be an excellent looking man, with an older mistress back home and a love of drinking wine. However, his life starts shifting after he meets the heroine, Catrin. 

Catrin is a Celtic warrior and princess of the tribe that Marcellus’s father wants to overthrow and replace with a Roman client king. She is the youngest daughter for all extensive purposes, though as you read the book, you will discover twists and turns about not only her standing in the family but her differences from her two older sisters. She is said to be tiny and beautiful with bright blue eyes. Catrin pulls in the Druid side of the culture while Marcellus pulls in the Mythological side with his beliefs in his patron god Apollo. 

Being a druid princess, Catrin is highly connected to a raven to the point that she can see through the raven’s eyes, possibly transform into one, and call upon hordes of ravens to protect her. While you may not think of birds as the most fierce protectors, her ravens are predatory creatures that feast off of dead carcasses and attack the faces of her victims. 

After some rather tense negotiations, Marcellus becomes the hostage treated as a guest of Catrin’s tribe. As she shows him around and entertains him, she falls in love with him. They end up having a sacred marriage ceremony between just the two on holy ground, and everything falls apart. Catrin becomes very sick and begins to live out a curse while traitors among the clan try to take over during the king’s absence. 

One thing leads to another, and Catrin herself is also held as a prisoner. She escapes with her raven powers and frees Marcellus, leading him back to his father for a hostage transfer and exchange of the king for Marcellus. Unfortunately, war breaks out. They are both branded as traitors among their people for defending each other before and during the skirmish. Here we see the book end with Catrin once again protecting and loving Marcellus in her mind. If Apollo’s Raven seems like a book you might like, go ahead and read the first six chapters for free!

Noteworthy Moments for Apollos Raven

Apollos Raven had many ups and downs within the historical novel. This novel has romantic elements, but the overall genre leans towards historical fiction, not a historical romance. As far as language goes, you will find a variety of foul language within the text. Religion is primarily druid and mythology, on which it relies heavily. Finally, the text has quite a few graphic sexual and violent scenes. 

This book series begins in 24 A.D, and jumps in strong with pagan culture, portraying the worship of ravens and other animals. You will shortly discover that this culture is druid. From the start, sex is a very freely given commodity within the book, and some of the most unexpected pairs have sex out of wedlock. Catrin’s sister and a warrior are one of them. 

While I am not an expert on druid religion, this book features beliefs of astro-projection that you see in “new age” cultures of today. It makes you wonder if much has changed over the last 2000 years regarding paganism as a religion. Furthermore, when the Romans take the stage, Roman mythology is introduced, and the Britannia clan seems to accept it as their own beliefs—melding it with their gods with ease. Both cultures have people who can predict the future and one interesting quote that this brings to mind in the book is:

“If you can see the future you can change the future.” 

Linnea Tanner, Apollo’s Raven, Chapter 9

Throughout the book, the roman hero, and thus from an opposing group to the heroine, is called a predator, evil, and someone not for the princess to trust. Sometimes it has you wondering if Marcellus is the hero or if someone else will swoop in and take the mantle away from him. 

When getting this kind of advice from family, friends, and clans people, Catrin also gets the advice to:

“Remember to think with your head and not your heart.”

Linnea Tanner, Appollo’s Raven, Chapter 9

There is a heavy dose of scandal in this book which lends itself to many interesting plot twists. Most of these scandals centered around the Queen and King’s relationship. These are Catrin’s parents. 

Finally, there is also a fair amount of hypocrisy among some of the characters in the book, the most noteworthy being Marrock, Catrin’s estranged evil brother. He is set on overthrowing his father to take the kingdom. He plays just about anyone to get his way. 

Three-Star Historical Romance Novel

I give Apollos Raven three stars. It is a historical romance novel with a lot of interesting cultural components from the period of ancient Rome. The setting is Britannia before Rome took it over. The characters are warriors, kings, queens, and roman diplomats. Plus, a few traitors sprinkled in the mix. While the plot was interesting, it had a vast amount of crude, gruesome sense, some involving sexual encounters and others involving gore and death. 

Do you want to hear another review of Apollo’s Raven? Check out Mojito With a Twist- Books and Stories!

I received a free copy of Apollo’s Raven to review. However, all thoughts and opinions of this review are my own. 

Five Flaming Hearts Historical Romance Novel

The intimacy in this romance will make you walk away feeling pretty icky. I give it five flaming hearts out of five because it is “a sex all over the place” kind of book. It talks about various characters having affairs in graphic detail and characters having experiences in their animal forms. It is like some sort of historical, werewolf, raven, shape shifter, love story mix. 

Furthermore, there are a lot of gruesome details involved in some of the scenes. 

Where Can You Buy This Book?

You can buy Apollos Ravin on Amazon in ebook, audiobook, and paperback format. It is a long read that is reasonably inexpensive. Plus, it is part of a series that spans multiple chapters, so if you are interested in ancient roman culture with a romantic twist, this book is right up your alley. 

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