Review: The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson

February 4, 2026

Synopsis:

She might win the throne. She might destroy an empire. Either way, it begins with murder.

After twenty-four years on the throne, it is time for Bersun the Brusque, emperor of Orrun, to bring his reign to an end. In the dizzying heat of mid-summer, seven contenders will compete to replace him.

Trained at rival monasteries, each contender is inspired by a sacred animal – Fox, Raven, Tiger, Ox, Bear, Monkey, and Hound. An eighth – the Dragon proxy – will be revealed only once the trials have begun. Eight exceptional warriors, thinkers, strategists – the best of the best.

Then one of them is murdered.

It falls to the brilliant but idiosyncratic Neema Kraa to investigate. But as she hunts for a killer, darker forces are gathering.

If Neema succeeds, she could win the throne – whether she wants it or not. But if she fails, she will sentence herself to death – and set in motion a sequence of events that could doom the empire . . .

Review:

I felt like joining the party a bit late with this one. There was no valid reason for me to buy this book month after its release. When I finally got around to it, I had high expectations. So many people were loving it.

But then reality set in. While the beginning felt interesting to me, somewhere in the middle I noticed myself not enjoying the journey anymore. I didn’t connect with most of the characters and even debated stopping completely. The story simply didn’t hold my attention and the writing felt dragged in parts. The games didn’t get me interested either.

At the end I made it through. Right now, I’m debating with myself if I even want to continue with the series. Not everyone is gonna be a winner. Sometimes it comes down to personal preferences and if the writing style *clicks*. Looks like we were not made for each other and that is absolutely fine. It doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy it.

🌙 Recension: The Raven Scholar (Eternal Path Trilogy #1) by Antonia Hodgson
📚 Genre: Fantasy, Dark Academia, High-Fantasy
📅 Release Date: April 17, 2025
📖 Publisher: Hodderscape
📱 Read as: Physical
📗 available in various formats
💸 Bought
🗣️ Language: German
📆 Pages: 656
⭐️ 3/5