I have had an idea for a supernatural sorority story brewing in my head for some time, so when I heard about The Ravens, of course I had to check out the read-alike for my potential future book. I adored this story about a sorority of witches, told from the POVs of a member and her little as she pledges and learns about witchcraft, all while tracking down a force which threatens their coven.

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The summary, from Amazon:

From New York Times best-selling authors Kass Morgan and Danielle Paige comes a thrilling, dark contemporary fantasy about a prestigious sorority of witches and two girls caught up in its world of sinister magic and betrayals.

At first glance, the sisters of ultra-exclusive Kappa Rho Nu—the Ravens—seem like typical sorority girls. Ambitious, beautiful, and smart, they’re the most powerful girls on Westerly College’s Savannah, Georgia, campus.

But the Ravens aren’t just regular sorority girls. They’re witches.

Scarlett Winter has always known she’s a witch—and she’s determined to be the sorority’s president, just like her mother and sister before her. But if a painful secret from her past ever comes to light, she could lose absolutely everything . . .

Vivi Devereaux has no idea she’s a witch and she’s never lived in one place long enough to make a friend. So when she gets a coveted bid to pledge the Ravens, she vows to do whatever it takes to be part of the magical sisterhood. The only thing standing in her way is Scarlett, who doesn’t think Vivi is Ravens material.

But when a dark power rises on campus, the girls will have to put their rivalry aside to save their fellow sisters. Someone has discovered the Ravens’ secret. And that someone will do anything to see these witches burn . . .

Buy The Ravens here.

What a good read! I hope that this series continues. I loved reading from Vivi and Scarlett’s points of view, though Scarlett was my favorite of the two. Vivi is an ingenue, and Scarlett is a Slytherin with a heart of gold. (Speaking of, there are plenty of Harry Potter and other pop culture references in this one.) It was interesting to watch the dynamics of their relationship slowly shift.

While the characters were great, the plot was interesting, too. Some parts of the mystery were easy enough to solve, while others kept me guessing, which is the predictability level I like best when it comes to books like this one. There’s also a light dash of romance for both characters which promises for interesting love stories to unfold in a sequel. Despite the characters being young adults, by which I mean actual adults, presumably 18-21, I would say this is more of a YA novel than a New Adult one. SLJ says it’s for ninth grade and up, and I can see a high schooler or college student really getting the most from this novel. The romances have a very low heat level, while most NA novels are pretty smutty. (Which I like!)

The only reason this wasn’t a perfect read for me was because I was in a sorority in college. I could be wrong and the authors could be sorority women too, but it read to me like this was a researched take on Greek Life, but not researched enough. Some of the language is off. While the pledges aren’t fully initiated, they are referred to as members of the coven/sorority – wrong – you aren’t a member until initiation. A fraternity member talks about quitting his house – you don’t quit, you disaffiliate. And Hell Week takes place right after the pledges accept their bids, when Hell Week is the final week of the pledging process. Two of the sisters are in a relationship, when most, if not all, organizations forbid two active members from dating. (You’re sisters/brothers, after all.) For someone with experience in Greek Life, these little things annoyed me.

However, I must note the overall positive representation of sororities and fraternities in this novel. So often in the media we see the worst of Greek Life, when there are so many good things about it. While there’s some hazing shenanigans and a little cattiness, overall this book shows the true meaning of sisterhood and the lifelong friendships that can be found in Greek Life, as well as the side that isn’t all about partying – philanthropy and helping out around the university, for instance. I loved my years as a sorority member and am still best friends with two girls from my chapter. I keep in touch with many others, and follow what the current members are up to almost a decade later. I also remain friendly with members of other Greek organizations from my college days. It was so cool to see my experience reflected in this novel with a witchy spin.

Overall, this was a 4 star read for me and I am excited for more books in this series, whether there’s only a sequel or we get to see all of Vivi’s four years at Westerly! My thanks to the authors, publisher, and NetGalley for giving me a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Find out more about how I rate books here.

The Ravens by Kass Morgan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a great book! I hope this series continues. It only wasn’t 5 stars for me because I was in a sorority in college and some of the Greek Life stuff wasn’t 100% accurate, lol. But this was such a fun, engaging, moving book avoid sisterhood and magic, and I can’t wait for the next installment. My thanks to NetGalley, the authors, and the publishers for giving me a copy in exchange for my honest review.

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Book Club Questions

1. Why does Scarlett expect so much from potential new members of Kappa? Is it really just because she wants the best for her sorority/coven?
2. How is the representation of Greek Life in this novel different from representations in other media you’ve consumed?
3. What are some of the messages about sisterhood in this novel?
4. Vivi did not know she was a witch before pledging Kappa. Was this her mother’s fault for not telling her, or Vivi’s fault for not listening?

Interested? Buy The Ravens.
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