Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for allowing me the opportunity to early read and review The Raven's Tale. All opinions and thoughts are my own and have not been influenced by this opportunity.

I am not entirely sure where to begin with this one. I went into this story with incredibly high hopes. I mean, just look at that cover! It is incredibly gorgeous and really drew me in to want to read this story about Edgar Allen Poe. But, in all honesty that's where my love for this book ends.

It's just that, nothing happened. Throughout this whole story it felt like the plot never moved anywhere and it began to drag the last half of the book because I could tell the pace wasn't going to pick up or take us anywhere. I find it difficult to like a book when nothing happens and we get nothing out of the plot.

I also didn't particularly care for the characters? I feel terrible saying that but I don't know how else to put it. Edgar just went through the motions of writing, seeing his muse, fighting, more writing, seeing his muse again and so on and so on. Edgar's Muse Lenore was just, entirely boring to me. I understand her reasoning for being angry at Edgar but also, YAWN already bored just thinking about it again because this is all that happens throughout the story.

I'm just not entirely sure what I read here, and I was mostly disappointed in this book because I was really looking forward to it but I just can't enjoy a book that has dull unlikable characters and essentially no plot.

This makes 3/3 Cat Winters books that I’ve given 5 stars to. It has a survivalistic aspect & some high-stakes conflict that kept me reading, along with such a unique personification of people’s aptitude for the arts as living, breathing muses.

I really enjoyed this book. Edgar Allan Poe is my favorite writer of all time and this unique tale of how he came to write his masterpieces was amazing. I don’t think this novel is for everyone. It has Poe’s writing style in full length novel form. It isn’t a page turning fantasy story. It is a story of how a mans horror becomes his muse. It is slow paced. I do think it needed a bit more going on. The premise is great but it does seem to drag at parts. Since it’s a full length novel I think there should have been more to the plot. I really like this book and I recommend it to fellow Poe lovers. It was dark and honest and full of the twisted thoughts that are common in Poe’s works.

Oh, this was right up my alley! I could tell after only reading two chapters in.

This concept, taking a real historical figure, known for their connections to bizarre and haunting things, and turning their story into a true paranormal tale is really amazing, and Cat Winters does it wonderfully. This makes me want to read a more realistic biography of Poe and see where the similarities are. I know he lost his parents and that they were theater performers (or at least I knew about his mother, didn’t know his father was as well). I don’t know much about his foster family (the Allans), his time at university, or any of his other relationships. It would be very interesting to see just how much Winters did her homework, but guessing from her notes and resources, she did it pretty well.

I love that Edgar’s muse is personified into an actual creature that haunts and torments him. The chapters flip back and forth between Edgar (or “Eddy”) and his muse, a terrifying creature of a woman who he names Lenore (because of course he did). Lenore is absolutely fascinating. There is a constant struggle between them as Eddy fights to rise above where he came from, but also to honor the part of him that revels and loves the macabre. This struggle grows as another muse, one that tempts his love of satire, also fights for Eddy’s intellect and talents.

This book just came out this past Tuesday, April 16th, and everyone needs to go get it, right now. Especially if you are a Poe fan, but even if you aren’t familiar with his work, you will enjoy this.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! I imagine myself saying from the pulpit in the pink sanctuary of our church. My name is Edgar Poe, and today, for reasons I don’t fully comprehend, I’m obsessed with the seventy-two bodies buried beneath us.”

This is my very first Cat Winters novel and it certainly wont be my last - her Goodreads bio explains her writing style as that of fiction that blends history with the supernatural...um can I get a witness?! Someone please hook Cat Winters novels up to my veins! Too much?

This dark story is a retelling of Edgar Allen Poe's coming of age. He is morbid, curious and witty. I'll admit that I didn't know much about him other than he was a sort of lurid poet in which I have read none of his work (eep!). Nonetheless, I was fascinated with his life in Winters depiction and loved how his mind ebbed and toiled. The muse that has manifested in his life is given the name Lenore after the famous woman in his poem, 'The Raven'. I enjoyed the volley between Edgar and Lenore's perspectives and though at times slow and confusing, I still absolutely loved the lyrical style of Winters writing and that is what kept me going. While listed as YA, it it felt a lot to me like a blend between The Bear and the Nightingale and Uprooted (two of my favourite books of life); too dark and whimsical to be in that genre, but also not adult fiction either. It is in a category of some sort of amazingness that cannot be described.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and  Amulet Books for an advanced copy of this book for an honest review.

Seventeen-year-old Edgar Poe can't wait to escape his foster family's home to go to university. He loves his foster mother, but his foster father cuts down his attempts at poetry and the intellectual pursuits. This is complicated by the appearance of his macabre muse in physical form, whom he names Lenore.

The Raven's Tale is a work of historical fiction, which should be clear from the outset: muses don't generally take physical form and walk around cities leaving behind ashy footsteps. Cat Winters states from the outset that some liberties are taken with this exploration of Edgar Poe's teenage years, and that is one. The emotional connection that Edgar has for his mother (foster and biological), his biological sister, his love for Elmira, his need to be known for his own intelligence and abilities, and his need to write feel very realistic. He feels isolated from those in the higher social class of Richmond, Virginia because his birth family had been theater actors, even though he had been raised in wealth and given the impressive formal education that they did. That college education that Edgar yearned for is stymied from the start by his foster father, who refuses to provide all of the tuition or fees needed, starting Edgar on the path of loans and gambling to try to make ends meet.

I didn't know much about Edgar Poe's early life or background, so I enjoyed getting a glimpse into the time period and what his life could have been like. The people around him are also realistic portraits of who they could have been, which tells me that Cat Winters did extensive research not only into the details of Poe's life but into the time period and the major figures of his life. In fact, we do get a closing chapter that tells us more about what happens to them all when they're adults, long after this story closes.

The main focus of this story is the battle between Art and Logic, as symbolized by the muses that Edgar interacts with and the fears of his foster father cutting off all financial support. It's a very real fear because the story of the starving artist can have disastrous consequences if they do occur. While fragments of poetry will feed the muse, they won't feed Edgar. As a teenager, Edgar faces the longing to be accepted and make friends and is stricken when those friendships prove to be far more shallow than he had supposed. The poetry scattered throughout the text is actually derived from the first published work that he made, as well as some of Cat Winters' own attempts to mimic it. It really weaves together events in a way that it feels like the natural inspiration for some of his early work. I really appreciate the time and research put in, and how real that everyone felt throughout the novel.

Thanks to Amulet Books and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This novel is essentially a fictional account of the life of a young Edgar Allan Poe with some magical realism thrown in for good measure. I was really looking forward to reading it because although I'm not a huge Poe fan, the premise sounded interesting and well, the cover looks totally awesome. I've also heard a lot of really positive things about Cat Winters from other book bloggers so I was excited to read it.

The book alternates between two different viewpoints, that of Edgar Allan Poe and his supernatural 'muse' Lenore. I struggled a bit with Poe's chapters, I just didn't gel with him. Perhaps big Poe fans would feel differently but I just didn't find him very interesting. I enjoyed the Lenore chapters quite a bit more despite how utterly weird they sometimes were. I can do weird though.

This novel has clearly been exhaustively researched and the author's love for Poe shines through on every page. The premise was interesting but the main problem is that it's just not very interesting. Nothing really happens and I just found myself really bored reading it. I don't want to dwell on the negative because the author is clearly very talented, it just didn't work for me.

I received an ARC of this book through the publisher for an honest review.

The Raven’s Tale by Cat Winters is a fictionalized and fantasied account of Edgar Allan Poe’s teenage years. In the story artists have muses that can be manifested if given a name. Edgar, of course, names his muse Lenore after the famous woman in his poem The Raven. The story is told through both Edgar and Lenore’s perspectives.

I’ll admit, I had a tough time reading this book. The writing was absolutely gorgeous, and very lyrical. This is the first young adult novel that I’ve read in a long time where I did not understand some words the author used. There were a couple of times that I had to stop and look up the definition of a word. To me, The Raven’s Tale didn’t feel like a young adult novel, but it also didn’t feel like an adult novel. It exists in this liminal space where other books like The Bear and The Nightingale, Uprooted, and Six of Crows inhabit as well. I really wonder if I would enjoy this book more as an audiobook as I do like purple-prosy works more heard rather than read.

Something else that really stuck out to me about The Raven’s Tale is how much it reminded me of Guillermo del Toro’s work. His films all have a certain feel to them that is hard to describe, but it’s a vibe I definitely got from this book. In particular, I kept thinking of Crimson Peak and Pan’s Labyrinth when reading The Raven’s Tale.

If you are a fan of highly atmospheric books like The Strange and Beautiful Life of Ava Lavender, Bone Gap, The Raven Boys, or Guillermo del Toro’s films, then you should give The Raven’s Tale a try.

As soon as I heard about this I had to have it and read it. A retelling about Edgar Allan Poe and his muse? Sign me up! I liked that this included some of his poetry. I enjoyed the story and reading about Poe as a teenager and about his muse. His muse was such a vivid character that I was rooting for. The author did a great job with this! I wouldn’t mind a continuation from where this ended.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

At this point, I do not feel comfortable assigning a rating to this book; I DNFed it at about 50%. The copy I received for review was an ebook, so I may try again once the book is in print.

I love Edgar Allan Poe and was very excited when I saw the description for this book. A story about Poe and his creepy gothic muse? YES PLEASE! But I've struggled to get to the halfway point, and the story itself is just . . . a bit boring, actually. I really wanted to like this one, but I just don't. As I have other review copies currently in my possession running out of time, I'm going to put this one down for now and move forward.

The Raven's Tale by Cat Winters is this author's newest historical fantasy novel. As she's one of my favorite authors (this is the fifth book I've read from her), I can't believe I lucked out and got approved by NetGalley for this novel featuring Edgar Allan Poe, one of my favorite classic writers, and his muse. Unfortunately, it's my least favorite of everything I've already read from her. That being said, I'm still giving it three stars so there's still quite a bit that I liked even if it didn't live up to my expectations. As always, Winters' writing is lush and richly detailed. She has clearly done her research to create 1820s Richmond and Charlottesville, Virginia as well as bring Edgar's early years to life. I also particularly enjoyed getting to know our young and creatively passionate Edgar Allan Poe. He's trying to come to terms with himself, his work, and his foster father's expectations for his future. Winters does a pretty fantastic job of recreating his Poe's style, by the way. The weakest points for me though were the concept of the muses and the plot itself. I felt too out of the loop when it came to how the muses work, especially when I realized some other characters have them as well. That said, I still enjoyed reading Lenore's perspective chapters. As for the plot, not a whole lot happens over the course of 368 pages - I suppose I was hoping for a little more action. Overall, though, The Raven's Tale is still definitely worth reading if you're a fan of Cat Winters' wonderful style, Edgar Allan Poe, and historical fantasy.

The Ravens Tale

I received an ARC of The Raven’s Tale in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to ABRAMS Kids for supplying a copy for me.

Synopsis-

Seventeen-year-old Edgar Poe counts down the days until can escape his foster family- the wealthy Allan’s of Richmond, Virginia. He hungers for his upcoming life as a student at the prestigious new university, almost as much as he longs to marry his beloved Elmira Royster. However, on the brink of his departure, all his plans go awry when a macabre Muse names Lenore appears to him. Muses are frightful creatures that lead Artists down a path of ruin and disgrace, and no respectable person could possibly understand or accept them. But Lenore steps out of the shadows with one request: “Let them see me!”

I wasn’t sure how I would feel going into this book but I actually liked it more than I thought I would. Some parts where a little confusing but overall it was interesting and entertaining and kept my interest.

“Give me a name that means ‘light,’ not shadow,” she says, “and we may be able to show them there’s beauty in horror.”

I found this book to be unique and quite interesting. Reading a book that’s a retelling of Edgar Allan Poe is something that I haven’t seen before and I liked how it started off and took flight. It was interesting seeing the events that took place in the book and watching Edgar discover his Muse and watching Lenore battle to be recognized and appreciated.

“Sometimes muses follow us around when we don’t want them. But other times they’re not there when we need them.”

The creative have muses, it’s just a matter of choosing to shun them or embrace them.

“No man has ever died from stifling his muse, said Pa tonight- but oh, my dear Pa, what you don’t understand is that no artist truly lives after silencing their muse!”

4/5 Stars!

I was excited for this book. The premise was promising and the expectation was high. But that could have been my own fault and the downfall of my experience with The Raven's Tale.

I bounced around throughout most of this book. My biggest disconnect was the pacing to this book. While I thought Edgar and Lenore could be interesting, I found myself repeating the same page to grasp at the story and where it was going. I gave it until about chapter 10 before I was becoming disinterested, and that was mostly due to my lack of interest to the subject at this time.

I didn't relate to Lenore enough. I found her strange and odd, and not in a quirky way. I skipped a lot of parts with her, and unfortunately didn't get to understand Edgar as much as I wanted to.

But I appreciated the amount of work and detail that Winters put into this story. You can tell just from the amount of information put in.

*Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.*

I have never been so sad to not love a book. Like ever. And usually, when it's a book by an author I adore, I can find some things to like even if I don't love everything. But this was just not the book for me, I guess? Le sigh, let us break it down!

The Things I Liked:

•Young Edgar is, you know, a regular dude. I liked that he wasn't completely broody and maudlin. He was just a guy who loved to write, had fallen in love, and wanted to make something of himself on his own terms. I mean, sure he was intense and such, but that isn't a bad thing! It was a good choice to write him in a likable and relatable way.

•The time period/historical stuff was so fun to learn about! Since I didn't go to college in Virginia in the 1800s, this was a fun new adventure! I loved the look into the lives that Edgar and his contemporaries lived. Also, the author has a ton of information at the end of the book about Edgar, his family, and his friends that we meet in the book. This was probably my favorite part.

The Things I Didn't:

•Nothing... happened? Like Eddy had a beer today, cool, cool. He hugged his mom, splendid. I just kept waiting for the plot and it wasn't there. It never came. Like okay he "met" Leonore, his muse. Whatever even that is, I have no idea because it wasn't ever fully explained. Fought with his dad. Wrote some stuff. And then this whole thing repeated a few times: Muse encounter, writing, fight with Dad, lather rinse repeat as needed.

•Lenore was a bore. See what I did there? It's nice that I amuse myself, no? Anyyyyway, I had to because Lenore certainly wasn't amusing me. Like, she was pretty pissed, and I get it because hello, Edgar wasn't exactly treating her nicely. But would I treat a hallucination/bird-person nicely? NO. In part because you all know how I feel about bird people, but also I wouldn't want to be hallucinating so um of course he wanted her to vanish? Like sweetie, use some common sense. You're whatever a muse is, and that is probably scary.

•Like I mentioned, I never completely understood the muse concept. Is this something that was popular in the nineteenth century? Or was it just a thing for the sake of the story? I am fine with whichever, but try as I might I couldn't find anything specific on this "muse" business, because there are a lot of things/products named Muse. And when I searched "Poe Muse" it just kept trying to link me to a Poe Museum which is decidedly not what I wanted and this is turning into more of a story about Google than a review so I'll stop. My point is, why did everyone and their mom (literally) see this... thing? Woman? Bird? Look I don't even know, okay.

•I just couldn't bring myself to care about anyone or anything. Okay, except for Poe's adopted Mom, she's the real hero here. Maybe next we just write a book about her, but in the book she breaks up with the shitty "father" (who by the by is cheating on her while she lays in her sickbed, what a prince 🙄) and then she takes up... Idk, burlesque dancing to make a living for her and her son, and then she meets a doctor who is able to fix her health stuff but also he falls in love with her and treats her like the queen she really is. And Edgar doesn't die in a gutter, the end. (I mean technically he didn't die there, but shh. He was unconscious there and it makes my story sound much better.)

Bottom Line: Wow look I legitimately made up several of my own stories in this review that might have spiced up the actual book in which nothing happens, but it is a look into old-timey stuff and dead folks which is kinda cool?

So I just have to say: WOW. This book was so artful and wistfully written. I feel almost shameful trying to put words to such a creative and lofty piece of work. Seriously, Cat Winters captures such gothic struggle and beauty between Poe and his Muse, Lenore, that their relationship (if we can call it that) is hard to read sometimes because it is just written in such a way. Poe tries so hard to make something the world expects of him, something he things the people around of him. But Lenore is the ever-present voice of inspiration and creativity. The muse and the shadow and the raven and be known at all.

While I think this book was by far one of the most beautifully written, even moreso than I even expected it could, there wasn't always very much action going on. Sometimes I did have to make myself pick the book back up, but when I did, it was worth it. Great book.

I love Poe so much! This was such a fun book to read and I loooooove the cover. The plot was good but it made up for what it wavered in with its excellent characterization and writing - Everyone should read this!

I love cat Winters books. She’s an astounding writer and this book does not disappoint. Edgar Allen Poe is amazing and she did him justice!! I loved going back in time and reading about this time period.

I am a massive Edgar Allen Poe fan and so when I saw this on Netgalley I immediately had to request it and was so honoured when I was accepted. This novel follows the story of Edgar Poe when he was a teenager trying to ignore his fascination with the gothic and macabre however, his muse is fed up with living in the shadows and wants to be seen by the world. The writing in this is fantastic and I love the way the author imitates Edgar Allen Poe’s writing throughout parts of this. I also adored the gothic atmosphere throughout and now have every intention of reading everything that Cat Winters writes.

Overall, I loved this and gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

The Raven's Tale is a wonderful story on Edgar Allen Poe. Set during his earlier years, the story brings to life muses, giving them flesh and blood to an otherwise literary concept. Where the physical embodiment of muses is more a common thing, Poe has to tip toe around his where his father is concerned. The lyrical narrative of Lenore against Poe's natural speech makes the muse concept even more believable. Cat Winters is definitely an author to keep an eye out for. I can't wait to see what else she plans to bring to the YA community.

Anybody that knows me, knows that I am a huge fan of Edgar Allan Poe so naturally, when I heard about “The Raven’s Tale” by Cat Winters it was an immediate “ Take my money!” scenario.
First of all, that cover! So beautifully done! I absolutely love it! Second of all, Cat has definitely done some extensive research into the life and times of Edgar Allan Poe and that is very much reflected in this book. The book centers around a teenage Poe and his muse, Lenore. Told in alternating point of views, “The Raven’s Tale is a very,very strange yet beautiful tale.
This story was dark, depressing even. But, if you know anything about Poe, you know that his life was dark…depressing even. Be aware that there are some triggers including abuse, death, and violence as well as slavery (which I wasn’t aware of going in). I have not read any of Cat Winters other work, but I will be sure to check them out in the future.

*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*