She just wants to fit in. But can a gifted teen find her place when she’s caught between good and evil?After the sudden death of her mother, Lucy Walker leaves her small town for a fresh start in the City of Chicago. Lucy hopes life with her uncles will be less dramatic than the one she left behind. But her hopes are quickly turned upside down.Beginning with a disturbing encounter at the airport, … encounter at the airport, Lucy steps into a world she never imagined. From the discovery that she’s half-witch, half-demon, meeting the father she never knew, and run-ins with the mysterious boy who lives in the apartment upstairs, Lucy’s new life is not what she expected. And her world becomes even more complicated when the family’s treasured raven goes missing.
Persistent attacks from a dangerous stranger temporarily sideline Lucy’s search for the beloved family pet. Despite her reluctance to embrace her new gifts, Lucy is forced to team up with her brooding, dark-eyed neighbor to hunt down the truth. But when she discovers the connections between her own history and the secretive boy’s true nature, she’s thrust headfirst into an ancient battle…where choosing the wrong side could prove fatal.
Will Lucy accept her destined role before the darkness destroys everything she loves?
The Girl and The Raven is the thrilling first installment in The Girl and The Raven YA paranormal romance series. If you like imperfect witches with badass magic, young sorceresses trying to find themselves, and epic clashes between light and dark, then you’ll love Pauline Gruber’s enthralling tale.
Buy The Girl and The Raven today!
“This story isn’t one of those cardboard demon stories. It has twists and turns I didn’t see coming.” Bonnie Gill
“Let me just get this out. I LOVED THIS BOOK! Everything about it was amazing. Right out of the gate, you are thrown into the story and your emotions are taken for a ride. I was hooked from the first sentence and there was no turning back. The beginning had me on the verge of tears, which rarely happens at the beginning of a book because you are just getting started, but no, this book had me hooked.” Ivey Byrd
“I loved this book. I couldn’t put it down. Ms. Gruber swept me up into the story with her opening line and kept me until the end. Lucy is a complex and strong heroine. Marcus is a unique and refreshing hero (I don’t want to spoil what’s so unusual about him).” Samantha Macdouglas
“I really enjoyed this book…In this story, each character is set up with a unique attribute that Lucy takes in stride, and the entire world is painted in a way that sets it up and brings the reader in. From the school she attends to the group of friends she interacts with the story builds a depth and world and relationships that rivals that of Twilight, Harry Potter and other classic young adults.” Crystal Wright
“The best part of this book is the uniqueness of it. Witches, demons, gargoyles, and the struggle between good and evil. It’s so much fun. It’s not something I’ve read before so I like the change.” Katelin Campbell
“Well this one was fantastic! A fast-paced plot with an immensely likable lead character.” Heather A.
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The Girl And The Raven is the first book in a YA series by Pauline Gruber.
Lucy’s life changes dramatically after the sudden death of her mother. After a life filled with drama, Lucy craves calmness, but that is certainly not what she gets. Moving in with her two uncles brings new discoveries along with new complications.
I really enjoyed this story. It took me a little while to get stuck in, but once I did I couldn’t put it down. The characters in the book are complex and far from ordinary, which I loved. Lucy in particular is a strong character, and with everything going on she needs to be. I also very much enjoyed the love triangle, it would have been good to hear the story from their point of view too.
The twists and turns in this will keep you hooked until the end.
This was a new series for me to begin, honestly, I should have had some popcorn by my side as I read through it, it was very well written the characters were very likeable, and the events that take place made this a fast read through, and easily gets the reader under the spell! I went to read this at first as I’m a female that identifies in a goth sense love. Plus I love ravens with a passion. So the cover truly drew me in, and then as I read on, I truly fell in love with this wonderful book!
This was a very fun read with a lot of surprising twists, I did not expect at random times. Lucy I cant not say how awesome she is enough. She is a tough cookie, but saying that to describe her is a understatement She is her own person who stands her ground, doesn’t take crud from well anyone even her family. She goes through a traumatic event towards the beginning that forever shapes her path, and though there are two sides she can choose depending what she is drawn to she wants to make her decisions her own. Not what’s right or what’s best and most certainly not what someone else is deciding for her.
For me what truly started my captivation amount the story line for Lucy was the love triangle. I grew up being obsessed with Jacob and Edward from the novel Twilight, but this one went so much on a deeper level and so much extreme. The two love interests, Marcus and Dylan really added a lot of twists and turns. I was instantly drawn to the one interest based on the relationship and ground shared with Lucy but as I read on, I swayed to the other team, and later back etc. The author knew how to keep you interested and make you really think before making a decision. This is only a small fraction in relation to what Lucy was going through.
I must say though, when it comes down to it what I loved the most on this novel, though I loved the heroine, the love interests…all in all what truly captivated my love for this novel and my senses and truly intrigued me was why Lucy is wanted on all ends. Everyone seemed to want to turn her to their side, and use her as a powerful ally against the other sides. Be it witches or demons etc.
Leading up to the well put together ending, I was left beyond interested to put a small word. I was shocked for me personally by how things all came out in the soup pot at the end, some things I kin of expected, or something similar and others I was blown literally out of the water. All in all, this author wrote a very captivating book! And yes I will be happily awaiting for the next in the series for what Lucy and her companions will face next. If I learned anything about Lucy, its that she can handle anything that comes her way! She will be ready, always!
Thank you to this wonderful author for giving me a thrilling, entertaining, and fun read! I look forward to the next one. I truly enjoyed this book, and I’m so very happy I got to experience the adventure. 🙂 It was a well worth reading book, and I cant stress that enough to everyone else. Please, read this and see what I am talking about, as this is not a book series to be missed 🙂
If 4.5 stars was a thing, I would have done that! Pauline has a way with telling a story that hooks you from the first sentence. Lucy, our MC, has never had a normal life – but things get so much more insane when she moves to Chicago to live with her two uncles. You get the magical history that she knows nothing about, the insanely attractive guys everywhere she goes, and a big ol’ dash of excitement in every chapter. I read this whole thing in just a few hours and will be continuing the series as soon as possible because I need to know what happens next. Between Marcus and Dylan, Lucy learning to harness her witch and demon sides, and the mystery of what lies ahead – why would you not want to read this series?
The Girl and the Raven: A YA Paranormal Romance by Pauline Gruber is a well written YA story. It is so easy to connect with this book and become involved with the story. I thought Lucy was such a relatable character. Even with her newfound gifts she still felt very much like a girl trying to find her place. And that is something every girl can relate to!
This is a new author to me and I was surprised by how refreshing her take on this genre was. I enjoyed every part of this book from the moment I started reading. I would definitely recommend this author and I am looking toward to discovering more of her work.
This book is fantastic! I devoured it in one sitting, and have already started on Book 2.
The writing is engaging, and the plot hums along at a good pace. I love how Gruber has drawn the characters – they are each so unique and are intricately drawn. The book is by turns suspenseful, hilarious, and romantic. The interplay between the two potential love interests, Marcus and Dylan, had me switching back and forth deciding which to root for! Jude is frighteningly intelligent and his character brings drama and humour to the story. There’s some layers here that I appreciated, setting it on a higher level of writing in my opinion. Buy the book!
Lucy Walker is your typical fifteen year old girl who lives with her mum, but that is where her normality ends, she lives in a trailer park and her mum is an addict, she spends the household budget on beer and drugs, albeit she says she is trying to get clean and Lucy dreads it when she goes to school or anywhere because of the looks and taunts she receives. One evening, she is trying to get on with her evening when she hears tyres screeching up the path between the trailers and her worst fears come to pass when she finds her mum dumped on their front lawn, not moving and not breathing, btu when she asks her neighbour to call for an ambulance, it is already too late. After things settle down, Lucy then travels to live with her Uncles in Chicago, but it is not the reunion she was expecting, it is under much more sad circumstances than she hoped for, but as they walk through the airport to collect her suitcase, she bumps into a stranger and feels a strange jolt when they do, she thinks no more about it until she finds a note in the book she dropped asking her to meet them with a contact phone number.
The next morning she meets the neighbour who lives on the floor above, he is a hot young man with dark hair and brooding eyes, Lucy has never seen anyone so handsome and she cannot believe her eyes, so she becomes tongue tied and embarasses herself when he comes past her at the door to the apartment block. To make matters even more awkward she has to go shopping with her Uncles for some new clothes and it isn’t what she is used to doing so she is finding it hard to accept it, but they won’t take no for an answer. It isn’t all bad though when she makes some friends thanks to the girl who lives over the road inviting her to spend time with her friend circle, it is something Lucy has always wanted, but never managed to have. A few days later and things have started to properly sink in when she goes upstairs to see a friend who lives two floors up, the things she finds out from her are shocking and feel unreal to her, it turns out that she is half witch and half demon and that her life is going to be anything but the normality she so desires because of it, but when she finds out that her grandmothers pet raven is missing, she is really upset and a little angry.
Things seem to go from bad to worse when she goes into her room to find out that it has been broken into, but everyone around her says they want to protect her, but they won’t tell her what is going on, but it means that she can spend more time with her hot neighbour. Will Lucy be able to accept all the new information which is being thrown at her while trying to keep it all a secret from her friends at school, or will the darkness which resides within her take over and put everyone she loves at risk? This is a fantastic paranormal adventure where growing up isn’t as simple as it seems and secrets abound within a community of both a supernatural and human nature, as you are pulled along on a coming of age journey like no other.
The author hooked me into this fantasy world from the first sentence. I love how it starts at such a major climax in the story plot. Lucy, the main character, loses her mother who passes away right from the beginning chapter. Lucy is then thrown into an unknown world to live with her two uncles. On top of all her grieving and major life changes, Lucy additionally discovers that she is half-witch, and half-demon. A mixture of good and bad. How is she supposed to process all of this at once? The adjustments to her new life, in my opinion, make this book truly unique.
This is a wonderful story with twists and surprises that caught me completely off-guard. I loved losing myself in this fantasy world while Lucy was able to discover herself. I could not put this book down!
Lucy is a young teen just looking to have a normal life. Her mother was a junkie who died of an overdose. Lucy goes to Chicago to find that she has a whole new life. She’s actually a powerful witch. Hence, she begins the adventure of a lifetime. New friends. enemies, mysteries, demon dad….and the secrets about. The first installment of a new series makes this a winner. I want to see what happens with her and Marcus. Interesting romance brewing there. Lots of paranormal.
4 Stars
The Girl and the Raven is the first book in The Girl and the Raven series by Pauline Gruber. This is my first read from Ms. Gruber, so I really didn’t know what to expect going in. What I discovered is an original YA paranormal story- with witches, demons, ravens, magic, good vs evil, a bit of a love triangle, choices, discovery, and more.
Ms. Gruber had me at witches and demons- add in the ravens and other paranormal elements and I was hooked.
The story was a little slow at times, but that didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the story. Looking forward to reading Book #2!
Thank you, Pauline Gruber!
I enjoyed this young adult paranormal story. This is one of my first books by this author which I enjoyed how she brought the characters to life with her attention to details. They are connectable and make the story engaging. This is a well written story that pulled me in from the beginning and made it fun to read. Lucy has found herself in a new town living with family after the death of her mother. She just wants to fit in but finds that her destiny has something else in mind. She is a gifted young teen that finds herself in the middle of good and evil. What happens with Lucy you will need to find out. She kept me turning pages because I wanted to know what would happen to her next. Will the darkness destroy things before she comes to terms with her destiny? She is such a great character, I just loved her. She made the story for me. I highly recommend this book.
Pauline Gruber’s The Girl and the Raven is a YA Paranormal Romance. It has demons, witches, gargoyles, and ravens. The story is original, and I did find it a little slow at times but there were plot twists that had me guessing and some I figured out but some I did not. There is a lot of different layers going on but ultimately there is a fight for good and evil. With secrets and lies, magic and a wealth of unusual. YA’s will love this book.
Amazing paranormal YA story.
Really enjoyed this story, it was very easy to read and had great pacing. The characters were well developed and Lucy was presented as a very typical 16 year old with all her attitude and ‘worries’. The unique aspect of the paranormal was refreshing and the underlying story for Lucy made me so much more vested in her character. I feel there is still so much more to explore in book 2 and I look forward to it.
entertaining and easy to read. overall an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours