The Raven

The Florentine, Book 1

By: Sylvain Reynard

Narrated by: John Michael Morgan

The author of the Gabriel's Inferno Trilogy reveals a beautiful yet deadly underworld where creatures of the night roam and Gabriel and Julianne become the target of a powerful but elusive enemy...

Raven Wood spends her days at Florence's Uffizi gallery restoring Renaissance art. But an innocent walk home after an evening with friends changes her life forever. When she intervenes in the senseless beating of a homeless man, his attackers turn on her, dragging her into an alley. Raven is only semiconscious when their assault is interrupted by a cacophony of growls followed by her attackers' screams. Mercifully, she blacks out, but not before catching a glimpse of a shadowy figure who whispers to her...

Cassita vulneratus.

When Raven awakes, she is inexplicably changed. Upon returning to the Uffizi, no one recognizes her. More disturbingly, she discovers that she's been absent an entire week. With no recollection of her disappearance, Raven learns that her absence coincides with one of the largest robberies in Uffizi history - the theft of a set of priceless Botticelli illustrations. When the police identify her as their prime suspect, Raven is desperate to clear her name. She seeks out one of Florence's wealthiest and most elusive men in an attempt to uncover the truth. Their encounter leads Raven to a dark underworld whose inhabitants kill to keep their secrets...

This edition only: Includes Bonus Scenes

©2015 Sylvain Reynard (P)2015 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"The Raven was a fabulous Gothic treat of a book filled with ancient vampires, dark vendettas, and star-crossed love." (Deb Harkness, New York Times best-selling author of The Book of Life)

William saves this book! Book 1 of 3!

I struggle to write this review because throughout the book, I wanted to either smack Jane/Raven upside the head or I was too busy yelling "what the....." at her!
William is the savior and the character to focus on in this book. He's swoonworthy! Due to his age, he has become despondent and lacks empathy, and believes he cannot feel because he is a vampire. But, his actions speak louder and he makes the listener fall in love with him.
Raven on the other hand... :( Part damsel in distress, part wannabe savior, part self-sacrificing lamb with bouts of intelligence, lots of dumb courage, and mostly maddeningly obtuse.
With great angst, I purchased books two and three. Solely because I want to hear William, his story, and find out more.
John Michael Morgan was exceptional. He does narrate the second book. Sadly, he had passed away in 2016 after narrating the second book. The third book has a different narrator.
This is not a cliffhanger but the second book continuous the story.

Ugh very long to end in a semi-cliffhanger

Interesting character development and the story is very complex and engagjng but I was disappointed it didn't really end. Not your typical vampire romance.

Great read

I live the entire series of these books, the only problem with them is they end too quickly, I don't want them to be over!

loved it!!

loved the story!!!! Loved the narrative by John Michael Morgan!! cant wait to dive into another!!

Fabulous

I am absolutely enthralled with this author! I cannot get enough of him, period and I will keep reading his books as often as I can.

Disappointed

It seems the the book ended before any conclusion was made. The story moved very slowly and at times was tediously slow. I’m very disappointed in its conclusion since it left one without closure or reasoning as to why it ended so abruptly.

LOVED!

I Love the author.
I Loved the writing.
I Loved the story.
And, I loved the narrator. He was amazing.

Intense and beautiful

I have read a number of Sylvain Reynard's books and loved them all. This was the first one I listened to through Audible. First, I have to say that John Michael Morgan is the perfect narrator for this work. From the seemingly effortless way he pronounced all the names of the places in Florence to his pacing and the deep, sexy timbre of his voice, he left me entranced from the beginning. He brings the tale of William and Raven to life in such a way that brought tears to my eyes many times. The story of William and Raven is beautiful. They are both broken, yet through their connection, they are ultimately healed. Theirs will never be an easy union, if for no other reason than by virtue of their differences - she is human, he is not. Yet the purity and intensity of their love is glorious. But will his birthday gift, his promise of justice for her be too much for Raven to handle?

Thrilling, suspenseful, sensuality all these!

I listened to this amazing story. I loved Gabriel's Inferno series, so this addition is fabulous. The narrator was great & provided the different characters voices in the story. #cliffhanger alert! I'm going to download the next story asap! Thanks for the HEA and to be continued! William & Raven are both strong & passionate! 5 Stars🌟

Love Sylvain

I am not usually a fan of fantasy romance novels, but I had to give this new series a try..because Sylvain Reynard. As always he captivated me in a world of art and beauty.

Raven is a young broken woman working as an art restorer in Florence. She catches the eye -or nose rather- of an ancient vampire, the Prince of Florence. Together they battle there seen and unseen enemies in the desire to find hope and love within each other.

I loved how Sylvain intertwined the story of the Emerson's from his previous series into the book, giving the work of Botticelli an honorary front row seat.

This book has a mild cliffhanger ending, I did purchase the next in the series, which I would suggest if you are an anxious listener as I am.

John Michael Morgan did a great job on the narration- he was able to captivate me immediately- with distinct true accents fitting the different cultural characters in the book.