Intriguing author Antonia Hodgson presents one of the best fantasy debuts of 2025 with The Raven Scholar, a powerful and complex novel that hooks you early and refuses to let go all the way to its shocking end.

In the empire of Orrun, a new emperor is crowned every 24 years, with a replacement chosen from acolytes of the eight animal guardians whose blessings have warded and kept the empire in check for generations. However, the current emperor, Bersun the Brusque, has not had a peaceful reign, marred by an attempted assassination and the subsequent execution of his attacker’s daughter. His replacement offers a chance at a new era for Orrun, but the sins of the past continue to haunt all involved.

As the next Trials to determine the next emperor begin, seven skilled and revered young challengers emerge for the crown, and it falls to Neema Kraa, the emperor’s brilliant, if unsocial, High Scholar to organise much of the proceedings. However, the Trials are thrown into chaos when the Raven contender is brutally murdered, and all the evidence points to Neema as the suspect.

Tasked with proving her innocence, Neema is shocked when emperor Bersun decides to make her the new Raven contender. Suddenly facing six highly skilled rival contenders who have trained their entire lives to compete in the trials, as well as a proxy chosen by the mystical Dragon temple, Neema finds herself fighting for her life in the deadliest contests imaginable. If she succeeds, she could take the throne, but to do so she must first survive a dark conspiracy infecting the palace, one that threatens all Orrun and could lead to a new age of darkness for the empire. Nothing is what it seems, and with the animal guardians returning to the world, chaos is about to engulf the trials, changing its contenders forever.

With an exceptional and powerful story that I could just not put down, The Raven Scholar was a particularly amazing fantasy debut that I absolutely could not stop reading. Clever, twisty, and continuously exciting, Antonia Hodgson really impressed me with The Raven Scholar, and due to how quickly I absorbed its over 600 pages of content, I have no choice but to give it a full five-star rating.

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The Raven Scholar hooked me from page one. With a fiercely smart heroine, a vividly imagined world, and a plot that blends murder mystery with high-stakes political intrigue, this book is everything I love in fantasy.

Neema is a standout protagonist—brilliant, bold, and deeply human—and the Raven’s narrative voice adds a clever, mystical layer to the storytelling. The trials, the lore, the slow-burn tension… all of it was executed beautifully.

Even at nearly 600 pages, it never dragged. A must-read for fans of intricate, character-driven epics. Can’t wait for book two!

One of the most engaging and unique epic fantasy books I've ever read.
With incredible world building, complex characters, political intrigue, and a mysterious plot that kept me guessing.
I love everything about this book and only wish there were more like this instead of the tidal wave of cookie-cutter romantasy that's been dominating the publishing industry lately.
The Raven Scholar is by far my favourite book of 2025 so far!

An absolute behemoth of a book but jam packed with amazing worldbuilding, amazinbg stroy and great characters!
An absolute joy to read and so please to be able to advance read it!!

Incredible writing and plot development, no notes! I loved the worldbuilding and this book has been one of the best fantasies I've read in a long time. Genuinely an honour to read :)

Now THIS is what Epic Fantasy is all about! The premise had already engaged me, but reading through this novel made me fall in love with the easy and engaging prose, the setting and the world-building, and most of all, the complex characters! It was interesting to start off the novel from a different POV, and to gradually explore through time skips and explore all the lore and mysteries that encase the world of the Raven Scholar. Truly a phenomenal novel, with so many unexpected twists and turns along the way, and inevitable attachment to characters <3 I truly need more epic fantasy novels like this in the future, with such a unique concept!

The Raven Scholar is perfect 😍
An epic high fantasy, it follows Neema and her journey from being High Scholar to a contender for the throne. I absolutely loved every character and the way the writing kept changing tense and perspective so seamlessly.
This novel felt like it had inspiration from so many cultures, and I got Chinese zodiac vibes when it came to the Eight (the animal gods/guardians of the realm) which I found really cool! 🐉🐦‍⬛🐅🐻🐒🦊🐂🐕

Tropes/themes:

🐉 deadly trials
🐦‍⬛ myths and legends
🐉 unlikely heroes
🐦‍⬛ sentient animal/guardians

I thoroughly enjoyed The Raven Scholar - it honestly hooked me right from page 1. There is so much to love in this book - the world, the characters, they mystery and intrigue, the myths and magic. The Raven Scholar is beautifully written and is such a fun, fast read. I can't wait for more from this series!

The Raven Scholar is an absolute gem and deserves all the hype!! I was hooked from the very first chapter, and before I even finished reading it, I knew I needed a physical copy on my shelf. The story is rich, immersive, and beautifully written, and I adore the characters. They are multi-layered and complex. Hodgson has created an amazing world and I can't wait to see how the story continues!

I’ll admit, The Raven Scholar sat on my shelf for a bit. I kept meaning to pick it up, but somehow it kept getting edged out by other reads. What finally pushed me over the edge? One of my best friends—who works at a bookstore and had a physical ARC—told me it was hands down the best book she’d read this year. She loved it so much she’s buying a finished copy. And let me just say: she was absolutely right.

This book is wild—in the best way. Part political fantasy, part murder mystery, part cutthroat competition, it’s ambitious, chaotic, and entirely captivating. And somehow, despite juggling all those threads, Antonia Hodgson makes it work beautifully. It’s clever, emotionally rich, and wildly unpredictable.

At the heart of it is Neema Kraa, a prickly, socially awkward, brilliant scholar who is suddenly yanked into a deadly tournament to choose the next emperor—and, oh yeah, is also tasked with solving the murder of the original raven contender. She’s completely out of her depth, and that’s exactly what makes following her so satisfying. Neema doesn’t win by being the strongest or most charismatic—she survives by being clever, observant, and just desperate enough to out-think everyone else in the room. She’s also in her mid-thirties, neurodivergent, and deeply flawed in a way that makes her feel real and fresh in a genre that often leans on teenage prodigies.

The narrative voice is one of the book’s biggest strengths. The omniscient, snarky, sentient raven POV? Genuinely brilliant. The book plays with perspective and form in unexpected ways—sometimes fairytale-adjacent, sometimes modern and irreverent—and it absolutely shouldn’t work, but it does.

The worldbuilding is rich and layered, full of gods, mythology, courtly posturing, and a magic system that feels fresh and mysterious. The structure—trials, secrets, backstory revealed in slivers—is as tense and twisty as you’d want from a story that combines murder mystery with political fantasy. And somehow, amid all the scheming and bloodshed, Hodgson still finds room for a soft, messy romance that never steals the spotlight but adds just the right emotional depth.

The Raven Scholar is one of the most creative, entertaining, and emotionally resonant fantasy debuts I’ve read in a long time. It’s not just fun—it’s ambitious and weird and smart and heartfelt in a way that completely won me over. I went in blind. I came out obsessed.

A new voice in epic fantasy - how exciting! This is an ambitious tale involving political fantasy with a murder mystery. Intrigue, drama and adventure ensue in a brutal competition for the throne. Told through the eyes of raven scholar Neema Kraa, a smart and compelling character, who is trying to unravel the truth. Interesting fantasy with solid world building if somewhat long.

This was the best fantasy novel that I have read in a long, long, long time. And trust me, I’ve read a lot of fantasy books. Filled with well-developed and interesting characters, as well as a well thought out and executed plot, The Raven Scholar is an absolute delight.

While at first it feels a little slow, merely because you’re not quite sure where the book is going, it certainly picks up along the way and all the intrigue around the plot keeps you engaged. There were so many twists and turns that I did not see coming but then when they happened, I realised yes, that makes so much sense, how did I miss that?

The main plot follows Neema, the High Scholar to the emperor. Unloved by the rest of the raven cohort and shunned by court, Neema is nearly friendless and when her greatest enemy turns up dead on the eve of the competition to become the new emperor, Neema only loses popularity when she is tasked to investigate the death, while taking her enemy’s place in the competition.

Determined to prove the rest of the raven flock wrong, Neema struggles through the trials, using her wits and knowledge, all the while trying to find the killer at large. Neema is snarky and humorous, while maintaining the grace and poise required for court. She is a well loved character and I can’t wait to see her grow even more.

The subsequent cast are also very well developed, each having their own arc that happened off and on the page and feels very natural.

My only critique of this book is that it’s the first in the series and the rest haven’t been written/published yet. Sobs into the void. But it’s okay, I will 100% be back for the second and third book in the trilogy.

Thank you so much to Hachette and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the way this book started, it had me hooked immediately and I was so intrigued about where this book was headed. Within this book the ruler of the kingdom is decided in a tournament where a competitor from each of the 8 animal spirit houses competes.
There were some really great plot twists, some were a little obvious whilst others I didn't see coming at all. I did feel like the book was a bit longer than needed. I also struggled to like the main character, Neema, especially since I really liked Yana whose POV we followed at the start of the book.

Overall, this was still an interesting book, and I think if you like magical tournaments, with a bit of romance, scheming and plot twists then you should definitely give this is a read!

This was a breath of fresh air. I have read so many average fantasy books in the last few weeks but this one well and truly got me out of my reading slump. I loved the world building, the different factions dedicated to different animals and their characteristics. I enjoyed the balance between mystery and fantasy, although a lot was added into the plot I never felt like either element suffered. The layers of secrets were so satisfying and the twists and turns had been hooked right until the end. When the big reveal occurred, I was so tempted to start over to see what foreshadowing I may have missed, it was beautiful done. My only critique (and it’s a small one) would be that it did feel a bit too repetitive in the middle. The world had been set and I just wanted to dive into the action. That might just be because I am too impatient and want to get to the drama. The secondary characters were well developed and had a purpose which I thoroughly enjoyed. I’m happy to embrace a large cast, if they all help create the world and keep the plot moving. Overall I really enjoyed this one. One of my favourite fantasy books for the year so far.

In the words of the raven … this was Magnificent.

The Raven Scholar tells the story of Neema Kraa, high scholar to Emperor Bersun, whose reign is coming to an end after 24 years on the throne. As is tradition in the nation of Orrun, the new Emperor will be chosen in a grand festival of trials and fights between 7 contenders, each representing one of the empire’s holy animal guardians. When one of the contenders is murdered, Neema finds herself thrust into the murder investigation and the festival…

I don’t want to say more than that about the plot because I truely think this is a book best experienced with little knowledge of what to expect, but this is absolutely one of the best high fantasy novels I’ve read, and my jaw was on the floor multiple times. A couple things I enjoyed particularly were the characters (so complex!! so well developed!! In Neema and Sol’s case particularly, so loveable!!), the world building (really unique, from the palaces to the trials!), and the narration (again I don’t want to spoil it but it was so unique and well executed!).

I don’t know how I’m going to survive the wait for book two.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Hachette ANZ for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. I really enjoyed the pov from the Raven guardian and Sol quickly became a favourite character.

The mfc Neema was very likeable and her growth was written perfectly. The way each character fit so perfectly into their guardian traits was incredible. The darker side of the plot I thought was really well integrated into the bigger story.

A high fantasy, murder mystery, with more focus on the scholarly side and many many twists and surprises. I loved it. Very excited for book 2

Now this is high, epic fantasy.

I loved The Raven Scholar. This book had such beautiful world building. I could almost feel immersed in every decadent layer. I could readily see the characters and their actions play out before me as if on a screen. The different monasteries, the mythology, the lore of the story… it drew me in, held me in its grasp and didn’t let go. This book was exciting and was the perfect fantasy fix.

Technically I’ll be giving it a 4.75 ⭐️ just because the writing style did take some getting used to but other than that, I don’t have many notes

(Also low key, I bought a shelf trophy and it didn’t feel so chonky when I was reading it! My goodness!)

The Raven Scholar Antonia Hodgson
 
Many thanks to @hachetteaus for the ARC of this book.
 
The Raven Scholar is a steeped in ancient lore and mythology that is reminiscent of the Chinese zodiac, where monasteries worship an animal and consider their affiliates to display positive traits associated with these sacred Guardians.  Throw in epic trials, a murder and the race to solve the crime and you have what sounds like a very intriguing story.
 
We meet our characters at the commencement of the trial, where the ancient monasteries send one contender each to compete to prove their worthiness to be the next Emperor of Orrun.  When one of the contenders is murdered, the story kicks in and we are along for the ride as Neema, the MC tries to solve the crime for the Emperor.
 
I really enjoyed this book, though it was not without its faults. The trials were the main plot of the story, however weren’t really detailed well and were not very focal to the plot in my opinion.  I felt like the history of Orrun and the guardians were very important to the story, however weren’t detailed enough throughout the book.  The worldbuilding was very much tell and not show, I really wanted more worldbuilding and to understand what significance these guardians played to the overarching plot. The lore was delivered to us as we needed it.  The dialog between the characters felt a bit YA a lot of the time.  Having said this, I did like the relationship between Neema and Cain, they were both standouts for me.
 
What really hooked me was the Raven. The Raven and the other sacred animals were utilised in a really unique way throughout the story and really helped push the narrative along.  This was a really long book, over 700 pages and it did feel a bit too long at times.
 
Having said all this, the ending was interesting, though a bit tropey and predictable in parts but I enjoyed the book so much I will definitely read on in the series.

This high fantasy with a splash of romance is definitely something different with the world building that gets things started to the different houses with animals.

I love the characters in this and neema is definitely shaping up to be one of my favs.

I get wait to read more of this series.

This book captured me from page 1. I am so excited for this book to come out. I haven’t even officially finished reading it yet, but damn it’s so good!