The Ravenhood Series by Kate Stewart
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Can you keep a secret?
I grew up sick.
Let me clarify.I grew up believing that real love stories include a martyr or demand great sacrifice to be worthy. Because of that, I believed it, because I made myself believe it, and I bred the most masochistic of romantic hearts, which resulted in my illness.
When I lived this story, my own twisted fairy tale, it was unbeknownst to me at the time because I was young and naïve. I gave into temptation and fed the beating beast, which grew thirstier with every slash, every strike, every blow. Triple Falls wasn’t at all what it seemed, nor were the men that swept me under their wing. But in order to keep them, I had to be in on their secrets. Secrets that cost us everything to keep.
That’s the novelty of fiction versus reality. You can’t re-live your own love story, because by the time you’ve realized you’re living it, it’s over. At least that was the case for me and the men I trusted my foolish heart to. Looking back, I’m convinced I willed my story into existence due to my illness. And all were punished.
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Can you live a lie?
It’s a ghost town, this place that haunts me, the one that made me.
It’s clear to me that I’ll never outgrow Triple Falls or outlive the time I spent here.
I can still feel them all, my boys of summer.
Even when I’d sensed the danger, I gave in.
I didn’t heed a single warning. I let my sickness, my love, both rule and ruin me. I played my part, eyes wide open, tempting fate until it delivered.
There was never going to be an escape.
All of us are to blame for what happened. All of us serving our own sentences. We were careless and reckless, thinking our youth made us indestructible, exempt from our sins, and it cost us all.
I’m done pretending I didn’t leave the largest part of me between these hills and valleys, between the sea of trees that hold my secrets.
It’s the reason I’m back. To make peace with my fate.
And if I can’t grieve enough to cure myself in my time here, I’ll remain sick. That will be my curse.
But it’s time to confess, to myself more so than any other, that I’d hindered my chances because of the way I was built, and because of the men who built me.
At this point, I just want to make peace with who I am, no matter what ending I get.
Because I can no longer live a lie.
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Secrets and Lies...
I’ve lived the entirety of my life wrapped up in subterfuge for one purpose—revenge.
Through the years, I lived more as an enigma than a man.
For so long, I denied I had a beating heart of my own.
Until her. Until she unearthed the starving vessel inside, forced me to acknowledge it, forced me to understand that I’m capable of bleeding the same as any other.
For that, we paid. We're still paying.
Yet, she demands it still, the useless heart of the ruthless thief and shameless villain she fell for. My fear is, I’m no longer that man.
With the lies I’ve told, the life I’ve led, my mistakes are beginning to catch up with me, day by day, one by one.
This is my last chance, and I have no intention of losing her again, but as the deception of my past starts to unravel and close in, shedding my humanity may be the only thing that can save us both.
Maybe it’s already too late.
“We love rainy days, don’t we baby?”
I picked up The Ravenhood series because I saw a Booktoker sobbing over it and thought, Yes. That’s the exact kind of emotional distress I need in my life right now. Little did I know I’d be signing up for a full-blown heartbreak buffet, served over three books (and one more under Ravenhood Legacy…review coming tomorrow).
Flock is like stepping into a chaotic why-choose fantasy wrapped in secrets, sunshine and rain, and stolen moments that felt too good to last (because…they were. Spoiler alert.)
Exodus came along and wrecked the shit out of me. I was positively bawling by the end. Full-on ugly crying just like the Booktoker. I was clutching my Kindle out of devastation. Everything that Flock set up, Exodus tore the fuck down. Cecelia, Sean, and Dominic had me in a chokehold—the obsession, the sharing, the sacrifices.
However, by the time I reached The Finish Line, I was emotionally tapped out. I’m just not as invested in Tobias, even after reading through his origin story. I really don’t want to spoil anything for you, so I will stop here. The entire series is a wild, unforgettable ride that’s messy, intense, and devastatingly romantic. It was worth the emotional unwellness and every single tear I shed.
Content Warnings
Note: This is not an exhaustive list of content and trigger warnings.
sexual content • death • toxic relationships • drug and alcohol use
Goodreads | Storygraph | Kate Stewart
Owned: paperbacks from Target