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Her people were sold by a wicked king. Her sister taken. Her own identity, never known. Until now.

She's sworn an oath. They'll all be brought home.

The Raven is coming.

November 2024

440 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 12, 2024

121 people are currently reading
1576 people want to read

About the author

Carrie Cotten

9 books367 followers
Carrie is a Louisiana born, Texas transplant and recent North Carolina resident. She earned her BA in English from East Texas Baptist University where she met and fell in love at first sight with her hunky husband, Jeffrey Craig Cotten.

After a short tour in Alaska with the Army, Carrie and Jeff returned to Texas to start a family. Fifteen years and four kids later, they answered God's call to enter the ministry, embarking on a wild adventure that led them to the Appalachian mountains.

When Carrie isn't writing, you can find her cuddling a chicken, petting a pig or snuggling a sheep on their small family farm. She loves the freedom they've found in homeschooling and the unlimited opportunities to explore the mountains. Camping, farming, and watching movies are some of their favorite family activities. Carrie and Jeff serve together at a small church where Jeff is the youth pastor.

Her favorite thing to do is steal a quiet moment to sit on her front porch and take in the most beautiful view she's ever seen in her life.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews
Profile Image for N.
140 reviews109 followers
December 9, 2024
Do you hear that? That’s the sound of this book fulfilling all its promises.

The Huntress lured me in with self-sacrificing marriage of convenience. The Viking had me barely hanging on for the fabulously intense ride, and then The Raven was coming. I wasn’t sure how we were getting swoony, redemptive romance from a stoic heroine so laser-focused on revenge and restitution, but you bet your wimple I was reading.

You know how a story is so perfect for the necessary individual and relationship arcs that you just marvel at how the author wrote exactly what they needed even though the author created these characters so obviously she knows exactly what they need? A resounding standing slow-clap for Carrie Cotten. The broken raven that dwells in darkness gets a broken chieftain’s son who can’t find his way out of a mead decanter. As always, the themes of Christian faith and character growth are woven so seamlessly. The emotional depth and hauling each other out into the light plus all the full-circle reunions that needed to happen by the end were no easy feat and masterfully done.

Also can we marvel at how the most terrifying heroine gets arguably the most tender, playful romance? Sure there’s sparring and stabbing and daily threats on life, but at its core, these two saw each other from the start. The mutual protectiveness, the banter and teasing were such a good counterpoint, and we knew our girl had it in her.

Listen to me, you need to read from Book 1. This has what I love to see in story plot twists or reveals: the perfect amount of set-up where I have an idea of what’s coming, but there’s still enough reveal to be surprised. In previous books the stakes are so high in terms of whole kingdoms perishing or crushed-by-Vikings bodily harm. In The Raven’s third act, the stakes were the highest of all: the battle to surrender to true redemption and restitution.

Brilliant addition to this is top-tier Medieval Christian romance series. Intense, immensely satisfying and hopeful.

Content notes: kissing only, predominant themes of Christian faith, several scenes of non-graphic battle violence. Vague mention of pregnancy resulting from past assault.


Thank you the author for an ARC!
Profile Image for Ashton Dorow.
Author 7 books177 followers
November 12, 2024
ENDORSEMENT: If you didn’t think anything could top “The Huntress” or “The Viking”, think again. “The Raven” is an unforgettable roller coaster ride of emotions as we follow Revna on her path of vengeance and self-discovery–which just might lead to a happily ever after as well. Be prepared, because there are plot twists that will have your jaw on the floor and leave your mind blown at Carrie Cotten’s storytelling genius! Grab your sword (and maybe some tissues), oh, brave reader, and enter the adventure of a lifetime!
Profile Image for Rachel Luke Parker.
287 reviews416 followers
March 4, 2025
How in the world do I put into words how much I love this book??

Like new favorite of all time? Very very very very possible.

The best banter...yep!
The best redemption...yep!
The best mystery...yep!
The best enemies to lovers...yep!
The best MMCs...yep!
The best Slowburn...yep!

Seriously this book just had everything I could ever want!

Aksel and Revna were just perfection together. I love how they equally loved and hated each other. I loved how they were so similar to each other and yet were so different in some ways. I love how they were equally protective of each other and yet could drive each other batty.

I love that they both were searching for light, hope, redemption, forgiveness, answers, belonging, family, and Christ.

I love that this series flawlessly proclaims truth and how much we all need to rely on Christ. That we will always be His. And that He is our family and all of our answers.

This series is one I will never forget and always recommend. Just my favorite forever and for always.

Physical Intimacy Level 2 longer non descriptive kissing
Zero swearing
Dual 3rd person POV
Profile Image for Laura.
123 reviews9 followers
January 21, 2025
“I will go wi’ ye to the ends of the earth. I will hunt down whatever ghosts ye need to find. I will fight whatever monsters come our way, but I would be one myself if I dinna help ye face the dangers wi’in yer own heart.”

Introducing you to my new favorite book ~ The Raven! Just from reading the dedication I knew this story was going to be incredible. I saw bits of my own brokenness in both Aksel and Revna and learned so much from seeing them both grow. Their love story and relationship is my favorite in this series. Please go read this series! It’s phenomenal - the plot, the characters, their adventures, their love stories, and their faith journeys.

What I loved:
- Rune🖤
- “find the light. meet me in eternity”
- banter, teasing
- “who did this to you”
- helping each other overcome darkness
- the big reveal at the end😭
- that first kiss
- finding new purpose
- Isa’s story
- showing each other their scars🥹
- “ye and me. we are the same”

Quotes🖤

“There has been a great wrong. It must be made right. One has come to set the captives free.”

“Ye canna lead anyone to the light if ye dwell in darkness yerself.”

“The darkness cannot have him. I dunna care the cost.”

“An T-aon is the great healer, Aksel. There is nothing so broken He canna repair it.”

“I ken it hurts, but ye are the Raven. Freer of slaves. Burner of worlds... Ye fight. Beat him back. Send him to the deep where he belongs. Ye. Dunna. Give. In. No honor. Only victory.”

She kissed him with a passion that eclipsed any amount of rage she’d ever felt, because she finally found something stronger and more powerful than fury. Love.🤍🤍🤍

There’s darkness all around us, Revna. If we look for it, ‘tis there. But there is also light. ‘Tis your choice which ye choose to follow. It only takes the tiniest spark to light the way, and if that spark is present, no amount of darkness can ever overpower it. It canna overcome.

Their kiss was pain and healing, agony and bliss. It was the promise that even if they had to claw and scratch and climb, they would forsake the darkness and embrace the light. Together.🥹♥️
Profile Image for April Parman.
92 reviews1 follower
July 5, 2025
What an adventure. I love the way the author incorporated the Gospel message.
Profile Image for Latisha Sexton.
Author 11 books407 followers
August 4, 2024
I am still thinking about this book and these characters a month after reading it. Am I allowed to say that they're my favorite couple ever? Well, they are. haha

The depth of these characters is just chef's kiss. The delicious romantic tension will have you swooning. And ALL THE BANTER will have you laughing!!! There are so many quotable moments in this book. And the faith? It's rich and so, so, so good. I loved the redemption moments and how the characters had to learn to surrender to God.

This entire series is just so amazing.

*I received an ARC. All opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Ari Garzon.
56 reviews
July 10, 2025
Dear Miss Carrie,

I have never read a series so incredible that each book is better than the last. This book rocked my world. From start to finish I remained captured by every word. You have an outstanding gift of creating a swoon worthy connection between characters that are so lovely, yet by the end, all I can do is praise God. A past version of me needed this book. And though I am older and wiser now, I soaked it in just as intensely.

Writing wise, it’s simply a masterpiece. The battle scenes are vivid and the character development during them are rich and beautiful. The story itself is so riveting and I cannot stop thinking about it even now. There were some scenes so precious I couldn’t help but go back and reread them again and again. The Christ-bound path of both of the main characters took my breath away.

Thank you Miss Carrie. It is a pleasure to read your work to say the very least. God Bless you.
36 reviews2 followers
August 3, 2025
4.5 ⭐ I feel like each book in this series gets better
Profile Image for Lila'sbooks.
42 reviews11 followers
September 25, 2025
4.5⭐
I love Carrie Cotten's books so much! This one was so amazing, I have no words! The plot was great, the characters were great, the writing was great. Literally everything was great! Every time we would get to see a character from one of the previous books I would get so excited! Also the plot twists and reveals of who was related to who was so crazy and had me audibly gasping. I didn't see any of them coming!!! My one complaint is that there's a time jump of like a few weeks towards the end that was pretty jarring. I can't really explain it without spoiling the book but other than that this book was amazing! Please read this series, I'm actually begging you!🙏🏻😩

No spice or language; very clean.
Some violence.
Profile Image for Kathryn Edwards.
69 reviews1 follower
July 19, 2025
I want another!!!

One of the MCs most popular lines in this book is “I have another” (if you know, you know!!!). And this book felt like that in so many ways. There was always another enemy, another person to save, another heartwarming scene, and another plot twist. There was some things that I didn’t see coming and it had me so shocked I confused the person beside me (sorry not sorry for screaming). While I do think some things were a little drawn out and lengthy and I thought the romance took too long to develop, I still really really enjoyed this book. And I’m so happy there’s another to read right now!
Profile Image for Deanna Reynolds.
51 reviews
April 21, 2025
I was afraid this book wouldn’t be as good as the first 2 but I think it somehow might be even better than both of the others. She is such a good author. I LOVED the development of the characters. And the storyline was so good! My mouth dropped open a few times because I was so surprised at the twists and turns. She weaves the characters together so well! She also continues to portray God’s goodness, mercy, and healing love so beautifully!
Profile Image for Amanda Coleman.
77 reviews
September 1, 2025
This third book in The Huntress series might be my favorite! The twist was jaw dropping! I only wish book 4 allowed us to get to see how that all transpires but it was a joy at the end of this book to see the coming together of the 6 characters from the first three books. Can’t wait for The Valkyrie! Cotten continues to spin the best of tales that brings to life the gospel story.
5 reviews
November 21, 2025
excellent!

Apparently I read it out of order. But it was a fantastic 3rd book in this series. Grappled with the hard things and God’s grace through it.
Profile Image for Meagan.
288 reviews125 followers
July 7, 2025
What on earth?! The twists and turns, the intensity, the redemption 🤯😭🖤 Definitely five starts and one of my favorite series ever! Full review to come.
Profile Image for Samantha Bourke.
140 reviews4 followers
August 17, 2025
4.5 stars
Definitely my favorite of the series so far. I love all the characters and all the development and growth they go through in this book. The ending was so much better than I was expecting it to be. It all felt like everything was wound up perfectly.
Profile Image for Sylvia Rodriguez.
69 reviews4 followers
August 17, 2025
This book like the others drew me in from the beginning & kept me wanting to not stop! So many parts of these books have me basically on the edge of my seat having a hard time not rushing through the book to see God win. But so many wonderful messages of what God can do. Can’t wait to read more!
Profile Image for Amy Stanley.
Author 2 books6 followers
August 21, 2025
I can’t get enough of this series! Love the time period, the characters, and the themes of love and redemption.
Profile Image for Emma | meadowroselibrary.
214 reviews25 followers
October 21, 2024
"𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰, 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦. 𝘠𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘪𝘵, 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘯𝘢."

Oh my heart. 😭 I think it's forever broken now. 💔 So many moments of thinking I had it all figured out, just enjoying the beautiful story, then the times when I feel chills go up and down my body with the shock the author likes to include. 😅
I thought The Viking was my favorite so far, but that's definitely changed now. 🩷
Watching Revna's thick wall she had built up from her hard life, just slowly melt away was so inspiring, so full of emotions that I didn't know could all be packed in one book, and then seep into me. Watching her learn to lean on others, not just herself, feeling her learn God from afresh, her bond with Askel to then gravitate towards the sweetest romance I've ever read...if you want to feel EVERY feeling and emotion that God gave you within 400+ pages, then this is your book! Those feelings and emotions *may* include tears and lost sleep and staring at a wall feeling lost and heartbroken, but hey it's worth it! 😂
I hope my review convinces you to give this book a try, because it deserves all the love from this world. 🩷

*I received an e-ARC copy, all opinions are my own
Profile Image for Hannah Barclay.
74 reviews1 follower
July 19, 2025
ahhh I’m loving this series. Both Revna and Askel are such tortured main characters battling darkness both past and present. a beautiful story of healing and redemption that tie in so well to the first 2 books.

…a voice like bubbling water over rocks, sang a haunting lullaby. “Found his bones in his home. Charred and burned. Charred and burned.”…

..it was all stripped away in an instant, and if I hadna the promise of eternity wi’ a living saviour at this life’s end, I would have perished from despair….

Content: violence
Profile Image for betweencredithours.
15 reviews3 followers
July 16, 2025
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My thoughts: I’ve raved about the previous two books in this series, and I fully expected The Viking to hold its place as my favorite. But much like its main character, this book snuck its way into my life and completely surprised me.

The characters in this book are truly remarkable. As with every book in this series, the main characters Revna and Aksel portray growth in a realistic and inspiring way. Revna’s journey from self reliance to learning to trust others was one of my favorite in the story, and her independence and strength were shown as strengths and necessities rather than gimmicks to make an edgy character. I also really enjoyed Aksel’s character as someone who was steadfast while having struggles of his own.

The twists in this book were crazy!! They were unexpected yet reasonable, and I loved putting pieces together or remembering certain dialogue to see how different reveals were represented throughout the book.

Aksel and Revna’s relationship was expertly done in this book. Nothing felt rushed or convenient, instead they felt like two people learning to care for each other in real time.

Overall, I loved this book! These characters will forever hold a place in my heart and I think it is my favorite of this series so far! Looking forward to reading The Valkyrie soon!
Profile Image for Sarah Nolan.
169 reviews14 followers
October 23, 2024
This third installment in this series was one that I will never forget!

When Revna, known as the feared “Raven” hides away on a Viking ship sailing back to its homeland, her mission is to make the Viking sailors suffer and to free her people sold into slavery by the previous Pictish king. When she befriends a young viking, Rune, who speaks of a God who freely forgives and shows true mercy, Revna starts to wonder if the motive behind her mission is right or wrong. When blind rage and a mutinying Captain brings death to this Viking ship, Revna must face the shadows and darkness that surrounds her. Revna takes a chance on Askel, the drunken son of the Viking chieftain, whose winsome smile, humor, and handsome features slowly chip away at the stone wall built around her heart. As both Revna and Aksel come to see the light in the midst of the darkness and work together to free the Pictish people, they soon learn that secrets and hidden identities cannot be kept from the one true God who knows them all.

The banter, the wit, the bravery of Revna, and again, I need to reiterate how fierce and strong the women of this time period were. I strive to have the courage and hope that they possess. I think that Askel and Revna are by far my favorite couple of this series!

Romantic Content: Closed Door, Low Spice

TW: Slavery, Poisoning, Murder, Abuse, Attempted Assault (Not Descriptive), Drunkenness
Profile Image for Mandy.
78 reviews9 followers
November 28, 2024
Carrie Cotten does it once again and writes such a whirlwind of an adventure. Full of faith, depth, and romance, you will not want to put this book down it will grip you until the final page.
The blend of old and new characters adds such a sweetness to this trilogy, and with twists and turns, you will be at the edge of your seat.
I loved the faith in this book and how God uses the least worthy and broken and renews them for a purpose.
Carrie always does such a beautiful job weaving the gospel into her stories, and it's in such a natural way.
I wish I had more of her books to read she is honestly one of my favorite authors and I can't wait to see what she writes next.
Profile Image for Leslie Gill.
3 reviews
October 26, 2025
Wow! I feel like each book of this series I have thought, “I shouldn’t even try to read the next one because this one was just SO GOOD it can’t possibly get better”. And then IT DOES! How the Gospel is portrayed in these books is so beautiful! Carrie Cotten clearly loves her storylines, but also, very obviously wants others to hear about Jesus, and it is just so beautiful. The Biblical storytelling, the realness of human emotion/darkness/despair, and redemption is all portrayed so well. And there are lots of swoon-worthy moments, too (which the romantic inside me, LOVES)! Definitely made it into my #1 author and book spots!
Profile Image for Lydia Thurm.
80 reviews4 followers
September 28, 2024
If you are looking for a book where she says, "Who did this to you?", look no further!

Every book in this series just keeps getting better and better! I love how this book shows two people truly falling in love with each other and who they are at the core. It is not insta-love, where the characters are in love after only knowing each other for two days. It is refreshing to find a book that follows the journey that love is. The slow-burn is simmering in this book!

--I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.--
1 review
March 1, 2025
exciting adventure!

I have throughly enjoyed this book and the Huntress and the Viking
The dynamic between the characters is entertaining and how they work through deep pain and find healing in our God is beautiful.
I feel like the stories are authentic in how they come to know Christ.
And the struggles they face are truly hard
Thank you for writing these books. M



Profile Image for Kalyn Hoffman.
115 reviews1 follower
April 29, 2025
4.5!! This book had action, bravery, and a beautiful romance with lots of banter. It often had me reading with a smirk as we watched broken people learn how to love. This was an epic tale and one of my favorite reads to date! I only wish I could have watched more of the resolution unfold and relationships restored at the end. Rest assured, there is still beautiful closure! I just wish it didn’t jump to it quite so quickly.
Profile Image for Sarah.
233 reviews
January 7, 2025
These characters! My favorite main male character of the series, oh Aksel.

Revna has so much pain and when she’s finally vulnerable, more pain comes, but boy this takes you on the roller coaster of both character’s emotions.

Epic battles, both physical and spiritual. Sweet side characters that share their love and light in a world of darkness. A perfect romance. This book has it all.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews

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