Flight of the Raven

By: Judith Sterling

Narrated by: Rebecca McKernan

Length: 7 hrs

Publisher's Summary

How eager would the bridegroom be if he knew he could never bed the bride?   

Lady Emma of Ravenwood Keep is prepared to give Sir William l’Orage land, wealth, and her hand in marriage. But her virginity? Not unless he loves her.  

The curse that claimed her mother is clear: unless a Ravenwood heir is conceived in love, the mother will die in childbirth. Emma is determined to dodge the curse. Then William arrives, brandishing raw sensuality which dares her to explore her own.   

William the Storm isn’t a man to be gainsaid. He’ll give her protection, loyalty, and as much tenderness as he can muster. But malignant memories quell the mere thought of love. To him, the curse is codswallop. He plans a seduction to breach Emma’s fears and raze her objections. What follows is a test of wills and an affirmation of the power of love.    

©2016 Judith Sterling (P)2018 Judith Sterling

"Soar with me to heaven."

William wants Emma to "Soar with me to heaven." A well written and well told historical english romance. William marries Emma and will take over her land. But she believes in the curse where women will die in childbirth if their babies were conceived without love. So she will not be giving up her virginity to her husband. William's struggle to change her mind is quite entertaining! There is also mystery, potions, healing, friendship, betrayal, history.
I listened to Audible version of this book and the narration was well done.

a fearful heroine

I loved the book. I liked that the heroine was fearful of child birth. I am excited to go on to book 2.

Great story!!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. I loved this story it has a bit of everything! Romance, mystery, magic, paranormal! Narrator does a fantastic job with the story and characters, bring everything to life, you feel your there.

Just as it should be

Just what a period romance should be. A family curse, an arranged marriage between two stubborn people on different sides of a historical struggle, mysterious forces, and an ancient enemy returning to threaten everything. Well written and presented. I received a free review copy of the audio version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Excellent!

This book is wonderful! It got my attention right from the beginning. It is full of suspense, intrigue, romance, and shall I say "magical" qualities. All the good things I think a book of this caliber should possess. I also like that it refers to the old pagan religion The narrator does a great job differentiating between the characters so you end up thinking there is more than one person telling the story. I would recommend this book. Now on to the next with pleasure!
I was given this free review copy audiobook at mt request and have voluntarily left this review.

Lovely Story and beautiful voice for narration

This is what I would consider a staple story to have in your collection. I have now finished the series and this is on up there in my list of favorite series! They can be standalone but I'd highly recommend doing the whole series as this is a WONDERFUL addition to your library!! . This was beautifully written and so much detail and thought went into each scene. Its almost hard to believe this is a paranormal romance and not just romance but Judith Sterling adds just enough to make it so! I loved the accent the reader Rebecca McKernan had during the story. This is a beautiful historical type romance with lots of fun twists in it. The steamy scenes are super steamy! I highly recommend this and I can't wait for book 2!!

I requested and was given this audiobook complimentary at my request and have voluntarily left this review with my honest opinion

Loved and Enjoyed It

I like Lady Emma. She is strong and spirited and she and William kept the story fascinating.
William is the powerful and somewhat hardened hero and though he remains so, his heart softens for his wife.
Ms. Sterling (author) has done a great job of fusing the paranormal aspects with romance.
The narration was clear and the overall quality was good with no need to replay.
Overall, this is a wonderful story and I would recommend.

I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved this!!! Definite re-listen!!!

Audiobook: Narrator - Rebecca McKernana

I often have a difficult time following/understanding a narrator with an accent, but not so this time around with Ms. McKernana. Her voice was very clear and precise and I never had to rewind or slow the speed down in order to follow along with this story. She does some amazing accents for the servants that felt one hundred percent authentic and that I loved. The overall tone of the recording was not amazing (I actually heard a siren in the background a few times) but it did not take away from my overall enjoyment of this audiobook.



Lady Emma of Ravenwood is promised to the Norman conqueror, Williams l’Orage - The Storm, in marriage. But a curse has been passed down through her bloodline and while she will wed him, she will never bed him. However, she never expected to feel such attraction and fierce desire. There is only one way the curse can be broken, and it is highly unlikely it will occur with husband. Therefore, she must hold fast to her refusal despite the fact that has slowly fallen in love with him.


Emma is not a weak, simpering heroine as many historical females are written. Instead, she is strong and determined while being touched by a bit of magic. Her emotions leapt off the page and pulled me into her turmoil as she struggles with, not only the curse, but her growing feelings.


William, is everything a conquering hero should be, but what should be a hardened heart actually softens when it comes to his wife. Although this couple have some serious quarrels, it only adds to the sizzling chemistry between them as they work out their differences. And William is most creative when it comes to abiding to Emma’s dictate of no consummation.


I’m not an expert when it comes to medieval history, but this felt as authentic as anything I’ve ever read in this era before. I was completely caught up in the location, language, and politics of this book. This is such a well plotted storyline with characters that come alive on the page/audio, drama that kept me engaged, and danger that had me gasping. I know I’ll be listening to this one again!

Great Historical Romance with Paranormal Elements

Medieval romance and paranormal romances. What's not to love? Judith Sterling did a great job combining the medieval elements and the paranormal elements in a very believable way by basing them in beliefs of the time.

Lady Emma is a feisty young woman who's story is interesting and engaging. I often found myself giggling at her witty comebacks to her husband. In many ways she reminds me of Claire in Outlander, which is great, since she is one of my favorite modern literary female heroines.

The narration of the audiobook is also excellent and made the twist at the end even more surprising and devious.

I received this book in exchange for my honest review.

Fantastic Historical Romance!

This is the style of romance book that originally pulled me into to reading romance books many, many years ago. A balanced focus on the main couple, a little bit of myth and magic, and a strong story line to propel the book. I am so glad I gave this book a chance!

Now to dive into the next book, whose hero is one of my favorite side characters from Flight of the Raven.

A really lovely Norman Saxon Romance

I really loved listening to this audio book. The storyline was good, and the book itself is well written. I liked the intrigue and magical element involved. The story revolves around a Norman Knight and a Saxon Lady, their King orders them to marry, so his Knight can have a landed property as a reward for his services.
However, there is a curse on Ravenwood that the Lady of Ravenswood will die in childbirth if she is not in love with her husband. So although William does not believe in the curse, he will do every thing he can to win around the fair lady Emma, and make her love him.
The narration was good as well, and made for an enjoyable listen.

And even though I was given this as a free review copy audiobook at my request, and I have voluntarily left this review, I am so glad I chose it.

Great medieval story!

This isn't my usual genre but I wanted to give historical romance a go and this is a great introduction! The story was perfect just what you would want and expect, very hot, masculine men and beautiful but feisty and strong women. I loved the progressing love story with the element of the mystical and enough momentum and action to keep me interested. The narration wasn't quite the quality I am used to but the story didn't suffer as a result. Would like to read more in this series.