Highland Raven: The Celtic Blood Series, Book 1

This is the worst kind of grocery store, old lady erotica. I gauge a book by the size of the font and whether or not sex is mentioned in the first 10 pages. This book failed miserably. It is a rushed vague story written around the trashiest kind of erotica. This is why I shouldn’t buy books on amazon. I wanted to read a good historical fiction. The cover of this book should warn people what they’re about to get into. Skip if you have an IQ above 50

Historically, very little is known of the early life of Gruoch, later known as Lady Macbeth. Immortalised by Shaekespeare as a conniving, power -hungry shrew, audiences have been fascinated by her for centuries.Karsak weaves a kinder tale of the young Gruoch in this excellent work of historical fantasy. History, magic and fantasy combine to tell a story of a young woman searching to discover her destiny and calling in life, while still learning who she is and the power she holds over men.This story is so powerfully and beautifully written that it is easy to forget that this is fiction, and to believe that this really is Gruoch’s story. We see Gruoch’s strengths and vulnerability, her loyalty and hatred, her past and glimpses of her future. As readers, we love those she loves and despise those she hates, and we become deeply invested in her hopes and dreams.The author has also incorporated some lovely nods to Shakespeare’s play, littering quotes and references to the text throughout the narrative. This very cleverly lends credibility and legitimacy to Karsak’s story, reinforcing that sense of reality and closeness to Gruoch that the reader feels from almost the first page onwards.The story delivers a fascinating blend of mystery, fantasy, romance, and adventure in an expertly crafted package that is almost impossible to put down once started.

This book is so poorly written. The sentences are short and brief, as if written by a five year old. Non descriptive. The storyline is trash. The erotic parts are not erotic. They are stupid. “He grabbed me. He kissed me. We wrapped together. It felt good. Oh oh, here comes a shadow from the shadow place.” I wanted to gouge my eyes out of my head. When I got to the end and realized it was a series? Oh my Goodness, there are a lot of illiterate people desperate for anything vaguely Scottish after Outlander. This was the WORST. If you have a pulse, save your money and time.

Just wanted to warn those, like me, who don't realize this is a fantasy book. It was a little too "far out there" for my tastes. I was hoping for a book similar to "The Circle of Ceridwen" books. It was ok just not my interest. Also the Menage a Trois scene was a bit of a surprise!

The book had me hooked from the moment I started it. What? Lady MacBeth had her own story? What drove her to do what she did? Then the fun elements began—goddesses, magic, faerie and romance. The book (and time) sped away, and suddenly I was finished, ready for the next in the series. The hardest thing for me to do was to read through the typos - yes, there are still many of them, which I think the author will be disappointed to hear. But, if you like mystery, romance, and magic, read the book. It won’t disappoint!

I was very excited to see the tale through the paranormal angle, but it was hard to stay i n the story sometimes. I put this done no less then 3 times. I decided to finish the 1st book just to see, but didn't like it enough to buy the others. I had such high hopes...

Lately, I’ve had a difficult time allowing myself to let go and submit to fantasy fiction. It needed to draw me in right away. Highland Raven was a page turner from the start with beautiful imagery. I will, in the next moment, purchase the remaining two books in the series!

I was looking forward to reading a fantasy but did not expect the main character to pray to a goddess to bring the people back and abandon the White Christ. Sorry, I could not get past what I considered to be an unnecessary element to the story. Didn't mind the praying to a goddess that's just part of the fantasy but to bash Christ when it was a step too far. Didn't bother to finish the book because of the sad turn of events.

TL;DR: a bogstandard, mediocre written fantasy book, with a predictable plot but some good elements.I picked this book up for my book club and went into it with an open mind. Only a few pages in there is a needlessly graphic rape scene that bears little relevance to the plot. There are further weird and unnecessary sexual scenes in the book. I'm not a prude by any means but I like sex to have relevance to the plot in novels. A lot of the sexual scenes in "Highland Raven" read as though written by a horny teen. The plot at times feels disjointed and the characters are sometimes quite two-dimensional. The references to Macbeth and folklore are heavy-handed and lend no real depth to the plot. The book relies to heavily on the fact that it is part of a series, meaning that it's ending answers virtually no questions brought up throughout the novel and there are many seemingly disconnected loose ends. Although the prologue claims that Gruoch is Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare's play seems to have little real relevance to the book. Gruoch's identity as Lady Macbeth and the existence of Banquo are so far from the source material that they are merely name-dropping. Perhaps the parallel to Macbeth will be explored more in the sequels? Regardless, if you changed the names and removed some of the references you would have no idea that the novel was trying to be a prequel to Macbeth.The magic elements and ideas of fate are interesting and, from the author's note, it seems as though they will be developed in the sequels. I don't think I will be buying the sequels, however.

I listened to this story as an audiobook, excellently narrated by Lesley Parkin, who really brought it to life, drawing out its subtle nuances and breathing life into the characters - with my eyes closed I could see the movie playing in my imagination! I absolutely loved the way that the author has woven in elements of the inspiration Shakespeare and real Scottish history, but still kept it a very original story, giving Lady Macbeth her own backstory, and I can't wait to listen to book 2 and find out what happens next!

This series is an immediate immersive experience. I read all of the books one after the other because they were just.that.good! I'm not sure where this author came from, I just stumbled across these books during a kindle browse, but wow, she can write! Comparable to historical fiction authors like Bernard Cornwell, I am a definite fan and follower :-)I also loved the shieldmaiden series, but wasn't really drawn into the steampunk type books, more my personal genre preferences than any fault on the authors part. She seems to be quite a prolific author, so no doubt readers will find the books they love as much as I did!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and immediately started book 2. I'm hooked. I need to know how our heroine is fairing in the harsh world she is bound to.Download this now, I promise you will be happy you did.

J’ai tellement aimé ce livre ! Je suis triste de l’avoir terminé. Toute la série est formidable et j’aimerais sincèrement connaître la suite un jour. Un savant mélange de magie, d’amour, d’histoire et de guerre comme je les aime. A lire absolument.