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Before The Ravens Fell
He loved her enough to become a monster for it.
Before the war. Before the Void. Before the blood—there was Ottilie.
She was never meant to belong to herself.
He was never meant to belong to anything.
But in stolen moments beneath shadow and silence, they built something fragile enough to break—and powerful enough to destroy everything when it did.
Because when Ottilie is taken from him, Calum doesn’t beg.
He doesn’t break. He becomes exactly what the world feared he always was.
And this time—he doesn’t stop.
Before the war. Before the Void. Before the blood—there was Ottilie.
She was never meant to belong to herself.
He was never meant to belong to anything.
But in stolen moments beneath shadow and silence, they built something fragile enough to break—and powerful enough to destroy everything when it did.
Because when Ottilie is taken from him, Calum doesn’t beg.
He doesn’t break. He becomes exactly what the world feared he always was.
And this time—he doesn’t stop.
Paperback
First published January 1, 2026
About the author
Ryen Santana
8 books59 followersRyen Santana is an author who has spent her life weaving stories—first in the world of fanfiction and now in dark, emotionally charged novels. A mother of two, she balances the chaos of parenthood with the equally chaotic process of crafting narratives filled with morally grey characters, deep betrayals, and enough trauma to keep her readers up at night.
Her love for storytelling began in her early teens, where she honed her skills writing sprawling, 500k+ word fanfics inspired by Twilight, The Hunger Games, Divergent, and, of course, One Direction. If a fandom existed, she either wrote for it or devoured every story it had to offer.
When she’s not writing, she can be found indulging in her other passions—reading (obviously), rock climbing, spending all of the money she earns from books on commissioning art of her characters, and consuming unhealthy amounts of caffeine. She also enjoys rotting in bed whenever life allows, though with two small children, those moments are rare and precious.
Now, with her original works, she continues to explore the themes that first captivated her: love, power, revenge, and the darker sides of human nature. But this time, the stakes are higher, the characters more twisted, and the endings never quite what you expect.
Her love for storytelling began in her early teens, where she honed her skills writing sprawling, 500k+ word fanfics inspired by Twilight, The Hunger Games, Divergent, and, of course, One Direction. If a fandom existed, she either wrote for it or devoured every story it had to offer.
When she’s not writing, she can be found indulging in her other passions—reading (obviously), rock climbing, spending all of the money she earns from books on commissioning art of her characters, and consuming unhealthy amounts of caffeine. She also enjoys rotting in bed whenever life allows, though with two small children, those moments are rare and precious.
Now, with her original works, she continues to explore the themes that first captivated her: love, power, revenge, and the darker sides of human nature. But this time, the stakes are higher, the characters more twisted, and the endings never quite what you expect.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 18, 2026
This is the perfect prequel for this duology of books. Yes it hurt to read as I knew exactly where it was going but it almost made the actions more sweet as they were doomed from the start. This is the kind of hurt you can't turn away from. You feel the love and excitement and hope. And yet everyone around is just set on making sure nothing goes to plan and they must fail. Almost destined. But their care doesn't seem enough, and will it be enough to sustain them in the sequel of the duology of The Ravens book series?
I was incredibly lucky to be able to read this book early and can honestly say the devastation will be lingering in my mind forever. Following Ottillie's POV, you get to see more of what made her follow Callum and get close to him. You can even feel the devastation approaching and reading knowing there's nothing you can change about it made me feel like yelling at the characters to turn away so they had a better future.
I highly recommend reading this, especially after reading the first book to feel the most pain!
I was incredibly lucky to be able to read this book early and can honestly say the devastation will be lingering in my mind forever. Following Ottillie's POV, you get to see more of what made her follow Callum and get close to him. You can even feel the devastation approaching and reading knowing there's nothing you can change about it made me feel like yelling at the characters to turn away so they had a better future.
I highly recommend reading this, especially after reading the first book to feel the most pain!
April 3, 2026
Well dang, the way my heart broke as I read Ottilie's story. The absolute devastation that is this book.
I really loved having Ottilie's POV, especially when it comes to how she views Calum. Not as the God of Nightmares, but just as the man who loves her. It really brought out why the devastating events of The Ravens of London just hit so hard. And you get to see another side to Calum which was really nice to see because in the main duology, you just get sheer pain and madness. But this you get the calm before the storm.
The deceptions are definitely many and growing as the story goes on. Lies are whispered, consequences are thrown about and at the heart of it all, a person willing to cause immeasurable pain to get what they want.
In my opinion, the best way to read this 3 book series would be start off with Ravens of London, then read this book and finish off with The Mourning Star. I feel like that gives the best and most devastating trauma to the soul. 🤣
Ryen just knows exactly how to make it hurt, and this book was definitely devastatingly beautiful. Just haunting in it's pain and just the devotion they have for each other can be felt on every page. Tragedy makes a really good story and this story is devastatingly tragic.
I really loved having Ottilie's POV, especially when it comes to how she views Calum. Not as the God of Nightmares, but just as the man who loves her. It really brought out why the devastating events of The Ravens of London just hit so hard. And you get to see another side to Calum which was really nice to see because in the main duology, you just get sheer pain and madness. But this you get the calm before the storm.
The deceptions are definitely many and growing as the story goes on. Lies are whispered, consequences are thrown about and at the heart of it all, a person willing to cause immeasurable pain to get what they want.
In my opinion, the best way to read this 3 book series would be start off with Ravens of London, then read this book and finish off with The Mourning Star. I feel like that gives the best and most devastating trauma to the soul. 🤣
Ryen just knows exactly how to make it hurt, and this book was definitely devastatingly beautiful. Just haunting in it's pain and just the devotion they have for each other can be felt on every page. Tragedy makes a really good story and this story is devastatingly tragic.
April 2, 2026
Everytime I go into one of ryens books I convince myself that I have the emotional fortitude to withstand the absolute devastation that we get hit with and I’m always W R O N G
This is pain from start to finish and it’s GLORIOUS
I would absolutely recommend this reading order
Ravens of London
Before the ravens fell
The Mourning star
This is pain from start to finish and it’s GLORIOUS
I would absolutely recommend this reading order
Ravens of London
Before the ravens fell
The Mourning star
March 22, 2026
I was very lucky to get to read this early! This follows Ottilie's story of meeting Calum and their love story leading up to The Ravens of London. I love the way Ryen wrote Ottilie's perspective and gave more understanding to their relationship and the choices that are made in Ravens and The Mourning Star. I was so engrossed in Ottilie's story I finished this in about a day. Seeing Calum from Ottilie's perspective added more complexity to him in a way that has made me appreciate his arc over the duology even more. LOVE LOVE LOVED THIS, tears and all.
May 9, 2026
This book took my heart, ripped it out, stomped on it, and pointed at it while laughing maniacally. But for real—this is probably my favorite thing I’ve ever read by this author. I loved getting to know the back story and it made the other two books so much more emotionally impactful.
April 11, 2026
What the HECKKKKK this hurt so good!! Seriously the prequel I didn’t know I needed but adds soooo much to this story. Told from Ottilie’s point of view… Calum is painted in this completely new light and changes the Ravens of London more than you can fathom!! First the first time he is seen🥺Ottilie is seen🥺!!!! And horrible people take this away from them for what???
Like seriously I’m not saying it’s totally right… but I certainly understand why Calum did the things he did. Even to characters I thought may not have deserved it…
Please see some of my favorite quotes below (there were many more lol). Love like what they have transcends all boundaries and cannot be confined. This book will destroy you.
“Princess,” he murmured, … “if I intended to stare, you would be aware.”
“Then don’t leave me anywhere I can’t follow”
“Because when I’m with you, I forget how much I hate this world.”
“Because when I’m with you… I feel like myself.”
“This is the moment,” he said, “when sensible people leave.”
“And if I’m not sensible?”
“Then this is the moment everything changes.”
“And you’re still here.” (UGHHHHH a deep cut you wouldn’t understand!!!)
“You are the moon to my endless night,”
“The only thing in this world I would burn it down to keep.”
“…my anchor in a world that was never meant to hold us.”
“You are the shadow that keeps me safe,” … “And the fire that reminds me I’m alive.”
Calum would come. He would burn his way through courts and realms if he had to. He would tear through wards and walls and every barrier my father could construct, and he would do it not because he was a monster but because that is what love looks like when it has teeth—when it has been backed into a corner and told to be reasonable.
Like seriously I’m not saying it’s totally right… but I certainly understand why Calum did the things he did. Even to characters I thought may not have deserved it…
Please see some of my favorite quotes below (there were many more lol). Love like what they have transcends all boundaries and cannot be confined. This book will destroy you.
“Princess,” he murmured, … “if I intended to stare, you would be aware.”
“Then don’t leave me anywhere I can’t follow”
“Because when I’m with you, I forget how much I hate this world.”
“Because when I’m with you… I feel like myself.”
“This is the moment,” he said, “when sensible people leave.”
“And if I’m not sensible?”
“Then this is the moment everything changes.”
“And you’re still here.” (UGHHHHH a deep cut you wouldn’t understand!!!)
“You are the moon to my endless night,”
“The only thing in this world I would burn it down to keep.”
“…my anchor in a world that was never meant to hold us.”
“You are the shadow that keeps me safe,” … “And the fire that reminds me I’m alive.”
Calum would come. He would burn his way through courts and realms if he had to. He would tear through wards and walls and every barrier my father could construct, and he would do it not because he was a monster but because that is what love looks like when it has teeth—when it has been backed into a corner and told to be reasonable.
April 24, 2026
I loved having a perspective of Otlittle’s POV. I enjoyed getting to see the other side of the love duo in this book. As I was reading this, I felt the beginning was a bit slow to my liking, as I felt the plot wasn’t moving, and there were a lot of repeated words and phrases that felt like the plot was the same, and there weren’t any continuous movements in the plot. I also felt that I wished I could see what Otlittle felt when compared to the other love duo of the book, but there was no POV that included that. I felt a little incomplete for that part.
I would give this book a 3-star rating, but thank you to Ryen for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!
I would give this book a 3-star rating, but thank you to Ryen for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!
April 2, 2026
absolutely 5 stars.
this novella will destroy you, it's so sweet, devastatingly heartbreaking and will ruin you. without giving spoilers, just read this.
it has to be read after the Ravens of London to get the full understanding...
this novella will destroy you, it's so sweet, devastatingly heartbreaking and will ruin you. without giving spoilers, just read this.
it has to be read after the Ravens of London to get the full understanding...
April 6, 2026
I wasn’t prepared for the sadness I would feel upon reading this book. It pulled out so many emotions in me reading her story. This is the before destruction and what fueled the amount of destruction Callum created.
April 10, 2026
😈 Monsters are very good at destroying the world for the people they love. 😈
This was the most perfect little novella to read between book 1 & 2. The emotional impact was everything, especially at the end. I have no words. Heartbreaking. My poor sweet Ottilie.
This was the most perfect little novella to read between book 1 & 2. The emotional impact was everything, especially at the end. I have no words. Heartbreaking. My poor sweet Ottilie.
April 21, 2026
I liked this! It's the prequel to the duet & it gives you their background. It was so awesome seeing him from her POV. This is before everything happens & it's heartbreaking.
May 16, 2026
I knew this book would be devastating, but 😭😭😭 Going into the next book with all the emotional damage, and preparing for more 🫡
This was so incredibly tragic and beautiful 😭
This was so incredibly tragic and beautiful 😭
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews