SHADOW OF THE RAVEN (SONS OF KINGS BOOK 1)
by Millie Thorn

5 stars

Set in the times of Alfred the Great's childhood. When the Danes were attacking, King Beorhtwulf of Mercia and King Aethelwulf of Wessex form an alliance to fight. Beorhtwulf's brother turns traitor and betrays him to the Danes in exchange for Kingship and Morwenna, Beorhtwulf's wife.
Eadwulf, Beorhtwulf's son, is taken as a thrall or slave to the Viking's. His mistress and her sons do not like him and find any reason to punish or torture him.
Alfred, son to Aethelwulf, is 5 years old when the story begins. He is already very mature and seems to be prepped to be king, despite having 3 older brothers. The story follows the 2 youngsters lives and hardships.
We are grabbed from the very first chapter. The author gives great detail in everything (from clothing to landscaping). She takes us to the time of King Alfred easily.
I enjoyed Shadow of the Raven immensely. There was plenty of action, suspense, love, and heartbreak. The characters are mostly likable, you can feel for their plight, and rejoice in any good that comes to them. Bjorn is possibly my favorite character in the book. There were a couple of typos in my version, but that always seems to happen in ebook versions. And it wasn't so bad, that it disturbed the story for me.

The author does a great job blended true historical events with the fictional side of the story.

I am looking forward to book 2 in the series.