How many pieces of yourself would you be willing to sacrifice for the ones you love?

The Antlered King is the second half of The Raven’s Trade duology. The book begins four years after The Gilded Crown with Hellevir, our protagonist and resurrectionist, traveling from town to town through the Chron, making her way as an herbalist until she settles down to winter in a small town in the mountains where the business of the Crown eventually finds her once more and drags her back to the capital (thankfully, not in chains or as a prisoner). 

Four years is a long time for some things; for other things it’s no time at all. 

I adored the first book in this duology so much, but I think I love this book even more. I was so angry with the characters in the first book: at Hellevir for her naivety and Sullivain for being so toxic. This time around, I understand them both better and why they made the choices they made. It may not have made me like Sullivain any more than I did before, but it made me more compassionate toward her. The back half of this book made me sob like I don’t think I have in a long time, outside of mental breakdowns.

Gordon just continued to grow and enrich the world of the Chron between the first book and this one: the mythology, cities, magic, characters, and more only became more interesting and detailed, filling the book with dark fantasy and warfare in the place of the toxic romance and court intrigue from the first book. 

Above, under, and around it all is Death, serving as Hellevir’s counsel, conscience, and disciplinarian. It is he that stands in line with us, watching and waiting to see what choices will lead to the end. 

🩶 What to Expect 🩶

🍒 Hunger causes pain

💣 “What does Death have to be ashamed of?”

🍒 Random riddle solving with story bonuses

💣 I’m going back to the start

🍒 Wildest dreams being the sweetest torture

💣 This time things will surely be different, right?

🍒 War only benefits those in power

💣 Absence makes the heart forgetful

🍒 Religious persecution

💣 Siblings fight all the time

🍒 Treasonous plot hatching

💣 You can’t save everyone

🍒 Sometimes the best thing you can do is remove yourself from the game

💣 Grieving for what might have been

🍒 Just because you say something doesn’t mean people have to listen

💣 Don’t lose what makes you…you

🍒 A god of blood recompense and the embodiment of second chances

💣 Faith has to be earned

I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: 5 Star Review/Duology/Dark Fantasy/Kindle Unlimited/Sapphic Romance