Title: The Crow Rider (The Storm Crow #2)
Author: Kalyn Josephson
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
No. of Pages: Hardcover, 352 pgs.
Publication Date: July 7, 2020
Date Read: June 23, 2020
Rating: 4/5
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Synopsis
Princess Thia, her allies, and her crow, Res, are planning a rebellion to defeat Queen Razel and Illucia once and for all. This 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 in 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. This 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.
Review
Thanks so much to Sourcebooks Fire for sending me a copy to review!
The Crow Rider picks up right where The Storm Crow left off.
[If you haven’t read the first book, 1) WYD; 2) HERE’s my review of The Storm Crow from last year].
Thia is on the run from the Illucian queen bent on the destruction of her home, Rhodaire. Her crow, Res, still needs training in order to fight in the coming war… and is still having trouble controlling his magic. They’re on their way to try to gain an alliance with the other kingdoms against Illucia. But it hasn’t been an easy journey for Thia and her friends. And this trip is no exception. Enemies all around, Razel and Illucia are coming for her home, and Thia learns about a part of her heritage that could be her savior, but also could be her ending. As Res trains and Thia gets stronger, the journey in this book is a rollercoaster of emotions ending in one final battle in this duology.
One of the things I loved most about the first book, and what I loved most about this book was the ever-growing knowledge of the kingdom and magic system. It helps to broaden the storyline, but its also so intricate and I love it. In this book, we learn more about the crows, their magic, and bit of a backstory as to how they got their magic in the first place. Along with this, we also learn a bit more about the bond between the crow and it’s rider, in this case Res and Thia. I was stunned in the first book because this magic system isn’t like one you typically read about and in book, I loved it even more.
Another thing that I truly appreciated in this book was again the description and depiction of Thia’s bout with depression. At times it seems like she’s holding her own, but then she’s taken back under. As someone who has dealt with depression before, and not seen it dealt well with in books, there was moment where it was nice to be seen. Josephson does a great job with capturing the feeling of being pulled under by a darkness and still feeling the weight of it even when outwardly things seem okay.
Another thing I loved is the storyline. It didn’t break from the first story and it felt final. This book truly did justice in ending the story that was started in the first book. The arc’s of these characters did them all justice and from start to finish, you’re always rooting that things go well for them… even when things are going horribly wrong for them.
The Crow Rider releases on July 7th. You definitely don’t wanna miss this series and the finale to this duology.
Author
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 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 even tinier owl). The Storm Crow is her debut novel.
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