When I read the synopsis for The Storm Crow I was intrigued.   I really loved the writing! I thought the characters were well written.  I think the giant crows was a very unique idea. I enjoyed this book but I do wish there was a little more world-building. I was very excited about the crows but they kinda got pushed aside. I'm hoping book 2 will have more about them. Overall, this was a quick, interesting read.

This book's standout is its acute, painful portrayal of shock and grief that often gets skipped over especially in fantasy novels. While that slows it down quite a lot at the start, it makes the payoff all the more worth it with our main character. However, it's a shame that the most interesting and unique part of this (the titular storm crows) were absent most of the time, leaving it fairly obvious that this is again a YA Fantasy that follows the formula pretty closely. If you like that then this book will not go amiss.

I am so conflicted with this book. I literally just finished reading it this morning and wanted to write my review immediately before I have time to stew over it, because if I do that I know I will end up dropping another star. Which may be a good thing but I also want to stay objective and not be too critical of this book. Overall lets just say I was greatly disappointed, but somehow I still enjoyed it? Such controversy.

I'm going to start with the things that I actually liked about the story before I dive into what I disliked. First, the premise. It sounds weird but I loved the IDEA of this story more than the actual story. I think if done correctly this could have been an amazing idea fleshed out into an intricate story with twists and turns and magic abound. Magical crows? Riders that fly them? Sign me up, sounds like a great time. What we got though was one over grown chicken for less than half the book. Guess I'm not doing a good job saying what I liked about this oops 😬

Okay I obviously I can't contain myself so let's just get to my issues with this one. The world building. There was none. The very first sentence of the synopsis describes Rhodaire as a "tropical kingdom", is it? Who actually knows? Not the reader that's for sure. The only instance I remember describing the climate of Rhodaire was when Thia said Ericen wouldn't be able to handle the heat and summers of Rhodaire. A place being hot in the summer doesn't automatically make it tropical in case that wasn't clear.. I live in Virginia where the summers are wicked hot and humid, still isn't a tropical climate. I was never able to imagine anywhere in this world because we got no descriptors. Like, oh they're in a castle, what does the castle look like? How am I supposed to imagine this world when nothing is identified.

The magic system in my opinion was a great idea but didn't pan out well. We know the crows have magic, but why? Where does it come from? How does it work? I never felt like we got a sense of how intricate this system was or could be because we weren't given any information on how it worked. This led me to be less interested in it overall because I was confused most of the book. I think because of this also it felt like nothing really happened in the story. It never felt like the plot was moving forward. Most of the time it seemed like it was more about talking through things rather than doing or showing which made the story feel SO SLOW.

The romance in this book was laughable if not cringe worthy. Spoilers ahead because I cannot contain this to myself. Thia is supposed to be marrying Ericen but being from rival kingdoms they naturally hate each other, which led me to believe we were embarking down my favorite trope of enemies to lovers. What ended up happening though is Thia ran off with Caylus and fell in love with him immediately, like within a couple days. I was done after that. I hate insta love with a passion and the romance took a turn I was not prepared for.

This was an easy review to write because all I had to do was think about all of the things that just felt off about this story and the words came flowing out, which is most unfortunate because I really wanted to love this book but I just didn't. It wasn't bad by any means which is why I am going to give it a neutral rating. There were a lot of points that could have made this story better, but it also wasn't a bad story nor was it poorly written so it doesn't deserve a bad rating. Just go into it knowing you might not get as much out of it as you were hoping.

A STRONG start for a promising series. I'm looking forward to where this story goes next. At times it felt like a fantasy story I've read plenty of times, but with the addition of the crows, it had a fun uniqueness to it.

Whatever my feelings ultimately were for this book (an ominous beginning if ever there was one), there is no denying that it has beautiful cover art. That, coupled with an intriguing description of a world built around the powerful abilities of magical crows, made it a pretty easy decision to request a copy from NetGalley. However, while the book does a lot of things right, most especially for its representation of a main character who is struggling with depression, it never quite clicked for me.

Thia’s life literally crashes and burns around her when her city is attacked by invading enemies, killing her mother and all of the magical crows that serve as the foundation for their culture. Before the disaster, Thia had been on the brink of gaining her own crow and joining the ranks of those who protect and build there country. Now, with that future lost foreer, Thia struggles daily to see what life holds for her. However, the world continues turning, and with new challenges banging on her door (like an unwanted marriage prospect), This is forced to re-engage with the world and begin building a new future for herself and, hopefully, her country.

There were a few things that I really did like about this book. For one, I think the idea of crows with elemental powers is a pretty intriguing idea. Yes, they’re essentially the same as dragons, but whatever. What really made them stand out, however, was the variety of ways that their powers were used. It wasn’t just battle crows, which is the expected route to go with something like this. No, the crows are used in almost every area of life in Thia’s land, including farming, travel, and more. It is because of this deep dependency on crows that the attack and their annihilation hits as hard as it does on Thia’s nation. It wasn’t just their military that was taken out, but basic needs like food and water are struggles without the crows.

The other thing I like is the fact that This struggles with depression. I haven’t experienced this myself, so I can’t speak to how accurate the portrayal is, but I appreciate that it is included in a YA fantasy book like this where you typically only see one type of main character: badass young woman! And Thia definitely does have strength, having to struggle through really tough feelings while her country is also in crisis.

However, even with my appreciation for what the author was trying to do with Thia, I could never really connect with the character. I can’t put my finger on exactly what the struggle was, but I was never fully invested in her plight or in her as a unique character, distinct from all the other YA fantasy heroines one reads about. She was better in theory than in actuality, I guess.

Part of my struggle with the character could also just be simply an off-shoot of my greater struggle with the pacing of the book. Unlike some other books that suffer from a slow start, this book takes off with a bang with the invasion of Thia’s home. From there, naturally, things slow down a bit. But I kept waiting for it all to pick back up as the story progressed. And I waited. And I waited. And it never really happened. The story was simply slow throughout the rest of the book, not helped by the fact that since I wasn’t overly attached to Thia as a character, I wasn’t able to sustain an interest for the character’s sake.

I was also underwhelmed by the end. Combined with the slow pacing of the story, it, and many other plot/character beats felt extremely predictable. There weren’t any huge twists, and what had started out as such an interesting concept, quickly faded into the background as we simply waited for Thia’s crow to hatch.

There is a sequel coming out and I’m mildly curious to see where things go from here. But I have to say, I won’t be racing out to get my hands on it. Likely, I’ll either read it or not simply based on how short or high my TBR pile is at the time. This is by no means a bad book, and for those with personal experience with depression, it may very well be just the book you’re looking for. But for me, from a purely reading-experience point-of-view, I didn’t love this book.

Rating 6: The cool premise died with the crows, unfortunately.

I enjoyed The Storm Crow. I thought the whole concept of the book and the magic was very interesting. I did struggle with Anthia, the mc, a bit. I really liked a lot of the other characters.

One of the things I really liked about The Storm Crow was that it shows how crippling depression can be. From my experience there are many types of depression and many ways to deal with it. Anthia goes through a traumatic event where she loses quit a bit. It makes her retreat into herself. I get this, I’ve been there. I didn’t want to stay in bed all day, for me I would lay on the kitchen floor and spend hours picturing myself sinking into it. I would never ever judge anyone for going through it or say how much time someone needs to come out of it. I thought it was great how it shows her going through this and how people around her react to it. Including her sister, who feels helpless I’m sure. She keeps telling her to move on and you know she’s not meaning to be hurtful she just doesn’t understand.

This is not why I struggled to connect with Anthia. I felt like she is very selfish but it’s a selfishness that comes with being young. I don’t like how she treats her sister who is forced to keep things together on her own. That is having to make decisions she is not ready for. Also she can see what Revenge has done to Illucian and she acknowledges it then goes back on her revenge thing. I don’t know it just felt like Anthia and I were swinging by each other and just couldn’t clasp hands. There were other things that kind of made me feel ugh. I also felt like she has a lot of room for growth through the series. Sometimes I like to read a book where I don’t like the main character at first because then I can see them grow.

I thought Ericen is really interesting character. He’s in a tough spot. Ya he screws things up with Anthia at first but he really tries. The things he says about his predicament make sense. I think Anthia sees everything as black and white. Right and Wrong. Ericen is trapped in a gray area and I think he doesn’t even know how to get out of it. He doesn’t want to run away because he sees that if he can fight through maybe he can change things. Sometimes you need to leave to change things, sometimes you need to stay. I wish there was more with him or even his perspective.

I liked Kiva a lot too and I would like to see more of her relationship with another character. Not just the glimpses we had. I also thought Caylus was a cute nice guy. He just really was eh okay he’s cool, he’s there and all.

I thought the crow magic is really cool. I did think Rhodarie relied on them too much though. Ha ha. Like I somehow suddenly understand politics. At first I was picturing a Thumbelina world and not large crows but small people. I don’t know why. I like all the descriptions of how the different crows use their magic and how they have an influence on the economy and culture of Rhodaire.

So overall I did enjoy The Storm Crow. I hope to see some more growth of Thia in future books. Also to learn more about the other countries and the characters we’ve been introduced to.

5/5 stars
I initially requested this book because I saw the author talking about it on Twitter and got hyped for it. Once I was approved though, it took me a minute to pick it up because that’s how I am with fantasy sometimes. Anyway, I’m really glad I picked it up sooner than later because I ended up really enjoying it. There’s something different about The Storm Crow; it brings an awareness/focus to mental health, that is unusual for fantasy, but quite refreshing. Anthia, or Thia, is constantly supported by her best friend through her depression and assumed guilt of a travesty that befell her country. I also enjoyed all the tough female characters in this book. Most of the cast is female (so far), and I hope to see this trend continue. I really love reading about strong women. I am disappointed we didn’t see much of the legendary Magic Crows, but I expect they’ll be making a large contribution to the plot later on in the series. Really, the worst thing about this book is that I’m going to have to wait an unknown amount of time for the sequel to be released. I can’t wait to jump back into this world!

*Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

FULL REVIEW:
The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019

TW: depression, self-harm, abuse (mental & physical)

I initially requested this book because I saw the author talking about it on Twitter and got hyped for it. Once I was approved though, it took me a minute to pick it up because that’s how I am with fantasy sometimes. Anyway, I’m really glad I picked it up sooner than later because I ended up really enjoying it. The Storm Crow follows Anthia, or Thia, as she deals with the travesty that befell her people 6 months ago, when their capital was attacked, and all their magical giant crows were slaughtered. In the aftermath of their loss, Thia must figure out who she is, who she wants to be, and how she can possibly help her country and her people.

What I Liked:

There’s something different about The Storm Crow. It brings an awareness/focus to mental health, that is unusual for fantasy, but quite refreshing. Thia is constantly supported by her best friend through her depression and assumed guilt.
I enjoyed all the tough female characters in this book. Most of the cast is female (so far), and I hope to see this trend continue. I really love reading about strong women kicking ass.
I like that the main character, Thia, isn’t the queen in this story. She’s actually her little sister, which was a nice change. It’s still a story of a leader trying to save her people, but it follows an alternate route than usual.

What I Didn’t Like:

I am disappointed we didn’t see much of the legendary Magic Crows, but I expect they’ll be making a large contribution to the plot later on in the series.
There’s a love triangle, or something close to it in this book, which I’m not overly fond of. I’m leaving it at that though, otherwise I might spoil something.

Recap:

Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced and kept me hooked the entire time. I can’t wait for magical shenanigans to resume and (hopefully) increase. The Storm Crow left me with so many questions, and I’m desperate for answers. Really, the worst part about this book is that I’m going to have to wait an unknown amount of time for the sequel to be released (no publishing dates yet).

5/5 stars

xoxo, Bree

*Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

I was really surprised. I thought this book was going to blow me away.

The Storm Crow was more about how Anthia, Thia, was dealing with the terrible night that had thrown her into the depression.

Which was great. I really loved the manner in which Thia surpassed that. The darkness of the depression was strong with this book. But Thia was stronger and I thought that was a great example to show.

Her friendships were amazing. The relationships were greatly developed. The characters were very well thought out. I thoroughly enjoyed the book but I didn’t love it.

I can’t really tell you, my fellow readers, why. I just couldn’t get into it.

It’s a hit or miss with fantasy genre. And this one wasn’t either. It wasn’t amazing. But it wasn’t terrible.

I honestly was very blase about it. It was greatly written, greatly developed, greatly everything. I just couldn’t get into it that much.

For my return to my regularly scheduled reading list, I read The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson. The Storm Crow is an engaging fantasy about a young princess who must marry the son of her nation’s greatest enemy in order to stop a war.

Rhodaire is a tropical kingdom, almost entirely dependent upon the aide of the magical Crows, who are a fundamental part of every aspect of their daily lives. But then one night, soldiers from the Illucian empire invade, kill all of the crows along with most of their riders and the queen, and destroy all of the eggs. Rhodaire is brought to a standstill; without the Crows, the country is dying, and newly-crowned Queen Caliza has asked her sister, Thia, for an impossible task – she must marry Ericen, the Illucian crown prince in order to stop the coming war. Thia, distraught, takes refuge in the destroyed rookery, where she stumbles across a single, solitary egg – the storm crow, the last of its kind.

The Storm Crow was entertaining and well-written, albeit with some unfortunate tropes. I loved the relationship between Thia and her best friend/bodyguard Kiva, even though I found it odd that Kiva all but abandons Thia in hostile territory to romance one of the servants in the Illucian palace. (There is more to it than that, obviously, but it’s still strange to think that neither of them seem at all worried about Thia wandering around without protection.) Ericen is a wonderfully complex character, and I honestly wish we got the chance to be in his head; but the Illucians, in general, come across as stereotypically evil, so I would like to see them get developed more. In her attempts to hatch the egg, Thia begins a relationship with Caylus that smacks of insta-love, which is frustrating. Much of her time with Caylus is glossed over and lumped into paragraphs that mostly describe their egg-hatching experiments with little-to-no time spent on their growing relationship.

There is diversity in the characters, which is always appreciated. The servant Kiva is romancing is a woman; one of Ericen’s biggest rivals has a boyfriend. The different kingdoms mentioned vary greatly by climate and culture, including one that seems to be mostly ruled by warrior women. Thia has depression, which is a rare thing to have in a fantasy novel, though referring to it as “depression” seemed out of place given the setting. Thia has burn scars from the night Rhodaire was attacked; Caylus is similarly scarred from events in his past.

I’m a huge fan of fantasy so I devoured this book, but as a fan of fantasy, it’s a pretty run-of-the-mill story. The idea of animals having magic instead of people is certainly interesting – and I hope that’s something that’s explored further in the next book – but there isn’t anything particularly groundbreaking in here. That isn’t to say this book isn’t a good read – I enjoyed it very much; it’s just a fairly straightforward story. I would like to mention this is one of the more well-written debuts I think I’ve ever read. If I hadn’t known this was Josephson’s first novel, I wouldn’t have been able to tell.

I enjoyed this. It was a fun fantasy with a few little quirks I wasn't expecting. It was well written and fast paced and had a unique world. But it was pretty generic YA fantasy, plot wise. It almost felt refreshing because I hadn't read this sort of YA fantasy in a while, but it's still a familiar story.

What I liked

I fell in love with this book after the first page. The world building was extremely well made. I loved everything. And the crows were magical!

The storyline and the plot were unique. Sometimes I had the strange feeling to reread State of Sorrow by Melinda Salisbury because some elements were the same. But in the end both stories were completely different. Both are set in a unique setting and a whole different world.

I also liked that the romance was completely different than in other books. It wasn’t what one would expect and that was totally refreshing. I hate it if you know already from the beginning with whom the main character might end up with. It’s annoying as hell, and I’m glad that Josephson did something different in The Storm Crow.
Something important in this book was the friendship between Anthia and her guard (+best friend) Kiva. It was absolutely fantastic and well written. The friendship felt real, not forced and both are simply hilarious together.

Kalyn Josephson’s writing style was fantastic. I felt like a character in the book while reading it. I was immediately amazed by the story and I honestly can’t wait to read the sequel to The Storm Crow!

What I didn’t like

Nothing! The book was perfection!

Overall, I’d recommend this book to those that loved books like State of Sorrow and The Cruel Prince. If you loved these you will love The Storm Crow as well. It’s also an easy book for fantasy beginners. You won’t be disappointed by The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson.

Eragon meets giant crows and magic in this powerful sweeping fantasy. Anthia and her people face total destruction even from the beginning of the book, which by the way was the strongest prologue I've read in a while. But as secrets, magic and a crow egg slowly make their appearance in the course of the book, Anthia will have to face even darker enemies.

I liked some of the characters and others simply annoyed me. The magic of the crows was very interesting and yet the important fact was that the author wrote a heroine who has depression and addresses the issue. In fantasies this is rare and I liked this, as I hope that other fellow readers will do.

I hope the story in the sequel will be as interesting as it was in the first book!

It has been two whole days since I finished the book and I still have so many feelings and am trying to gather my thoughts because this book was full of so many amazing things I don’t know where to begin! In this moment I’m happy for the ability to highlight and make notes on the Kindle App because I’m honestly going through everything I noted and highlighted hoping I can write a review that describes my love for this book.

The story itself blew me away and my dumb ass didn’t realize until I was nearing the end of the book that there is going to be a second book…I think…I hope… But anyways! I was drawn in with the first page and in that moment, I felt like I too was flying and oh, how I longed to after that. The craft and skill in which Kalyn Josephson wrote this book gave me no choice to be dragged into the story and get invested with it and these characters from the first sentence.

Thia is the main character of the story and as the POV character her voice was established and remained there the whole way. Very strong narration in which I felt a very real connection with her and I saw a lot of myself in her in that she is feisty and quick to stand up for others even if she gets in trouble for it.

Now let me take a moment to address what I think is one of the most important things in this story. Depression. Yes, you read that right… Depression. Kalyn Josephson has done what so many have tried to do and has taken it and blown it out of the water! It’s safe to say that this is one of two FANTASY books/series in which I have seen an accurate portrayal of mental illness/depression. As someone with depression seeing this accurate portrayal and seeing Thia kick depression in the ass was so empowering to me because throughout the book you see this process on how it really is like living with a mental illness. Some days you feel like you can conquer the world and your mental illness but then others it’s a fight to simply get and stay out of bed and for this I APPLAUD the author because the way she portrayed this is so real and SO. SO important. Everything Thia felt I have felt too and it just felt so real.

Essentially this book was beyond amazing and went above and beyond what I thought and expected from it! (and I expected many great things)



**I was provided this book by Netgalley in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own**

What a great start to what is going to be a magical series, I highly recommend this book, it’s a great read, and I would hope you love it as much as I did.

I was so happy to get this arc. I wanted to read this book from the moment I learned about it last year. It looked so interesting and different and can we take a moment to gush over the cover? Like really how gorgeous is it? Let it be known that if you want to make sure I buy a book, just put a crow on the cover or in the title. Even better if it’s in both.

When Illucia attacks Rhodaire, all that Anthia ever knew is destroyed. With the loss of her mother and the precious crows, Anthia will be forced to leave her lands and go live in the last place she wants to be: Illucia. Before she sets off she will find the last hope her kingdom may have of fighting off the Illucians: a crow’s unhatched egg. But Anthia is tired of being inactive and with this new discovery, she decides to fight back.

I loved this book. It was unique, diverse and highly entertaining. The magic system, to me, felt different and fresh. I haven’t seen a lot of books where the magic system comes from an animal that isn’t a dragon. Don’t get me wrong I love dragons, I’m not a monster, but it’s fun to see something out of the ordinary. The crows here help in every aspect of life in Rhodaire. From controlling the weather to helping with agriculture. They are the key to the kingdom’s prosperity and you get a sense that without them it will crumble.

Princess Anthia, our main character, was such a great character. She was strong but wasn’t afraid to show her weaknesses as well. After losing everything including her mother, we see her go through hardships and depression. It also seems that she has PTSD, which seemed very realistic to me after everything she went through. I loved that Kalyn decided to show this side of Anthia. Most times in YA fiction, well probably in most fiction, we see characters go through traumatic events and a lot of the time it seems they walk off without any sort of damage. This depiction of Anthia’s anxiety and depression to me felt possible, real. It was very well done and genuine. It also shows her struggling to get past her fears and anxiety. I thought her character arc was on point.

One thing I love in a story is a good villain. Razel, the queen of Illucia, was one of the best female villains I have seen in a while. She reminded me of characters like the Evil Queen or Amarantha from A Court of Thorns and Roses. Though there are reasons behind her evilness if you will, she was just so nasty that I had to love her.

The story went at an even pace. There was always something going on even if it was just transitions to more important part of the story. I was always interested in what was happening.

I can’t wait for the next installment of The Storm Crow. Is it out yet? If you liked books like Snow like Ashes and A Court of Thorns and Roses, I highly recommend that you pick up The Storm Crow.

Rhodaire is a magical kingdom filled with elemental crows that keep the city thriving. There are ten different types and each have a Saint attached to them as well as a specific purpose in society. A select few are worthy enough to ride these giant birds, and Princess Anthia is one of them. The crows' magic system was nicely developed and the animals themselves kind of reminded me of the bird-like creatures they rode in Avatar. Once you make the connection with one, you're bonded for life. You can sense their emotions, as they can yours, and you can bring out their elemental magic through this connection.

Anthia has been training with her mother's best friend, Estrel, one of the nine crow masters of the Corvé. On the night of Ronoch, she was to have tethered herself to her own crow. Her city was attacked by the Illucians, their enemies to the north. The crows and their rookeries were completely eradicated, leaving their city in a very grim and weakened state. This is where chapter one begins, in the aftermath of the night of horror when the Princess' home, security, and entire culture was ripped out from underneath her. She witnessed the death of loved ones, changing the dynamic of her and her sister Caliza's roles in the royal family. The enormity of their loss and overwhelming problems pressing down on them has sent her into a serious depression.

I thought Anthia's condition was represented with delicacy and accuracy. Not only that, but it was a different kind of conflict for the heroine to have to overcome that I don't think I've ever seen before in YA fantasy so that was really refreshing. We saw the judgement from those around her, her feelings of helplessness and shame because she felt like a coward for not being able to pull herself out of the dark.

Illucia and Rhodaire have a bitter feud that dates back many years. Unfortunately, the Illucian Queen isn't going to let bygones be bygones. She a vicious ruler who has no compunction about her need for revenge and power. She was a really creepy antagonist who will easily send shivers down your spine. The fact that Princess Anthia is betrothed to her son in an attempt to bring peace between them is naturally upsetting to her. Marrying into a family that's responsible for destroying her home and loved ones would terrify anyone, but Anthia finds the spark within herself to start helping her people. Slowly but surely, she discovers ways to manage her depression and return to the fiery, strong-willed young woman she once was.

Prince Ericen is a love interest that's an unpredictable revolving door of personalities. Often cruel, sometimes kind, sometimes flippant. He's the type of character that needs redeeming, and we did see hints of him wanting to break free from his mother's grasp but her hold had been absolute for so long that he isn't sure he can escape. There were times I disliked him, but then when that other side of him peeked out, you have hope again that he could rise above his circumstances.

What I didn't like so much, and had to lower my rating for was the fact that there turned out to be a love triangle forming. Most of the time I really can't handle this trope, and unfortunately this was one of those times. This romance kind of came out of nowhere for me and never felt entirely believable. Despite Ericen's occasional cruelty, it came from a plausible place so he always had my empathy. So it was a bit jarring to have an unexpected romance crop up and I never connected to it at all. I felt that the story would have been much better without the triangle which seemed unnecessary in my opinion. However, I know some readers go for this type of conflict so it may not be an issue at all for others.

I'm extremely excited to read the conclusion to the duet next year after reading this impressive debut. I instantly connected to the author's style of beautiful prose-like writing which made the story utterly consuming. The world was very detailed and sharply drawn, but not excessively so or boring. I highly recommend this one!! The book ends in an unresolved place of course, but it's not your typical suspenseful cliffhanger so the wait won't be unbearable. This is a talented new author to watch, don't miss it!

Quick Stats:
Overall: 4/5 Stars
Characters: 4/5
Setting: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Plot and Themes: 4/5
Awesomeness Factor: 4.5/5
Review in a Nutshell: The Storm Crow is a great start to what will definitely be an awesome fantasy series.

- Writing & Setting -
I really love the world this book built. Kalyn Josephson clearly spent a lot of time developing each kingdom mentioned in The Storm Crow. They all have such unique cultures and politics, some of which is only ever hinted at. I really hope the sequel continues to shine a lot on each fascinating kingdom. I also am really excited to learn more about the magic in this world (and, of course, the Crows)(I really want my own Crow now). The writing itself is also really good. It’s easy to jump in to, and accessible for anyone new to fantasy.

- Plot -

I have to admit,the beginning of this book is a little slow. It took me a good hundred pages to really be immersed in the story, but once I got to that point, I just wanted to keep reading. There’s a lot of world-building and character set up in the first few chapters, but it’s so worth pushing past that!

- Characters -

The characters are really where this book shines. First off- Thia. I really loved her. The one thing about her (and this book as a whole) that stood out was her depression. Kalyn Josephson does not shy away from depicting the reality of living with depression. She wrote it so well that I had to step away from it a few times. Thia’s depression is very accurate, and definitely hit home for me. It made me so happy to see a YA protagonist with a very real mental illness, and still be the awesome heroine we’re so used to seeing. The other stand out character was Ericen. I’m definitely a sucker for the bad-boy-with-backstory type, so I should have predicted that I would love him. I really enjoyed how complex of a character he was, and I’m so excited to see more of him. Also, a little side note that I wanted to mention- there are so many LGBTQ+ side characters!!!

As for relationships-- I really adored the friendships in this book. It’s rare to see such a strong female friendship in YA, but this book definitely had that going for it. However, the romance plot line seemed weak. I felt like Thia had way more chemistry with some of the other characters than she did with her love interest. But maybe I’m biased.

- Conclusion -

Pros- Very well written mental health representation, the Crows, great characters & setting
Cons- The romance felt forced
Overall- 4/5 stars.
The Storm Crow is a great debut that will have you dreaming of having your own Crow. I know I will be.

I feel like I'm constantly hitting a wall of generic YA fantasy with books lately and, unfortunately, The Storm Crow fell into that category. Aside from the fact that I should have put it down long before the end, I found the characters fell flat and the story far too predictable to make it an enjoyable read for me.

I was instantly drawn into the idea of a world filled with magical creatures (in this case crows) that are integral to the way of life. Reminded me a lot of Dinotopia in that aspect which was one of my favorite movies as a kid. Unfortunately that world exists for all of. . . the prologue. If I'm being perfectly honest, it's the primary reason I was interested in this book because, beyond a pretty cover, the synopsis read with the strong potential for a "rebellious princess" and "chosen one." I like a well-used trope as much as the next person but it wasn't working with The Storm Crow for me.

The princess in question, Thia, read pretty flat. She tended to focus inward a lot and her constant stream of thoughts made me want to skim until something happened, usually her reacting to something else. I felt like Thia was more of a bystander in a larger story and tended to be more curious about what her friend and guard Kiva was doing -- except her friend was soon reduced to a bargaining chip to get Thia to obey. And then we get the prince Thia is supposed to marry who's typecast as a total jerk with a tragic history that's made him tough. Except it doesn't make me feel bad for him, only confused with the personality 180 he pulls halfway through the book.

Then there's the romance. Every romantic encounter in this book read as majorly insta-lovey. The relationship between Thia and one of the side characters came completely out of left field and felt unnecessary. She didn't need to have a thing with him to make anything else in the story happen, and the romance seemed like it was added in last minute. Oh, and then there's this whole love triangle potential presented near the end??? Thanks, but I'll pass. I can see that coming up in the next book and I'm not here for it.

I will say that I really appreciated the diversity of the cast. Thia is described as a woman of color and the races of the various kingdoms are described across a wide range of racial backgrounds. In addition, several same-sex couples pop up as secondary characters and are simply part of the world which I thought was well done rather than calling it out. It felt natural. Granted, I can't read into how good the rep for either aspect.

When it comes to the story, I can't deny that the writing is solid. The pacing is good and isn't bogged down with flowery descriptions. To be honest, the descriptions of, well, everything are kind of limited that I only visualized about half the book. But with the clean writing style, this book was a very quick read even though I wasn't invested in any part of it beyond finishing. The actual plot is predictable at best, with an evil queen who is nothing but evil (seriously, can we get a better motivation to her because the one that's given never felt strong enough to support her character) and a princess who doesn't want to get married. Throw in the last crow egg and suddenly we're dealing with a serious Chosen One dilemma. 

I'm okay with predictability. Most books are to some degree, especially if it's a genre you read a lot (and I read a lot of YA fantasy). But what finally lost The Storm Crow for me was the fact that everything came so easy for Thia. Each time she had a challenge, it suddenly resolved or wrapped up with minimal effort. Her foreign guards are trailing her? All she does is ask and they're gone. It seems ridiculously easy to communicate with the rebels. When she's forced to face her fears to save a friend, she comes out nearly unscathed. I never felt like she was in danger. There was no tension. And so I didn't care what happened to Thia because everything would work out. 

I had the ending pegged halfway through the book. It follows what I've seen time and again in other books and sets up for the sequel. The Storm Crow had no surprises for me which was disappointing and partially why the low rating. For finishing the book, I gave it a star. For the solid writing and interesting world idea of the crows, there's another star. But that's all I can give it unfortunately and don't think I'll bother with the sequel.

Sometimes, nothing makes me happier than picking up an author’s debut, and soon realizing their book is one of the best things you’ve read in a while. THE STORM CROW is no exception, and I’m happy to report I’ve found a new love.

Ugh, this was such a good read. I know I said that already, but I mean it. I devoured this over the weekend, not wanting to put it down. While a little slower-paced than expected, it was still thrilling, emotional and riveting. It reminded me a bit of Crown of Feathers, which I champion when I can.

The story takes place across the countries of Rhodaire and Illucia, two kingdoms at war, following Thia as she is roped into an engagement with the prince of Illucia as a peace offering. Illucia is established as the enemy within the first chapter, which by the way, is devastating. The magical crows so crucial to the way of life in Rhodaire are all killed in a scene that is not explicit or graphic, but still so very heavy-hearted. I made the mistake of reading it right before bed, not expecting this book to pack a punch so strong right out of the gate.

The elemental crows were a fascinating twist. I didn’t know what to expect with this book, but I really enjoyed this aspect. In Rhodaire there are magical crows that grow big enough to ride and are an integral part of life in the kingdom, from watering crops to weather regulation, spy-work to battle fighting. Each crow has an affinity for certain elements such as fire, water, shadow, earth. In this story, the egg Thia finds belongs to a storm crow, a crow that can manipulate the weather, creating storms of lightning and wind. But how to hatch it?

This is quite a strong feminist cast of characters. Thia is a wholly relatable protagonist. As we see in the first chapter, everything she has loved and cherished has been taken from her, and she slips into the grip of depression. Her development as she fights back against it and takes those steps forward, head held high, both at home and in enemy territory, is admirable. (Bonus representation points because I believe depression is something the author has struggled with herself.) She is a clever girl, and resourceful. And indomitable despite every fear she harbours. On top of that, just about every person who is important to her is a fierce female. Her sister is Queen of Rhodaire, making the hard decisions to keep her people safe. Her personal guard, Kiva, is a girl warrior who will stop at nothing to be there for Thia. Even those who died and are mourned by Thia are women she takes after or looked up to.

As far as villains go, Queen Razel is one nasty woman. Nasty. Prince Ericen’s mother, Razel is the woman orchestrating the slow and steady capturing of the neighbouring kingdoms. She is ruthless, manipulative and cold, and I applaud Thia for how she behaves with her. Thia is understandably pissed with this woman for destroying her home, her family, and her life, and she. does. not. back. DOWN.

While I know it is impossible, I do wish there had been a bit more crow riding and less of what I guess you would call a love triangle? It’s not full-fledged, but I have a feeling Book 2 will bring it to a head. The triangle I speak of is between Prince Ericen, Thia and an inventor named Caylus. Except it’s … not. Ericen comes to like Thia in a romantic way, but for too long she has considered him to be her enemy. Someone to befriend only to thwart. Caylus, on the other hand, is an awkward boy that I kind of adored against my better judgement. Thia likes him, and the way their relationship develops is quite sweet. Although I would prefer her to fall for the prince, cuz that’s just me, I’m curious to see how it’ll pan out.

me to myself: EVERY 👏 CROW 👏 IN 👏 THE 👏 UNIVERSE 👏 IS 👏 NOT 👏 KAZ 👏 BREKKER 👏

I liked the world building of The Storm Crow.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.