The Raven God is a middlegrade modern-day mythology re-imagining of the Norse gods and is perfect for fans of Rick Riordan’s books.

Odin has been killed, mischievous Loki has been freed, and the giants are planning to make war — that’s a lot of trouble for a group of talented young teens to take on.

The Raven God is the third novel in this series, and I would recommend that readers begin with the first book in the series, unlike me, jumping in at book three. I understood most of what was going on, but it would have helped to know the main characters well, since there were so many of them.

Speaking of which, there are multiple POV characters. Sam is the main character, and his quest is to raise Odin from the dead. He takes two friends with him, and the other teens disperse to help gain allies for the war with the giants.

It was quite an interesting story, based loosely on Norse mythology though made appropriate for the age-group. As a middlegrade novel, the characters were young and the adults, while present and active, weren’t the ones going on dangerous quests. There was definitely violence, though it was not described in much of detail. And there was magic, very evil villains, and a tiny touch of romance. Also, some of the villains were portrayed as not entirely evil but misunderstood.

As a whole, I enjoyed the story and think it is appropriate for its age group.

I received a complementary copy of this book. All opinions are my own, and I was not obligated to provide a positive review.

I did not realize upon requesting this book that it was the last in a trilogy. I normally look for these things when I see a book is part of a series but the cover and synopsis were so incredible that I forgot.

As a result, I do not think is fair for me to review the book, since it would affect my opinion quite negatively, but what I read, and the opinions I have seen, have intrigued me enough to add the trilogy to my 'to be read' pile, that's for sure. I love Norse mythology, but it also has elements from other fantastical tales, which was one of the draws for me.

Probably I should have read the actual series before requesting this on netgalley.................. I'll get right on that

Loved it! Fast paced. Action-packed. Mythology. I want more! I cannot wait to read more of this series.

P.S. I have not read the first two books; however, I still really enjoyed it. Also, once I read the first two, I will have a full review.

Had to shelf this even though I wanted to read it as I discovered it's the third book in the series and I haven't read the previous 2. Hopefully I'll get my hands on the trilogy at some point from the library or otherwise. That way I can come back to this and give it a proper review.

I love this series! I enjoy Norse mythology and this ius perfect for all ages!

The Raven God is the third book in the Legends of Orkney series. The God of Mischief, Loki, is on the loose and determined to reunite with his evil wife, Angerboda, and their three children. Sam is on a mission to the underworld to find Odin and bring him back to life. While the rest of Orkney clambers to get their armies together to defeat the evil Red Army that Loki has set upon them. 

I keep accidentally reading random books in a series? Fortunately, Adam's middle-grade fantasy, Legends of Orkney, has books that can stand alone. The Raven God was a wonderful installment that focuses a lot on the God of Mischief, Loki. 

The pace is fast throughout the book with little downtime in between. It was a struggle to put this book down unless I hit an end of the chapter due to how busy the plot was. As there's an ensemble cast of heroes, there is always a POV for some action. 

Each of the different heroes had their own quests within this book which were unique to one another. The heroes had their own obstacles to avoid and conquer. This allowed me understand who each of the characters were without being properly introduced to them.

There's a vague Percy Jackson vibe due to the use of Norse mythology. But the myths have been altered a lot to fit the story arc that Adams wanted. I enjoyed the setting of Orkney rather than another book set on Earth. The main 4 heroes are from Earth so we're exploring a new land with people who are very relateable. 

The Raven God is super easy to read. Unlike some books, it wasn't hard to keep up with the different factions and characters. The storyline was well thought out and Adams seems to have covered all plot points by the end. I didn't need to focus too much on hints throughout as it was very straight forward. So perfect for a before bed read.

I received The Raven God* by Alane Adams as an e-book from the publisher via Netgalley. This is an unbiased and honest review.

I want to preface that I did not know this was the third book in a trilogy when I requested it. I thought the cover was stunning and didn't see anything that indicated this wasn't the first book. That being said, I did enjoy what I read. I'm a sucker for stories that include mythologies and this one didn't disappoint. I will be reading the entire series and giving this one a reread in the correct order. I'm anticipating my rating my change and will post a full review on my blog after I've read the other books.

Fantastic sequel. Just as good, if not better than the first novel.

i wasnt a huge fan of this series so i ended up DNFing this book. The story wasn't for me. i couldn't connect with the characters and honestly, i have a very larger TBR pile to waste time on a book series i am not liking. I might come back to it some day but right now this is where it stands.

I have been enjoying this series based on Norse mythology. It differs from other similar books out there in that it takes place in Orkney part of the nine realms, not in our world. Our four main heroes come from Earth, but except for the beginning of the first book, they are in Orkney. This book was a continuation of their stories, but felt a little disjointed as they all had their own adventures and were separated from each other for most of the book.

Sam is the most interesting character, he is a son of Odin but also the son of a very powerful witch. He has trouble getting these two sides of himself to work together, but when they do he is a force to be reckoned with. I enjoy the fact that he often makes mistakes and is unsure of his decisions, but goes with it and always makes the best of the situations. I also like his relationship with the other two witches he journeys with Perrin and Mavery. Their dynamic together is very heartwarming and fun to watch, especially when they get stuck in the Sea God Aegir’s Kingdom. Mavery lets Sam make a fool of himself, but when he gets in over his head she does come to his rescue. His journey to rescue Odin and bring him back from Helm was the most interesting of the quests.

Leo and Keely are also good characters with their own strengths and weaknesses, Their journey was not as interesting, but it did involve Loki the most. Loki is rarely depicted in Norse myth as a likable character, but I sort of felt sorry for him in this story. Although he reminds me of a preschooler having a tantrum most of the time, I understood him and why he did what he did most of the time. I think the other gods treat him unkindly and make him what he is, but it was good to see how things worked out for him in the end.

Although the action drags at times this was a pretty exciting and fast paced story. It has some good twists and turns in it that kept you on your toes. I did worry about some of the characters and wether or not they would get out of some of the situations they found themselves in. The adventure into Helm was well done and how they find Odin was interesting. The author weaves some of the actual myths into her story with additions of her own making that work well together. I like the ice giants and Skidblaner, the magical boat, was a fantastic addition to the story.

I’m not sure if this book is the end of the series, I certainly hope not, but if it is this book has a very satisfying ending. I hope to see more of Sam and his friends and their adventures in the future.

This review will go up on my blog, Foxes and Fairy Tales on Sept 10.
https://foxesfairytale.wordpress.com/2017/09/10/review-the-raven-god

Important note: The Raven God is the third in the Legends of Orkney series. I didn't know this when I requested this arc, I want purely on the gorgeous cover. As such, I feel I didn't get the full experience and my rating should be taken with that in consideration.

The Raven God was a fast-paced story and full of action. I can definitely see the comparison to the earlier Percy Jackson books. The protagonist, Sam, is not quite as charming as Percy, but he's been through a tough time in the previous book and trying to set right his mistakes. To me, he sometimes came across as a little too blase about how his actions will affect everyone else, or spent a little long in self-pity, but all of that might be affected by my not having read previous instalments.

There's a lot of side characters and factions in conflict with one another. This makes sense for a finale but I really struggled to get to grips with who everyone was. Few of the characters personalities really stood out to me as being particularly memorable, but again, this is might have been better if I'd read the earlier books.

In short, The Raven God is a fun action-packed middle-grade fantasy. I liked the use of mythology (even if accuracy was a little hit-and-miss in places) and the world felt deep and well-developed.

This is a fun, but unmemorable children's book. And I'm honestly not sure what more there is to say about it. I feel like I would have enjoyed this book more if I'd read the first two books and I wish a few things could have been clearer to me, but overall, I really enjoyed this and I was excited to read it and interested while I was reading it. I probably would have enjoyed it much more if I was still ten, but at my age, it's a bit dull and typical for a children's book.
Biggest problem is that this is basically a Percy Jackson series for middle grade readers. There isn't anything too memorable or different from Percy Jackson and the only ways it really differs are that it's slightly more portal fantasy than Percy Jackson.
Overall, this is really fun. Middle grade readers will love this series, but adults will probably be a bit bored.

"The Raven God" is the conclusion to Sam's adventures in The Legends of Orkney fantasy series by Alane Adams.
There was plenty to keep you glued to your seat in this edition. As usual, Sam and his friends, Leo, Keily and Howie must protect Orkney. This time they have a two fold adventure. They first must find a way to rescue Odin, the All Father, from Helva, ruler of Death. Secondly, with Odin's disappearance, the Fire Giants have decided that now is the time to destroy the Ninth Realm and take Valhalla for their own, led by their king, Surt. All the while, Loki, the trickster god, is playing everyone for saps. It is sometimes easy to forget that Sam is 13 year old dealing with enormous problems. He reads much older than his actual age. His actions speak from the heart as do all his friends. It is an encouraging tale of forgiveness and love.

Alright, so when I requested this it didn't register to me that this was a part of a series so I was a little lost, however, that is completely my fault and will not reflect on my rating whatsoever.
The only thing that it does is make me want to read the other books in the series because WOW!

It's definitely a MUST read for fans of the Percy Jackson series! Really well written, a fantastic plot that while complex and large - was held together really well. The characters and environment were interesting and the books runs at a steady pace. At no point did I feel bored, or felt like it dragged.
I would highly recommend this book for the middle-graders

In this conclusion to Alane Adams's Legends of Orkney trilogy, Sam is given the opportunity to make up for killing Odin. Unfortunately, the method of his redemption results in his freeing Fenrir and Jormungand. Loki is also free, and seeks his revenge by setting Surt on Valhalla.

There are a lot of factions and characters, and they all have a lot to do. Nothing really falls through the cracks, which is impressive. It’s rare to find good Middle Grade fantasy that has a plot this complex with a sense of urgency and lots of branches. This is definitely gateway High Fantasy for younger readers who wonder if they’ll be into stuff like Lord of the Rings.

In a similar vein, the language is also part of that gateway. There’s a rather good mix of easy, even casual language and more difficult vocabulary. The gods in particular lean more towards formality and less common turns of phrase. That makes this a good pick for more precocious readers who get tired of simple language in their books.

The pacing is lightning fast, which can be both good and bad. On the good side, there is always something happening. Exciting action is always on hand. But on the bad side, that means there isn’t much in the way of downtime. A better sense of rhythm would have been nice, with downs as well as ups, slow as well as swift.

The only problem, and for me as a reader it was an inescapable one, is that one of the billed selling points, the Norse mythology, was not well done. Perhaps the intention was to use only the most basic elements of Norse mythology to then spin off into something new. But without that kind of caveat given upfront, I just felt twitchy every time something didn’t scan with my own knowledge. Blame years of studying both Snorri and Saxo. It was weird to see Angrboda called Loki’s wife (what about Sigyn?), and for Loki to be portrayed as a very straightforwardly evil villain. Anyone familiar with Norse mythology who is also picky should probably stick to things like Runemarks.

Obviously, that won’t be a dealbreaker for everyone. Other readers have taken the changed mythology in this series as creative spins. Sam and his friends have their own story and their own difficult choices to make. This story is entirely theirs, and it’s fantastic.

A fun, adventurous read for anyone interested in myths and monsters.