Return of the Raven by Judith Sterling

 … A woman desperate to outlive a curse. A man anxious to help. As they forge a bond, they reshape the past as well as the future...

          In January 2020, we read Night of the Owl, for us the first of Judith Sterling's time traveling historical romances. There we met Ardyth Nightshade, a woman with a brain, imagination and courage. Fast forward to February 2021 as we met her parents [Margaret, Lady Ravenwood, and Griffen Nightshade], we knew immediately where Ardyth got her spunk.

In Return of the Raven, Margaret is functioning under the ages old Ravenwood Curse: unless a child is conceived in love, the mother will die in childbirth. Sadly, she is saddled with a brute of a husband who not only loathes her but is after her holdings. Not exactly what we’d call a loving union. Enter, by accidental discovery of Woden’s Stairs on his newly inherited Elizabethan manor, Griffen Nightshade, concert pianist and newly conferred PhD in medieval studies. The attraction is immediate and intense. Their actions to break the curse—and save their love and the lives of future children—is inventive and action-packed.

We have often said, writing historical fiction of any sub-genre is not for the wilting lilies of the world. Author Sterling entertained us with her intensive research into herbs and medicinals of the day as well as her delicious sense of humor. Imagine an 11^th century woman viewing a telephone, then an automobile, followed by the workings of an electric light switch. A complete and utter hoot.

          On a scale of 1-5, Return of the Raven, bk 5 of the Novels of Ravenwood, earns a 6

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews