Master of Crows by Grace Draven

Master of Crows by Grace Draven
Also by this author: Radiance
Series: Master of Crows #1
Published by Independently Published on June 30, 2014
Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Romance
Pages: 392
Format: eBook
ASIN: B005GHN2GG
Goodreads

What would you do to win your freedom?

This is the question that sets bondwoman, Martise of Asher, on a dangerous path. In exchange for her freedom, she bargains with her masters, the mage-priests of Conclave, to spy on the renegade sorcerer, Silhara of Neith. The priests want Martise to expose the sorcerer's treachery and turn him over to Conclave justice. A risky endeavor, but one she accepts without hesitation--until she falls in love with her intended target.

Silhara of Neith, Master of Crows, is a desperate man. The god called Corruption invades his mind, seducing him with promises of limitless power if he will help it gain dominion over the world. Silhara struggles against Corruption's influence and searches for ways to destroy the god. When Conclave sends Martise as an apprentice to help him, he knows she's a spy. Now he fights a war on two fronts--against the god who would possess him and the apprentice who would betray him.

Mage and spy search together for a ritual that will annihilate Corruption, but in doing so, they discover secrets about each other that may damn them both. Silhara must decide if his fate, and the fate of nations, is worth the soul of the woman he has come to love, and Martise must choose continued enslavement or freedom at the cost of a man's life. And love.
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Author note: This fantasy romance contains adult situations and graphic descriptions of physical intimacy.

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If you like fantasy books by Terry Brooks, Elizabeth Hunter, and Terry Goodkind, then add a new author to your reading list–Grace Draven.  Master of Crows is the second book that I have read by Ms. Draven, and it isn’t even close to a new release.  It is a book that should be on your radar, as the world building is enthralling, the characters are well developed, and the plot kept me riveted to the very end of the story.  In fact, the book just made me hungry for more works by Ms. Draven, as she is a very talented writer and can spin a tale like a master craftsman can spin straw into gold.  Whoops, that is from another book.

The point is that Draven set me, the reader, down into her world and from the moment I read the first lines of the book, I knew I was hooked.  There isn’t a slow set up; she drops you into the battle between a sorcerer, Silhara of Neith, Master of Crows, and his battle with the god Corruption.  The book centers around Corruption’s need for Silhara to give into him and let him use his mortal body as his vessel.  Corruption has been locked away and now his cage has been sprung, and he wants to play.  One problem is that the vessel Silhara has to be willing.  Second problem is Silhara is an outcast sorcerer; he does not play well with others, but he needs his fellow sorcerers the Conclave to assist him in trying to find a way to get rid of Corruption.  The Conclave has another idea–use Silhara’s need to set a spy in his mist.  They send Martise of Asher as slave to act as his apprentice and spy for them.  The Conclave, specifically Bishop Asher, would rather focus his hatred on Silhara than come to terms that an evil god is bent on the world’s distrustion.

The book is a scintillatingly enjoyable read.  The characters are fresh and the character of Silhara is abrasive, but I, as the reader, came to understand him.  I loved that Martise wasn’t the most beautiful woman ever made; the author made her a real person flaws and all.   This book and author should not be missed.