By Harper L. Carnes
\n\u00a9 2022
\nPrint ISBN: 979-8-9862274-0-5
\nEbook ISBN: 979-8-9862274-1-2
\n(Available September 13, 2022; cover forthcoming)<\/p>\n
Seventeen-year-old Seth\u2019s haunted past shapes his brooding present and feeds the nightmares that still trouble him almost nightly. But when he meets Gabriel, a beautiful man several years his senior, things start looking up. Seth finally believes he can trust, love, and be happy. Until strangeness begins to follow him, like the ravens that suddenly seem to shadow his every move and begin showing very un-raven-like behaviors. When Gabriel catches Seth in a lie and walks away, Seth\u2019s happiness\u2014and his reality\u2014spiral down into a dark aether that brings changes too bizarre to be anything but a nightmare from which he can\u2019t awaken. If he is to save himself and Gabriel, Seth will have to face the truth and surrender to his biggest fear.<\/p>\n
This book is excellent from the start. Its prologue sets the tone for everything that happens to Seth throughout the story and offers a reasonable explanation for what might otherwise seem to be the usual teen angst taken up a few notches. Anyone who survives the sort of trauma he experiences in those first few pages would be forgiven their idiosyncrasies. Seth\u2019s world is, at first, surprisingly \u201cnormal\u201d in flavor. Oddities appear slowly, grow in number and magnitude until they explode Seth\u2019s life in a no-turning-back way, blowing me away right along with Seth and holding me enraptured right up to the very last word.<\/p>\n
The author\u2019s choice to show us that early trauma in Seth\u2019s childhood not only informs the storyline and sets the stage; it made it easy for me to connect to Seth on a deep, emotional level. I was completely invested in his storyline early on, so that everything that happens to him after that just bonded me to him that much more. I wanted his denial to be truth. I wanted the oddities to be coincidences. I wanted Gabriel to stay, despite Seth\u2019s lie. But of course, it\u2019s watching a beloved character undergo tragedy and hardship that makes for a great story. The Raven Key has this in spades.<\/p>\n
Carnes\u2019s writing style is quite accessible, making it easy to forget you\u2019re safe on your sofa, and truly get swept up in the story. Seth\u2019s thoughts and actions felt authentic, as did dialogue between characters. Chapters flow easily one into the other, making it really hard to put the book down. While the main character is a teenager, which might make a reader think this is a YA story, I would suggest that this is not for YA audiences. The author includes a detailed list of trigger warnings in the back of the book, so I don\u2019t feel like I\u2019m spoiling anything to tell you here that there is some graphic\u2014but not gratuitous\u2014violence on the page, which is part and parcel of Seth\u2019s story. There are also some very explicit love scenes, and other elements that make it far more suited to adult readers.<\/p>\n
That said, I highly recommend this book, which is expected to be released September 13, 2022. The Raven Key is dark urban fantasy at its finest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Harper L. Carnes \u00a9 2022 Print ISBN: 979-8-9862274-0-5 Ebook ISBN: 979-8-9862274-1-2 (Available September 13, 2022; cover forthcoming) Seventeen-year-old Seth\u2019s haunted past shapes his brooding present and feeds the nightmares that still trouble him almost nightly. But when he meets Gabriel, a beautiful man several years his senior, things start looking up. Seth finally believes…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8n0kX-Ip","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8211,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/07\/of-abrasion\/","url_meta":{"origin":2753,"position":0},"title":"Of Abrasion","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"October 7, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Altered Earth Trilogy Book 2 By S.J. Lee \u00a9 March 25, 2025 File Size 3.0 MB 530 pages ISBN-13: 979-8989296538 Book one, Of Friction, was good. This one was a great follow-on. Rather than just Sam as a main character, we also see the story through Miriam\u2019s eyes. Just as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A black cover with wavy lines of force coming off a human hand shape at bottom. Text reads, \"Of Abrasion. A Novel. Book 2 of the Altered Earth Series. S.J. Lee.\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/OfAbrasion-197x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8215,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/07\/of-imperfection\/","url_meta":{"origin":2753,"position":1},"title":"Of Imperfection","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"October 7, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Altered Earth Trilogy Book 3 By S.J. Lee \u00a9 March 25, 2025 File Size 3.0 MB 530 pages ISBN-13: 979-8989296552 Of Imperfection is book 3 in the Altered Earth trilogy, and picks up a little while after the end of book 2. The characters are all different, all changed by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A black cover with intersecting lines like shattered glass emanating from a human hand shape at bottom. Text reads, \"Of Imperfection. A Novel. Book 3 of the Altered Earth Series. S.J. Lee.\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/OfImperfection-197x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7632,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/15\/the-last-of-the-elvis-ninja-robots\/","url_meta":{"origin":2753,"position":2},"title":"The Last of the Elvis Ninja Robots","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"April 15, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"By Michael Stephens \u00a9 August 29, 2025 File size: 1.0 MB 317 pages ISBN-13: 979-8992980516 Fifteen-year-old Lexi Ames is smart. No, really. Like, super-duper smart. In fact, she\u2019s the only one who successfully decodes a mysterious message coming from outer space. Unfortunately, decoding it also unlocks it, and sets it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A young woman and an Elvis impersonator stand in front of a large satellite dish where two green aliens hide behind a box. Text reads, \u201cThe Last of the Elvis Ninja Robots. Michael Stephens.\u201d","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/61lRLhWXzL._SL1000_-188x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4625,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/20\/enemies-domestic\/","url_meta":{"origin":2753,"position":3},"title":"Enemies Domestic","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"July 20, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"By John DeDakis \u00a9 July 3, 2024, Speaking Volumes, LLC ISBN-13: 979-8890221537 Print Version, 336 pages Enemies Domestic follows Lark Chadwick through her new assignment as White House Press Secretary, a job she never wanted, but accepted anyway in order to help her friend, President Will Gannon. From the very\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Image shows the upper portion of the Statue of Liberty from behind, with her arm outstretched. Text says: \"A Lark Chadwick Mystery\" and \"Enemies Domestic\" and \"Astonishing. -- James Grady, Six Days of the Condor,\" and \"John DeDakis.\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/EnemiesDomestic-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2593,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2022\/05\/16\/scribes-descent\/","url_meta":{"origin":2753,"position":4},"title":"Scribes’ Descent","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"May 16, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Book One of the Scribes Series By Dylan West Pickle Jar Press ISBN: 979-8-9859831-0-4 Paperback, 334 pages. \u00a9 2022 Forced to flee her homeworld as a child due to world-shattering earthquakes, Mallory now lives on Planet Daishon, where earthquakes are unheard of\u2014until a big quake shakes the very foundations of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/ScribesDescentCover.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6318,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/21\/scribes-emerge\/","url_meta":{"origin":2753,"position":5},"title":"Scribes Emerge","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"July 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Dylan West \u00a9 2025 Pickle Jar Press ISBN-13: 979-8985983166 Kindle version; file size 2.7 MB Paperback, 521 pages. Scribes Emerge is the third book in the Scribes trilogy, and continues the story of Mallory, Rain, and Boxer, the Scribes foretold in the Book of Books, and Leah, their devoted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Against a dark green background with spears, flags, and swords, three circled underground cities are connected together leading from the bottom to the top. Text reads, \u201cScribes Emerge: Book Three of the Scribes Series. Dylan West.\u201d","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ScribesEmerge-194x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2753"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2755,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2753\/revisions\/2755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}