Vicki Castellan doesn't do quiet.
At fifteen, she's the girl who lights up every room at Stella's Academy-quick-witted, fearless with a fencing foil, and trailed by a growing swarm of Heartlings that follow her like moths to a flame. She makes people laugh. She makes Evan Hale blush. She makes the ancient walls of the Academy hum in ways they haven't hummed in centuries.
She has no idea what any of it means.
Neither do Mara and Julia Veryin-two students who share a surname, matching crystal pendants, and a connection neither of them can explain. Mara fights like someone who learned survival before she learned manners. Julia watches and waits and sees things other people miss. They circle each other warily, drawn together by something written in crystal and blood and a history that predates the Academy itself.
Then there's Lucien. Quiet. Watchful. Carrying a pendant that mirrors theirs and a weight he can't name. He notices things-the way the pendants pulse in unison, the way Room 314 opens its door before anyone knocks, the way the kettle inside pours for exactly five and never spills a drop.
When that sentient room hidden deep in the Academy reveals itself, they begin to uncover a truth older than the walls around them: a story of She Who Is Unnamed and the Void Dweller, of three children born of light and darkness, and of a war called the Sundering that shattered the heavens and scarred the world. A war that never really ended. A war that left something behind-patient, hungry, and watching.
Now something is stirring again. Students are discovering abilities that shouldn't exist. An ancient kettle is adding mugs to its shelf, one name at a time. Jax Calder hides behind charm and a pendant he touches when he thinks no one's looking. Doors that have been sealed for centuries are opening.
And then someone goes silent.
Not quiet. Not sad. Not withdrawn. Silent-as if something reached inside and took everything that made them them. Eyes open. Heart still beating. But the person who filled every room they entered has become a window into a place where no one lives.
Evan held a face in his hands and searched for a flicker of recognition. A spark. Anything.
Just air. Just breath. Just the mechanical function of lungs that hadn't gotten the message yet.
The sky sang, and the world answered. But the answer came with a price no one was ready to pay.
Ash & Hollow is the first novel in the twenty-five-book Raven & Sparrow series, set within the Cycles of Eternity universe. A sweeping YA fantasy of ancient mythology, fierce loyalty, and the devastating discovery that the darkness doesn't always come for the weakest among us-sometimes it comes for the brightest.
For readers who love The Raven Boys, Ninth House, and The Bone Season.
Step inside. The kettle is warm. There's a mug with your name on it.
About the Author :
MW Newson started his first company in a garage, worked with Disney, earned a patent for technology he dreamed up himself, and spent decades solving impossible problems in boardrooms and labs. Then he wrote a book that made people cry. Raven & Sparrow: Ash & Hollow is the first chapter of the Cycles of Eternity, a twenty-five book saga about what happens when broken people refuse to give up on each other. He lives in Utah. He's not done building worlds yet.
Review :
Just so you know, this one is high on my list of new favorites. I've read it through twice now. Once to read it as I do with all new books: to understand the plot, to feel the story with the characters, and to enjoy is complexities. The second time was to find the purpose behind the cadence that is as important as the story itself, to pick up on nuances I missed the first time, and to live the story as it was meant to be lived.
The first time through, I was kinda confused and waited for the storyline to become like other books. But, I realized as I delved deeper into the story that this was the perfect way for this story to be. There's a cadence to the story that fits, that belongs, that is new to me. After a few chapters, I looked for the cadence, felt for it as if it was the heartbeat the story was created for, as if I was part of the story. I belonged. I was one with the book. The images the author created with this unique format and use of space became familiar and at the same time led to a story I couldn't put down. I was drawn into it in a way I wasn't expecting.
We are introduced to the main characters and the main room of the book in very interesting ways. Their personalities develop the way their friendships develop. I love the evolving room they've discovered and how it provides them the safety they need to grow into the unique people they are meant to become. It evolves as someone new is accepted, or not. It provides in ways they didn't know they needed.
Now that I have to wait for the next book to be available on Amazon or Goodreads, I think I'll hunker down into my comfy chair and read it again. Because I really want to.
Anderson (Amazon Purchase)
This was a fun read. At the beginning, I was a bit confused but as I read on, the characters became more clear and so did the rhythm that the author played with. I am new to reading fantasy novels and took me a minute to grasp the ever evolving room and things in the room. As I read on, I was hooked. I don't want to give too much away but this is an entertaining book and keeps you involved and vested.
True Red (Amazon purchase)
Ash & Hollow by MW Newson is an incredible start to the Raven & Sparrow series. If you love stories set in mysterious schools with deep secrets, this book is definitely for you. The story follows Vicki, a girl full of life and energy, until something strange and dark takes her voice away. Watching her friends Mara, Julia, and Lucien try to uncover the truth behind the ancient Academy is both heart wrenching and exciting. The author does a fantastic job of making the school feel alive. From rooms that open on their own to a magical tea kettle that seems to know everyone's name, the atmosphere is perfectly dark academia. It is a long book, but the characters are so relatable and the mystery of the Sundering is so intriguing that the pages fly by. I really enjoyed the found family vibe between the students. They all have their own burdens and magical pendants, and seeing them come together to face a rising darkness is truly inspiring. It is a hauntingly beautiful tale about loyalty and light. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book!
Levindunken (Amazon Purchase)
