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REVIEW: Green Ravens by A.E. Via
Ravens: Green Ravens – A.E. Via
They erased their memories, rewrote their names, and made them beasts. Now, the hunt for vengeance begins.
Chief Aiken Oakley and Chief Styles Sawyer—two of the US Navy’s most elite Special Warfare Combatant-craft officers—vanished after their mission was ambushed in South America and later presumed MIA.
Captured by the Raven’s organization, a covert assassin program, Oakley and Sawyer are stripped of their past, their memories, and even their names.
They are subjected to inhumane experimentation and injected with predator DNA that transform them into primal, lethal weapons… and are now known only as Valor and Zorion.After breaking free from the program’s control, Valor and Zorion train themselves to master the beasts within them—pushing their minds, bodies, and instincts to the edge.
But to take down the corrupt organization, they’ll need more than strength, fury and an appetite for revenge. They’ll have to form uneasy alliances with the two other deadly Raven units—the strategic, silent Browns, and the ruthless, unpredictable Blacks.
Together, these assassins must unite against the program that created them… and destroy it before it creates something worse.
Black, Brown, and Green Ravens… The organization turned them into weapons, and now they’ve come back for war.
Green Ravens is the second book of the spectacular sci-fi military series Ravens by A.E. Via. The Ravens are genetically enhanced super assassins created by a black ops military program.
Each team is identified by color. The first Ravens were the Blacks, Ex, and Meridian, who have gone rogue. They teamed up with the Browns, Grace, and Mirage, who also broke free as soon as they realized the program director had his own nefarious agenda.
The third team are the Greens, former Navy officers Chief Aiken Oakley and Chief Styles Sawyer. As Navy officers, they worked together on a mission that quickly went tits up, leaving the two to fend for their lives in the Amazon.
They came upon the secret Ravens encampment, and what they thought was a rescue turned out to be a genetic experiment nightmare for both. Now reborn as Valor and Zorion, they have enhanced animal abilities from the spliced DNAs of the Amazon’s apex predators. They just have to bide their time and escape from the insidious grasp of the program director who wants to turn them into mindless killing machines.
A.E. Via outdid herself with this latest installment! Fast-paced and tightly written with a masterful blend of swoon, action, and suspense, Valor and Zorion are your deadly alpha super soldiers and sweet, soulful yearning lovers.
Valor, with the DNA of the jaguar, is dominant, territorial, and protective of Zorion. Zorion has the DNA of the hawk, the natural enemy of the jaguar. Instead of clashing, the bond between the two men remained unbreakable.
Echoes of their mutual attraction in past lives resonate with the magnetic pull of the present, a connection that transcended trauma and amnesia. It’s so unspeakably romantic! And if that’s not squee-tastic enough, we have Valor and Zorion constantly cuddling for that hurt comfort magic!
We have been teased by The Order in Black and Brown, a super-secret society of righteous assassins. Here, we see more of the inner workings of The Order, helping train the Greens, taking down the bad guys, and reworking the Ravens program. The high-octane action scenes were thrilling! I’d love to see them on screen. From Shaolin martial arts to high-tech weaponry, the Greens are on top of their game!
I think the only things missing are detailed sensory descriptions of sight and smell. I wished the author leaned more towards the animal abilities and made Valor and Zorion just a little bit more feral. But giving them hawk and jaguar pets were cool.
I loved the concept of the Cherished, which is what The Order members call the other half of their souls. This is essentially what the Ravens are to each other, and I loved how the author portrayed the trust, loyalty, and love between the couples. With Valor and Zorion, there is a certain vulnerability and coziness to their dynamics, a constant warmth and refreshing lack of antagonism that made them stand out among the Ravens.
The secret society is a badass addition to the already fascinating world of the Ravens. The world-building is fantastic, providing enough details to create a complete picture without info-dumping. The appearances of the Blacks and Browns are cherries on top of an already richly concocted treat, and this series is now my top favorite from the author.
Green Ravens is a story of defiance and vengeance, of remaking and undoing. Equal parts a tender romance and a gripping sci-fi military story, this novel delivers compelling characters, high-stakes action, and heartfelt relationships. Overall, immersive, emotional, and intense as a trek through the Amazon!
Rating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Savage
Artist: Vowless
Album: SavageP.S.
Ravens is best read in order.
Ex Meridian – I’m sorry but Ex and Meridian had me gushing! Technically part of the Nothing Special series.
Black and Brown – Grace and Mirage speaking volumes in their silence gave me life!
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GREEN RAVENS: Amazon UK | Audiobook
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REVIEW: Black and Brown by A.E. Via
Ravens: Black and Brown – A.E. Via
Grace’s composed, yet lethal disposition balances his partner Mirage’s impulsive nature, creating a duo—the second-generation Brown Ravens—with the potential for greatness.
Grace was one of the most decorated sharpshooters in the Marines. He’s fiercely committed to righting the wrongs that plague the world and protecting the innocent.
But there are too many rules and strict orders in the armed forces the Ravens don’t have.Mirage left his world without a trace.
He has a brilliant mind and more degrees in science and medicine than one person could ever hope to obtain.
Now that the Ravens are done administering their treatments, Mirage can throw knives so fast they turn into phantom blades before he disappears in a way that leaves his enemies in chaos and confusion. And Grace can hit a target from three miles away.When together, their form of silent communication in the field is astonishing. Grace’s subtle body movements speak their own language and his long, intense stares into Mirage’s grey eyes have created a special bond neither of them saw coming.
A forbidden romance that won’t stop them from being the second-best assassins in the world.Triggers: Violence
Our introduction to the Ravens was in Ex Meridian, Book 7 of Nothing Special, a book that had me waxing poetic with how GOOD it is. Ex and Meridian are the first-generation Ravens, code-named Blacks. They’re partners turned lovers in a forbidden romance that forever changed their lives.
In one of their missions, they worked with the Nothing Special cops. The book left me so intrigued, I was beyond ecstatic when I learned A.E. Via created a series about these enhanced black ops assassins.
Black and Brown opens the series with the second-generation Ravens, code-named Browns. The secret program significantly enhanced their abilities, giving Mirage super-fast, super-accurate knife-throwing skills and sharpening Grace’s already formidable sniper skills. Their unique fighting style has Grace using the big guns while Mirage is behind him in the shadows, making it seem like knives are coming out of nowhere.
Mirage was a former combat medic, surgeon, and scientist with multiple doctorates and the son of decorated army medics. He talks a lot, and nearly burned Grace’s kitchen trying to fry bacon. Grace was a former military sniper from a small town family with a deadbeat dad who killed his mom. He’s a man of few words and a Bobby Flay in the kitchen. I swooned at the many dinner dates Grace lovingly prepared for his man!
The story follows the evolution of their relationship, from when they were recruited into the program, the enhancements, trainings, and their years in the field, up until that fateful day, Grace witnesses an unguarded moment between Ex and Meridian. It changed the way he saw his partnership with Mirage, giving him hope they could be something more.
Later, they learned there’s a traitor in their organization, and it’s time they choose their own mission.
Mirage and Grace’s dynamic reminded me a lot of God and Day, with a big, taciturn man and a talkative, slightly smaller one. But Mirage and Grace are memorable and different enough. Mirage, talkative and smaller, is the top. My favorite part is how he is always greatly appreciative of Grace’s silence, wrapping it around himself like a comfort blanket.
Another thing that stood out is how the author’s writing has greatly improved. As much as I loved Nothing Special, the first books were clunky and amateurish. Happily, the series improved as it progressed.
Here, the writing is much more refined, the plot well-thought-out, and the romantic development was natural, deliciously slow burn, and hella heartmelting for a pair of deadly assassins. The sex scenes were at the right moments, compared to the poorly deployed ones in the other earlier books. The action scenes were fast-paced and suspenseful, with just the right tension and thrill to keep things exciting.
The vulnerable moments were tenderly intimate. There’s something precious about the big badass Grace being needy and touch-starved, and Mirage being the only one he showed that side of him. When they’re not being secretly sweet and cuddly, they’re intense and fiercely passionate!
It’s best to see the Blacks in action first in Ex Meridian before diving into the Ravens. Black and Brown is told in dual POVs, and also Meridian’s. I loved that we have the Blacks again. My only wish was that the POVs were more balanced. We don’t have Ex’s, and he was kinda shoved to the sidelines.
Black and Brown is a close-proximity, sci-fi-lite, forbidden romance between two assassins from a super-secret black ops program. In a life of guns and knives, it is also two men building trust, exploring intimacy, and speaking volumes in comforting silence and thoughtful gestures. Overall, a thrilling and emotional story of badass assassins and cozy husbands!
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: We’re In This Together
Artist: Nine Inch Nails
Album: The Fragile
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BLACK AND BOWN Kindle | Audiobook
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RELEASE TOUR: Green Ravens by A.E. Via (Excerpt)
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Green Creek: Ravensong – T.J. Klune
Gordo Livingstone never forgot the lessons carved into his skin. Hardened by the betrayal of a pack who left him behind, he sought solace in the garage in his tiny mountain town, vowing never again to involve himself in the affairs of wolves.
It should have been enough.
And it was, until the wolves came back, and with them, Mark Bennett. In the end, they faced the beast together as a pack… and won.
Now, a year later, Gordo has found himself once again the witch of the Bennett pack. Green Creek has settled after the death of Richard Collins, and Gordo constantly struggles to ignore Mark and the song that howls between them.
But time is running out. Something is coming. And this time, it’s crawling from within.
Some bonds, no matter how strong, were made to be broken
T.J. Klune wasn’t kidding when he said that Ravensong was “bigger, more hardcore, darker and shit blows up”.
In the first book, Wolfsong, we meet Ox and Joe, and the Bennett pack. The boys grew up together then fell apart. The book closed with the pack once again united. Now it’s Gordo’s story to tell.
Once, there was a boy.
Once, there was a wolf.
He had sat with his back against a tree.
His bare feet were in the grass.
The boy leaned forward and kissed the wolf.
And knew then that nothing would ever be the same.Ravensong is Gordo’s past, present and future. The first several chapters jumps back and forth from his childhood, growing up with his dad inking magic into his skin, running with the pack, his adventures with Rico, Chris and Tanner, and his encounters with Mark up to his life on the road with Joe, Kelly and Carter on the trail of Richard Collins.The rest of the book deals with the town’s lockdown and the war with Elijah.
The hurt. The grief that never entirely goes away. The rage. The hate. The push and the pull. The love. SO.MUCH.FEELS.
The funny thing about hate is the razor-thin line that separates it from something else entirely
Gordo has been burned time and time again and he doesn’t forgive easily.
I don’t believe your promises anymore.
He also can’t stay away.
Here, in the dark, hearing him laugh reminded me of the way things once had been. And the way things could be…
The atypical prose perfectly captures all the raw, hard-edged emotions. Nobody comes out unscathed.
There were bright spots of irreverent, self-aware humor inserted at just the right places because Team Human is gold. They say out loud the things I’m thinking.
The entire Bennett pack is precious. I live for the wolves and the humans. Protect them at all cost!
It took almost the entire book for Gordo to get his head out of his ass. All while, nobody hesitated to tell him he’s being an asshole. I love it! He and Mark deserved their home.
I know Wolfsong was epic and awesome but Ravensong was all that and more. I wholeheartedly recommend the Green Creek series even to those who are not fans of shifter stories because I am also not a fan of shifter stories but T.J. Klune had me howling with his wolves.
All my stars for the Bennett pack.
P.S.
To fully enjoy Ravensong, it’s best to read Wolfsong first. The books are not standalones.
A succinct review of Wolfsong here
T.J. Klune and narrator Kurt Graves’ interview on Jeff and Will’s Big Gay Fiction Podcast here.
Rating:
5 Stars – absolutely perfect
Soundtrack: Raven Chant
Artist: Of The Wand & The Moon
Album: Nighttime Nightrhymes(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35114241-ravensong)
