Love is something everyone longs for at the deepest level—but for some, love is a curse. This is most certainly true for Asher Lake, the Keeper of an unknown group of people called ani-shifts. Ani-shifts, those with the ability to shift into animal forms, compose a secretive body of individuals known simply as the Union.
A wolf in shifter form, Asher lives with a curse placed upon him and his predecessors by the elusive Raven—a dark entity whose identity remains a mystery. According to the ancient archives, the Raven’s curse is conditional and set in motion by one fatal decision: if a Keeper ever allows himself to fall in love, he will die.
Choosing to live in isolation within the walls of Lake Manor, a private estate concealed by the dense woods of Brokenridge, Asher has vowed never to love or to fall in love with anyone believing it to be the only way to survive the curse. However, after ten years of neglecting his people and the protégés left in his care, along with the impending threats of an uprising, Asher learns the only way to break the Raven’s curse on future Keepers, thereby preventing them from suffering the same fate, is to accept his.
This becomes Asher’s biggest challenge of all when he encounters Elle Ison, the woman of his dreams. Does Elle hold the key? Can she help Asher change his fate?
Don’t resist. Fate is fate and things are meant to be. Or so they say…..
First, I must say that paranormal is one of my favorite genres. I love shifter books but sometimes things get a little redundant when they are all similar. Call of the Raven is so much more. There is a lot of world building and the author does a fantastic job. And some of the characters, well, they are a little intense but soooo relateable. Definitely not your normal shifter story.
Asher is the Keeper and is destined to die an early death once he falls in love. Grant is his predecessor and tried to set things in motion to break the curse. To try and avoid this fate Asher has closed himself off and vowed not to love or fall in love. With this he has neglected his family and society. 10 long years have passed and secrets are unfolding. Asher and his group of proteges are trying to find Grant’s daughter (that no one knew about) and Asher finds the woman who he has only seen in his dreams.
Things then get real sticky and the angle is not clear on who and what is really happening. The story keeps you guessing, constantly trying to figure it out. You will be as confused as the characters (in the best way possible) as you feel like you are right in the middle of the story. The hierarchy of the shifters and their society is completely different than what I have read in the past. This is truly a great start to what I expect to be a great series. I am looking forward to the 2nd book and more from this author!
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04
When it seemed like I was only an F away from flunking out of the sixth grade, a retired school teacher took me under her wing. After some tutoring and testing, she informed my parents that the reason I was having trouble in school wasn’t because I was dumb but instead dyslexic.
When my stepfather heard this, he decided to take me to a used bookstore with the belief that the best way to improve my reading skills was to read. Some of the books were hard to get through at first, but with his encouragement I refused to give up. We made many trips to that bookstore, and I especially loved the science fiction and fantasy sections.
Then one day, after complaining about the ending of a particular book, he told me that if I didn’t like the books that I had been reading, then to write one myself—so I did. My first attempt resulted in a horribly written western when I was fourteen, staring a cocky gun slinging cowboy by the name Curt Calhoun. Curt along with his seven brothers, who all shared C names in common, may never have seen the pages of a book, but that was the day I started writing, and never stopped.
I have over fifty books on my computer which I’ve written in various genres, all of which are waiting to come to life. Even though my ability to write has improved over the years, I am humble enough to admit that I cannot venture on this journey alone
Shawn Reilly lives in Mt. Comfort Indiana with her husband, and three daughters. She is the author of The Union series and The Children of the Alliance Trilogy. She supports those with Lupus, Fibromyalgia, and animal rescue.