After returning to Skye, Agatha and Jaime, along with the rest of their clan, are staying with the clan they were rescued with, the Clan-na-Bruthaich, as the treacherous members of the Raasay clan refuse to give them their enclave?! back. Shortly after, another disaster strikes when the shadow creatures known as sgàilean escape from their stolen necklace prison. Agatha and Jaime, with the help of some allies new and old, must use their courage again to help aid in this new fight.

All the while, a girl named Sigrid, who's chained to the king as his 'new eyes', set sail from Norveg to the court of King Edmund of Ingland, where a dangerous alliance begins. Sigrid, who has an extraordinary memory and a tattoo of a 'neck snapped raven' on her face, works to free herself from the king. She too finds allies in those unexpected but also discovers enemies as well.

All three protagonists must use their special powers to save those they care about from the planes of vengeful monarchs.

As from the book before, I absolutely loved this book. I'm slightly glad I waited as long as I did to read the first one because I was able to get this book shortly after finishing it. Now though, I've got to wait for the third book and that's going to be a killer! I was so fascinated with the land of Skye and it's people, as well as those of the bull rider's clan. Even though it's mythical, this still isn't a time period I read about frequently so it's an adventure to go on.

Both Agatha and Jaime are characters that put a smile on my face. I wasn't even 'away from them' long between reading the first and second book, and when I was first reintroduced to them this time around, I couldn't help but feeling like meeting old friends. The same honestly goes for re-meeting Cray as well (the relationship between Cray and Jaime makes me giggle at their bantering).

We meet Sigrid in this novel. A young deamhan, her mother pays someone, essentially under the table, to tattoo a raven on her face. The tattooist doesn't have the best talent and makes her raven look like it's got a broken neck. You learn a lot about Sigrid within the chapters of this book, and man, did I quickly care about her and her wellbeing. Joseph Elliott sure does show you both sides of a coin doesn't he? The deamhan people are the ones who kidnapped and enslaved the clans of Skye, yet Sigrid's granpa has taught her that's not how it should be. The way Elliott wrote her language was also unique and, after getting use to it, was an interesting voice to hear while reading.

I do hope Sigrid is okay and gets to reunite with her granpa someday.

This series has been creeping up in my Top 5 YA Series list. I'm excited and I can't wait until Book #3 to see where Joseph Elliott takes these characters. ( )

The Broken Raven takes place soon after the events of The Good Hawk. Jaime and Agatha return, as do several secondary characters from the first volume, and Elliott introduces new primary and tertiary characters as well. Chief among them is the Norvegian Sigrid, whose life is changed dramatically by Jaime and Agatha's actions in the previous book.

All three protagonists are true delights. The have such unique personalities and motivations, and believable individual strengths and weaknesses that get them into some pretty hair-raising situations. You really feel like you know these people and there were points where I had to put the book down because I was so worried about what might happen to them.

Which is another one of Elliott's strengths. This is a world with stakes: death and danger are commonplace, and there are no guarantees that they're survivable. This isn't to say that these elements are overdone or included for shock value; far from it. Elliott handles them deftly, and readers will fear for the characters and cheer all the more whenever they triumph.

Elliott expands on the excellent worldbuilding of the first novel, too, treating readers to more fascinating details about the people, animals, societies, and places that populate these alternate British Isles.

This book is much more of a bridge volume than its successor, which is a slight disappointment. But the stakes for everyone are very high at its conclusion and I can't wait to find out what happens next. ( )

I was sent a galley of this book from the publisher.

In this second book in the trilogy, Agatha and Jaime are home on the Island of Skye again, but all is not well. A rival clan has taken over the holding. Their own clan is forced to share a village with other people, and the confines are causing tensions to escalate. When the shadow creatures that helped them defeat the Norveg are released on Skye, everyone on the island is in peril. Agatha does her part to help at home--in her wonderful Agatha way--while Jaime ventures to Scotia to seek out the maker of the shadows. Meanwhile, a third child is introduced: Sigrid of the Norveg. Enslaved to her king, she is taken to Ingland, where the royals plot to put an end to the Scotian menace once and for all...

This book is quite fun but I had to remind myself to regard this as a secondary world setting, not something that was historical with magic and alt history. This is its own world. If you get too caught up in wondering about the geography or how a grown man can ride an elk, the joy will be lost. There's a lot of joy here, too, dark as the tale can be at times. I continue to adore Agatha--it's wonderful to see a child-hero inspired by children with Down syndrome! She's impulsive and brash but always means well, and I enjoyed seeing her friendship with Aileen develop. Jaime's adventure is wonderful; readers of the first book will be happy to know that Cray returns! The new perspective, Sigrid, is great, adding more humanity to the 'bad guys' of book one.

This is fantasy-adventure book is a very fast read. There is death and danger at every turn, but there's also a pervading sense of friendship and hope. I would have loved these books at age 12, and I still love them now. ( )

A young adult fantasy that takes place in an alternative British Isles of the past. The novel is told by three voices all teenagers. This is the second in a series but reads well as a stand alone book as I read it as an ARC. The primary story involves people reclaiming their homeland which in this instance is the Isle of Skye. There is a steady dose of adventure and danger but you always get the feeling that things will work out which they do. Easy to read and I feel it will be enjoyed by its target young adult audience. ( )

The Broken Raven takes place shortly after the events of The Good Hawk – Jaime, Agatha, Clann-a-Tuath, and Clann-na-Bruthaich are all struggling in various ways with their return home. Through the trials of attempting to regain their enclave from the Raasay people, Jaime and Agatha rely upon faces we’ve encountered before and new ones. I was glad to see the Bo Riders return, although not to the extent of the first novel. I was able to read the second book just as fast as the first; the action was reasonably constant, and switching between POV’s and their situations wasn’t grinding. There are a couple of other things I am interested in learning more about: the King of Norveg’s brother and the role he might play and the history of Skye and Inglund, specifically what the King of Inglund did to his own realm to achieve his goal.

This book is nearly three separate journeys – though their paths do merge. While unexpected, it was a welcome change that each protagonist stood on their own without the other main character’s support. It also allowed other side characters to shine and fill out the story more than they did in the previous book. I feel like Agatha took a backseat in this book and the trials she faces in this book were just less even though she grew as a person and learned some important lessons along the way. Jaime seems to have fallen into melancholy and believes he should look and feel more like a hero than he does – he doesn’t seem to realize that cunning counts as well. The Broken Raven also introduces a new main character – Sigrid, a young dreamhain from Norveg. She is rough and callused, it took me a little while to appreciate her, she became my favorite – I grew to enjoy her point of view and her often comical descriptions of things. Even though she was dealt a terrible hand she is willing to accept it for now without letting it destroy her outlook on life. If I were in her place, I would have more than likely made the same choices.

The ending of The Broken Raven was as unexpected as it was sudden. I knew the book wouldn’t solve everything, alas I wasn’t overly happy with the state of the issues at the end. I will wholeheartedly and anxiously be awaiting the final book in the trilogy, and even with the ending, I am excited to see what transpires. I would highly recommend this book (and series) to those who enjoy neurodiverse characters, mild LGBTQ+ elements, found family, fantasy/historical fantasy, middle grade, and animals. I would also recommend starting with The Good Hawk (you can read my review on the blog as well) – quite a bit of background information would be lost starting with this book first. A big thank you to Candlewick Press, Joseph Elliot, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a digital ARC of The Broken Raven – all opinions are my own. ( )