The Crow Rider (The Storm Crow #2)
Author: Kalyn Josephson
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: July 7th 2020
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Princess Thia, her allies, and her crow, Res, are planning a rebellion to defeat Queen Razel and Illucia once and for all. Thia must convince the neighboring kingdoms to come to her aid, and Res’s show of strength is the only thing that can help her.
But so many obstacles stand in her way. Res excels at his training, until he loses control of his magic, harming Thia in the process. She is also pursued by Prince Ericen, heir to the Illucian throne and the one person she can’t trust but can’t seem to stay away from.
As the rebel group prepares for war, Res’s magic grows more unstable. Thia has to decide if she can rely on herself and their bond enough to lead the rebellion and become the crow rider she was meant to be.
The Crow Rider is the exciting sequel to The Storm Crow. As we join Thia in her fight to save her kingdom.
It has been a while since I’ve read The Storm Crow and even though The Crow Rider picks up where it left off, there isn’t any info dumping from the first book. Even so my memory is jogged pretty easily while reading. Kalyn Josephson does a good job of putting in little reminders that don’t make it feel like you are reading a summary of the first book. I definitely prefer that since a series like this can easily be binged.
I remember having so many frustrations with Thia in TSC and thinking she wasn’t giving Ericen enough credit. It’s funny how TCR starts with those same feelings for me. Where I wasn’t sure if I was ever endeared to Thia previously. I did start to really like her in this sequel. We see her learning and developing as a human. As she understands that not everyone is perfect. She’s mad her own mistakes and ignorance is not always a defense.
I still love Ericen. I don’t think there was enough of him in this story. I would have loved to see Kiva and him get into it more. I love the way they can play off one another. In a non-romantic way. In the we both care about Thia and are just dealing with the other way.
The thing I really liked about this second half of the story is Res. I think he really endeared me to the idea of these crow riders. He’s like some combination of cat, dog and with some human like tendencies that made him sweet.
As far as the plot is concerned. I did enjoy it. There is one aspect that felt a little rushed and I think that’s because it was a sequel instead of trilogy. It was something that could have had a deeper delve but also I was fine with it not. I understood what the element was and their impact. I did really like how so much of the ar is driven by revenge and not because I like revenge. I just think people can get lost in emotions sometimes. Fueled by different things and the fact that Raziel had not just a purpose of gaining power for no reason. She had something that made her the way she is.
There is plenty of action in the story. Being that they are brushing with war. So if you enjoy the battle scene there are few for you here.
I did really enjoy it and I felt like it does wrap up the story. It’s also nice to have it be a two book series that is a fun fantasy to read if you're not looking for something that’s intense and takes a lot of books to complete.
Kalyn Josephson currently works as a Technical Writer in the tech industry, which leaves room for too many bad puns about technically being a writer. Though she grew up in San Luis Obispo, California, she graduated from Santa Clara University with a degree in Biology and a degree in English (Creative Writing). Currently, she lives in the Bay Area with four awesome friends (because it’s the Bay Area and she’d like to be able to retire one day) and two black cats (who are more like a tiny dragon and an ever tinier owl). THE STORM CROW is her debut novel.
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PRE-ORDER CAMPAIGN
If you pre-order TCR submit their receipts, they can choose a bonus scene from either Kiva or Ericen's POV, and be entered to win a TSC bookmark + character cards. Open US and CAN only.
Also, if you order TSC (hardcover OR paperback) or TCR from Kaylyn’s local indie store, Keplers Books, before July 7th they can get a signed, personalized copy. Readers need to say in the order comments if they wanted it personalized through.