A Sword Among Ravens (The Long-Hair Saga) by Cynthia Ripley-Miller #BookReview #HistoricalFiction @CRipleyMiller @maryanneyarde

 

I am so excited to share my review of A Sword Among Ravens (The Long-Hair Saga) by Cynthia Ripley-Miller. Thank you so much to The Coffee Pot Book Club for your invite to take part in this tour.

A Sword Among Ravens

The Long-Hair Saga

By Cynthia Ripley-Miller

In a grave, on the edge of a Roman battlefield, an ancient sword has been discovered. Legend claims it belonged to King David of Israel and carries a curse—those who wield it will tragically die—but not the chosen.   

AD 455. Arria Felix and her husband, Garic the Frank, have safely delivered a sacred relic to Emperor Marcian in Constantinople. But now, Arria and Garic will accept a new mission. The emperor has asked them to carry the sword of King David of Israel to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem where Arria will dedicate it in her murdered father’s memory.

As Arria and Garic travel into the heart of the Holy Land, they face many challenges and dangers. Their young daughter is missing then found in the company of a strange and suspicious old monk. A brutal killer stalks their path. And a band of cold-blooded thieves is determined to steal the sword for their own gains. But when Arria confronts the question of where the sword should truly rest—old friendships, loyalties, and her duty are put to the test like never before. At every turn, Arria and Garic find themselves caught in a treacherous mission wrapped in mystery, murder, and A Sword Among Ravens.

An ancient artefact. A curse. A mission.

What could possibly go wrong?

Quite a lot, actually. 

The mission, if Arria chooses to accept it, is to take the Sword of David back to Jerusalem. The only problem is that the Sword of David is cursed and now that it is rumoured to exist, there are many who are determined to claim it as their own by any means.

This novel is set in the fifth century, and it is all very political and exciting. The ancient Sword of King David (you know, the guy with the slingshot who killed Goliath) must be returned to The Holy Lands. Although fictional in the telling, I quite liked the idea of a cursed sword. A cursed slingshot would have been a good idea too - just a thought!!! Anyway, as per normal, I am going off track, I shall endeavour to reign myself back in. But a cursed slingshot—I am sure no one has written a book about that before?!

Right back to the review. The cursed sword has already claimed one victim, and obviously, it should be taken to the Christian Church of the Holy Sepulchre because, obviously, the Jews had no claim on it. All that Arria, the heroine of this novel, has to do is get it there - a task that turns out to be easier said than done. So buckle up for quite the adventure.

The author has taken the risky decision to give all the characters a chance to tell their side of the story - so as a reader, we experience both sides of the coin, so to speak. I thought the author pulled this off exceptionally well, and although the character list is vast, I found it relatively easy to keep up with who everyone was.

I really did enjoy this novel, but there were two things that left me with a little frown upon my forehead. Firstly, out of the blue, there is a love scene. Now I am no prude, I don’t mind a love scene, but it just seemed so out of place in this story. The second thing that not only left me with a little frown but also made me screw up my nose was the ending. The build-up to the ending is fabulously written, it is all very exhilarating, but the ending itself was all very fluffy and forgiving, and for me it fell a little flat.

Regardless of my nitpicking, I really did enjoy this novel. The attention to the history of the period was particularly vivid in the telling. This is a book that I certainly enjoyed, and I would definitely read other novels written by this author.

I received a copy of this book from The Coffee Pot Book Club you can find yours just about everywhere: Amazon UK • Amazon US • Amazon CA • Amazon AU • Barnes and Noble and Kobo.

Cynthia Ripley Miller is a first generation Italian-American writer with a love for history, languages, and books. She has lived in Europe and traveled world-wide, holds two degrees, and taught history and English. Her short fiction has appeared in the anthology Summer Tapestry, at Orchard Press Mysteries.com, and The Scriptor. She is a Chanticleer International Chatelaine Award finalist with awards from Circle of Books-Rings of Honor and The Coffee Pot Book Club. She has reviewed for UNRV Roman History, and blogs at Historical Happenings and Oddities: A Distant Focus and on her website, www.cynthiaripleymiller.com

Cynthia is the author of On the Edge of Sunrise, The Quest for the Crown of Thorns, and A Sword Among Ravens, books 1-3 in her Long-Hair Saga series set in Late Ancient Rome, France, and Jerusalem. Cynthia lives outside of Chicago with her family, along with a cute but bossy cat. 

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