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 … 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.
more
After reading and loving ‘Radiance’ I really wanted to read another book from Grace Draven. I decided to read ‘Master of crows’ first. And just like ‘Radiance’ I really enjoyed this story.
Martise of Asher is a woman who was sold into slavery, as a young child by her poor mother. She became a slave in the household of a mage-priest of Conclave. To be sure that Martise wouldn’t run away her master stole a part of her soul. But now Martise gets a chance to win back her freedom and that part of her soul that was stolen from her as a child. But first she has to survive the dangerous mission her master has planned for her. Namely to live and to spy by the renegade sorcerer Silhara of Neith.
Silhare of Neith, Master of crows, is desperate. He is so desperate, he has even ask help from his old enemy, the mage-priests of Conclave, because he knows that he needs help to destroy the God Corruption. He also knows that his old enemy will try anything to expose him as a dark mage. So he’s very surprised when he meets Martise of Asher, who was send to him by the Conclave to be his apprentice. She isn’t what he expected. She isn’t beautiful or special and although she has the gift (for magic) it hasn’t manifested yet.
Both Silhare and Martise know that they can’t trust the other but as the days and the weeks go by, they get to know each other better (the good and the bad things). And it’s getting harder and harder to remember that they’re supposed to be enemies and not friends or lovers. But the attraction between them is getting harder and harder to resist.
Silhare knows that he’s slowly running out of time. The god Corruption is getting stronger and stronger and Silhare doesn’t know how much longer he can resist the god and his tempting offer. Luckily Martise and Silhare are getting closer and closer to the ritual to destroy the god but the more they discover about the ritual, the more Silhare realizes that he has to make a hard decision. He will have to choose between his life or Martise’s. Because to destroy the God one of them has to die.
I really adored this story and couldn’t stop reading it. This story had a little bit of everything in it. Friendship, love, humor, suspense. I liked the fact that Martise was a ‘plain’ woman that she wasn’t an exotic, beautiful woman but a ‘normal’ woman that throughout the story found her own strength and her love. And Silhare was the perfect mix between good and bad. A perfect combination for me.
I love Grace Draven’s work. Have your dictionary close. Her words are wonderful and some are unusual!
This was the novel that introduced me to the wonderful Grace Draven. Loved the main characters of this book: Silhara, the brooding, independent mage who despises the other mage-priests who wish to control him, and Martise, a soul-bound slave trying to earn her freedom by spying on the Master of Crows. These characters are both unique and strong-willed, and although they dislike one another from the start, that aversion is slowly replaced by respect and love. Add in a cast of lovable supporting characters (including a mage finder hound and a mute servant who is more of a dear friend than an assistant), and you get an intriguing, romantic story with people you come to care about. I highly recommend this novel to those who love romantic fantasy with just a touch of darkness set in a unique and original world.
Holy gods on high, what a book! It’s been a while since I was so wrapped up in characters that I read far into the night. This book consumed me.
Master of Crows gave me an all-time new record. I finished this book in…let me see… 14 hours. But that’s with food and potty breaks. In my opinion, this is Draven’s best novel. I love a good, underdog heroine who has no choice but to rise to the occasion and a pessimistic sorcerer with a bad reputation who can’t help but rise with her.
Another moving tale about unlikely love, that becomes powerful and inspiring. Ms. Draven creates such rich and moving characters.
Master of Crows by Grace Draven
Yet again, Grace has written a romance so achingly bitter sweet I wasn’t sure if my heart could take it.
Master of Crows is much grittier than her other stories and because of that – the love story was more tormented than anything of hers I’ve read to date.
I’ve said this about each book of hers – but, this really was another page turner. Her world building and writing style leave me so absorbed in the worlds that she creates.
Things I loved
Her slow, sensual, build up from enemies to lovers makes the romance much more believable for me.
The flow of the storyline.
The steamy scenes were not overdone and they still left enough room for sexual tension to continue afterwards.
The friendship made in this story is almost as sweet as the romance.
Women supporting women – even when expected, there was no rivalry between any of the female characters.
Wish List
In all of Grace’s books, her MCs are often described as plain. And whilst this does help focus on the actual ‘falling in love’ side of the story, at times the ‘beauty is only skin deep’ message feels forced. I’d love for one of her MCs – particularly the female leads, to be confident enough to describe themselves in a more favorable way.
Favourite Quotes
No true illumination flowed from the star’s center, only a turbid haze that suffocated the sky.
“How is it that a woman, blessed with a voice that could make a man come, sings badly enough to frighten the dead?”
All the stars missing from the false night glittered in his black gaze.
“Let me love you for this moment. It will be enough.”
“I am a greedy man. We could live a thousand years more than this twisted god, and still it will not be enough.”
He loved her to the point of madness, to obsession and even sacrifice.
Would I Recommend?
I think at this point it’s obvious.
Grace has the ability to make you fall in love with characters within the first few pages.
She gives you a sense of hope when there really shouldn’t be any, makes you feel the betrayal and torment that the MCs go through and also leaves you shocked at the horrific depravity that slithers its way through out of nowhere.
So, if you don’t mind tormenting yourself with a romance that can have you smiling one moment and wincing the next – this book is for you!
3.5 Stars I really had to think on this.
The negatives.
There are a couple of editing errors, but my biggest problem was the overly descriptive paragraphs of scenery. They were Numerous! It slowed the flow of the story down so much, I actually considered not finishing the book. It drove me nuts! Scenery is not action. The author even described the main female character, Martise, so many times I wanted to scream, “I GOT IT! I GOT IT!” I’m not over my rant about this, but I think I made my point. So I will shut up about it and try to get over it. I got through it and finished the book. I will say at the 35% mark, things Finally started moving forward.
The positives.
The main characters, Martise & Silhara are truly interesting. So is Silhara’s servant Gurn. However, I do feel that all the characters, including the mc’s, could have been better developed if the author hadn’t insisted on repeating what we already knew. So many words wasted on inactivity.
Between the 30% to 35% mark there is an excellent scene and it completely revitalized my interest in the story. It was jammed full of action and suspense. I can’t say the the overly descriptive paragraphs stopped at this point, but they did lessen quit a bit. From this point on the action picks up substantially throughout the rest of the book. There is danger, intrigue and suspense.
The romance between Martise & Silhara has some really steamy action that is tastefully done. You can feel the love & respect between them.
This came close to being a ‘young adult’ book. Considering the age of the mc’s and the love scenes, I would mark it more ‘new adult’.
All in all, once you get close to the 30% mark, it became a pretty good story.
Grace Draven is a fantastic author who knows how to create incredibly interesting worlds and even better characters to inhabit it.