This was such a lovely and emotional conclusion to this amazing duology. I have to say it was just as amazing as the first, the mental health issues aren't hidden away now that the Crow is around, and I loved that, and in fact, Josephson delves deeper into not only our MC's depression but different mental health issues of our other beloved characters and it made for a beautiful read. The romance story in this was perfection and I think my only complaint was Kiva's overprotectiveness of Thia, it was almost smothering and a bit annoying and I was the reader, not Thia! Anyway, perfection wrapped in gorgeous prose. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Crow Rider by Kalyn Josephson

The Crow Rider is the sequel to The Storm Crow. I have to say I enjoyed the Storm Crow and the world that Kalyn had created, so I was very excited to read The Crow Rider. It didn’t disappoint. The story starts where it left off.

Thia has set off on a journey with Res, and her loyal friends in tow, to persuade the other kingdoms to join her fight against Queen Razel and Illucia. At every turn something happens, battles and political manoeuvres. Thia soon realises that convincing others to join her is a lot harder than what she had anticipated. She needs to prove herself and show that she isn’t her mother and has learned from the mistakes made in the past.

I love the continued training of Res throughout the book and learning about what he can do. The whole crow magic is amazing. I think Kalyn crafted something unique and interesting.

I would recommend doing a re-read of The Storm Crow or a catch up before you start The Crow Rider, just to refresh your memory. I didn’t do this and forgot certain things and wished I had done a recap beforehand. However, I still really enjoyed it. I look forward to seeing what Kalyn releases in the future.

Title: The Crow Rider
Author: Kalyn Josephson
Pub. Date: July 7, 2020
Rating: 4

This will be a spoiler free review. Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I read The Storm Crow last year, and thought it was okay. You can read my whole, non-spoiler thoughts here, but the gist was that it felt like a typical YA “take back the throne” fantasy and I couldn’t stop comping it to Eragon.

I honestly wasn’t entirely sure I was going to read this book, but then I got approved for it on NetGalley. This book surprised me, in the fact that I really liked it. I thought it was a pretty strong way to end Thia’s story. I’m actually kind of bummed that it’s only a duology and there won’t be another book.

I don’t know if I enjoyed this book more, because I barely remembered what happened in The Storm Crow and therefore didn’t remember it was comped to Eragon, or if maybe I was too hard on the first book. But whatever the reason may be, I’m actually glad I read this book. I’m actually tempted to buy physical copies of the series, because I thoroughly enjoyed this final installment.

I liked Thia’s journey, the ups and downs, and learning to trust herself. I liked how even when all hope seemed lost, she stood up for herself, for her people and fought back. She made herself be heard. I freaking love Res and want a giant bird that acts like a mix of a cat and a dog. I loved Ericen and their back and forth. That boy has a mind that goes straight to innuendo at every chance. It’s hysterical.

I loved the new friendships and bonds made along the way. Really the whole cast of this book is wonderful. OH, I almost forgot my love for Caylus. I'm thrilled with where that boy ends up at the end of this book. I wanted to hug him the entire time he had page time. I'm a sucker for an emotionally vulnerable male character.

I do think the plot felt a tad rushed. But I think maybe that’s just my desire of wanting more, wanting another book. It’s funny how my opinions of this duology has changed – from not knowing if I even wanted to read book 2, to wanting a book 3. I really want more time with Ericen and Thia. I can only imagine how their futures would play out.

If you haven’t yet, go read The Storm Crow so you can be prepared for The Crow Rider when it releases on July 11. You have time, so go read!

I read the first book in this duology last year before it’s release, and I knew since then I wanted to pick up the next one. I adored the first book and found it such a lovely fantasy with a twist. The Crow Rider was no different, and I’m so glad I had a chance to read it!

It was so lovely to delve back into this beautiful world. Josephson does a brilliant job of describing the world and cities, honestly some of the passages describing the markets and cities took my breath away. I was immediately enveloped once again into this world of castles and beauty.

The writing was beautiful and I kept wanting to go back for more. Whenever I picked up this book I didn’t want to stop, there was a weird kind of comfort I remember from reading The Storm Crow that only comes with knowing how much you are going to enjoy a book. Another thing that came back was the openness when Josephson discusses grief and depression. I had forgotten how this was discussed and it impressed me over again, especially when I read a specific passage. Not enough fantasy talks about mental health and I admire how this one does.

The magic and crows were amazing as ever. I loved having Res as a full character, even though he is actually a crow. The way Thia communicates with him fascinated me, and every time anybody insulted him by calling him chicken or pigeon it made me chuckle.

The only complaint I had is I didn’t feel as much connection to the characters as I wanted to, and I felt confused by them. I didn’t know who was who, which made the war councils and politics difficult too and I mainly just skim read the political scenes. However, I think a lot of this was from the fact I read the first book almost a year ago, and I wouldn’t have felt so confused if I had only just read the first book.

Overall, this was a brilliant, emotional and utterly beautiful conclusion to this duology. I loved it and would definitely recommend the series!

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

This book was a bit underwhelming for me at first. It took quite a while for me to get into it. But I think that was more of a reflection on me and my mood at the time. The story is a good one and in the end I did quite enjoy reading it.

One of the things I quite enjoyed in the first book was Thia and her struggles with depression. While that story line was not as prevalent in this book, it is still there and there are times that her depression starts to overwhelm her again. Thia’s overall character growth continued in this book. She overcomes her fears and doubts about being a leader and comes out as a strong and resilient young lady. She has a lot to overcome and does a spectacular job at coming out on top.

One of the other things I liked about this book was getting to know Res, the crow better. He also has his doubts and struggles with controlling his magic. There is a wonderful scene where Thia is comforting him and helping him struggle through his issues. Res, and crow magic in general, was one of the more interesting parts of this story. It is an interesting magical system and one I enjoyed learning about.

All of the characters that we came to know in the first book are back, although some fall a little to the wayside. The romance went in the direction I was hoping it would. I really enjoyed both Caylus and Ericen as characters and was glad to see that the love triangle I saw coming didn’t happen. It was also nice that the romance did not overshadow the rest of the plot, as these things tend to do. Kiva is still as strong as ever, and her friendship with Thia was so nice to see.

While the overall plot was somewhat predictable, it was still fun watching it unfold. No big surprises, but a few interesting things happen that were hinted at in the first book which made the story more interesting. The battle scenes were well done and the pacing of the story overall was steady, although a bit slow to start. The ending was well done, and even leaves you with a happy contented feeling that things are going to work out well for all of the kingdoms.

Even though it was a rough start for me reading this book, in the end I was glad I pushed through that. It was a well done duology that is worth reading for the magical system and the world building.

This was one of the worst final books in a series that I ever read.

What do you need for a YA story? Wait, the first one only briefly mentioned Fae. Now there are some, maybe? Also, people repeating themselves over and over, while there are absolutely no important plot points in the story. In the first 50%, the characters travel, learn a story and nothing else happens.
It just feels completely uninspired. There is NO point in the story that is not predictable. Me and some friends guessed it all based on YA tropes.

Worst of all, Rys, the crow, is constantly being insulted by everyone but the main character. It bothered me a bit in the first book, but Thia's depression was handled so well that I could overlook that. But in this book, I have to ask if the author knows what happens if one is constantly insulted. Even pets get sick. Maybe it should have been read as lovely banter, if so, it was overused.

THE CROW RIDER is great sequel and duology finale. It's action-packed, as Thia and her allies get ready to fight for their freedom. The battles are snappy but easy to follow, full of emotions as Thia faces the prospect of losing her friends.

The sequel also takes the reader to new countries, and I really liked seeing their sides of the story. The first book focused on Rhodaire and Illucia, and their complicated history, but Rhodaire also has a tricky history with the countries Thia needs to ally with. It had been explained in the first book, but it made a lot more sense once This started interacting with them, and a lot more nuance came out.

Res can access all eight types of magic, which would make him too powerful except he hold himself back from fear. I really liked that it was the crow's fear that made accessing the magic hard, rather than Thia. It was very unusual to see a main character try to help another get over their magical barriers than be the one facing the difficulty.

This isn't to say that Thia doesn't face her own difficulties, but hers are more to do with the confidence to trust herself and lead. She trusts people instinctively, then is given a lot of grief about it - and starts to doubt. Not to mention that she's trying to get other country's to ally with her when she's avoided politics for years.

✭✭✭✩✩

*hides* don't yell at me plz. I just feel underwhelmed by the world and the characters. Maybe I'm not in the right headspace for reviewing this, due to my current reading slump, but I really can't say much? I don't hate it, it was alright. But compared to the first book, I'm just really not sure what to think. I think I lost any sort of connection to the characters, I didn't want them to achieve or persevere through their problems. Of course, there were still good factors, magical birds, fighting, and romance. But other than that, I think it was pretty boring.

Basically the Razel and Thia go into war, to make themselves feel better about losing their loved ones. They only have one crow, and Thia needs to convince the kingdoms that they need to be wary and prepare for the war.

The romance, I can't say much for. I feel like it fell flat, there was no slow burn because it was never ignited in the first place. Their relationship felt dull and. . . forced. They didn't seem like people to me, just puppets used for the purpose of the plot.

I feel like the book was packed with too much action. . . that eventually they all blended together, leaving me fatigued.

There weren't many surprises, and the twists that were included were heavily predictable. The actual battle that was leading up to was so quickly concluded.

There were so many themes, and ideas that the book tried to jam in, it ended up making the story blander. I would enjoy it if it has solid themes to stick with.

There were so many things were they could've gone deeper into, instead of just handing out shallow explanations.

Is it bad to say the side characters were the most interesting thing in this story? *sigh* I don't even know.

The book wasn't bad, it just wasn't original or exciting to read.


( thanks to netgalley and sourcebooks fire ) for providing me this eARC

The first book in The Storm Crow duology, The Storm Crow, had been on my reading radar for ages. When The Crow Rider became available on Netgalley, I immediately jumped at the chance to request it and then purchased a copy of The Storm Crow so I could straight away immerse myself in a world where a princess fights for freedom alongside magical crows. For me, reading both books in the duology back to back was the perfect way to experience and enjoy every thrill this magical series has to offer.

The Crow Rider is a fantastic conclusion to the series. As I read it immediately after The Storm Crow, I felt there was a perfect flow between the books and that it just jumped right back into the action and pulled me in for a fun and stormy ride. Thia’s journey throughout this book was really well developed in terms of finding her own strength of character and fighting for what she believes in. I loved learning more about the world and the secrets of Thia’s home and where her family’s power came from. I loved spending more time with characters such as Prince Ericen, Kiva, Caylus, and of course, my favourite character Res. I also loved meeting new characters and seeing how they all became part of the story, whether they were fighting against or with Queen Razel.

The only small letdown in this book for me personally was that I felt the main romance plot could have been more developed. It didn’t feel fleshed out enough for me. I just wasn’t entirely convinced by the way things happened and didn’t really experience any super swoony feelings I normally get with very well-written romances. However, because I loved everything else about the book, especially Thia’s friendships and her relationship with a certain special storm crow, the romance thing didn’t negatively impact my overall experience of the book. There is just so much more going on in this series that made the story so inviting and enjoyable.

If you are looking for a light, magical and action-packed fantasy series to whisk you away to a new world during this trying time, I would highly recommend picking up The Storm Crow duology. If you’ve already read The Storm Crow, I definitely think you will enjoy the The Crow Rider and finish the book wishing there was more like I did. You can’t really go wrong with magical creatures in my book and the crows in this series are no exception. The whole series gave me so many feelings, simply made me smile and took all my worries away while I was reading. What more could I ask for from a book, really.

I thought ‘The Storm Crow’ was a wildly imaginative and entertaining debut, so I was beyond excited to jump right back into the world and this sequel hits the ground running.

It literally picks up where the last book left off and I immediately found myself not remembering little details, such as how several characters were connected, what was going on with the different kingdoms, and how the magic system worked. I wanted to blame it on my memory, but then I remembered the first book didn't have a lot of world-building to begin with. Pair that with no recap given and you get a very confusing start to a story.

And because it took me nearly half the book before I felt settled into the story, this wasn't quite as enjoyable as I wanted it to be. There's a lot more action, but again, the world-building leaves much to be desired. I once more found the glossary at the back of the book to be more informative than the details provided in the story. I also felt unattached to the characters for some reason - the only character I looked forward to seeing was Res, the crow.

Overall, I think many people who loved the first book will be happy with this sequel and will find it to be a satisfying conclusion. But I had too many hiccups along the way that prevented me from personally loving this, unfortunately.

**Review will be posted on my blog on June 29, 2020, closer to publication date**

*3.5 STARS*

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

The Crow Rider is the conclusion to The Storm Crow duology and I think it did a great job tying things up nicely. I really loved the first book because I was introduced to this magical world of magical crows – but I did think the story needed more crows.

We don’t get many more crows in this volume. Res, Thia’s hatched crow is basically the crow we get to know in this series. This time the political stakes are high and Thia has to grow up fast. She’s come a long way from grieving in the first book to now taking a leadership role in this book.

Likes:
*Thia gains confidence in this story and she becomes a leader while trying to figure out who to trust. She also has to make the leaders of other kingdoms trust her so that an alliance can take place. So yes Thia comes a long way!

*There is romance and it is fairly predictable in how it happens but I like that it doesn’t overtake the story.

*There are a lot of battles in this one. It’s nice to see Res, Thia’s crow finally learn some skills to use the crow powers and magic.

*Kiva is still there with Thia through the end and she tries to keep Thia on the mission even when she doesn’t agree with Thia’s actions. Their friendship is strong which is good.

Things That Made Me Go Hmm:
*Even though this story has a lot more battles, at times in the beginning I was a little bored I think because it was pretty much predictable. Thia was going to help save the day with Res as her crow and Ericen at her side, right? Right.

*I was waiting for more crows again and finally when I realized Res is like THE only crow we get to really know…I let it go and tried to enjoy the story.

Final Thoughts:
Overall, thought I rated this a 3.5 and the first book a 4.5 – I think the duology as a whole is a sold 4 stars. I say that because though everything is predictable, I found the crow magic fun and different. I enjoyed the world building mostly in the first book but I think this was a really good young adult series perfect for young adults (I’m an older adult haha). The ending tied everything up and left me in a hopeful mood which was nice.

This book was exactly what I wanted in a sequel!

I was so lucky to receive an advance copy of The Crow Rider. I've been fascinated by Josephson's world since The Storm Crow. I loved how we got to see more of these countries, feel more of the political tensions, as well as delve deeper into the magic of the crows---and the origins of that magic.

In terms of romance, I am still YELPING over Certain Developments. I won't say anything more about it, except that I chose my ship wisely.

What I loved most about this book, though, was the mental illness representation. Thia's depression and anxiety are never cured. We always feel her illness hovering over her, looking for an opportunity to descend on her like some sort of parasite. Thia has coping mechanisms but these things sometimes fail her when something triggers her illness. She regroups, finds her power again, and trudges forward. I found this aspect of the book so heartbreakingly real. It's so rare to see a character like Thia in SFF and even rarer to see someone like her be a hero. I was grateful to see her represented in the book so sensitively.

(Review also posted to Goodreads)

YA Fantasy is a place that has been used to dive deep into the human condition. It allows readers to ask questions about our culture and society, by examining them through another lens. However, mental health is not typically an issue that has been featured in fantasy books, usually sticking to YA contemporary books. I praise Kalyn Josephson for writing a YA fantasy book that contains a character that realistically depicts a person mental health struggles. So many lines from this book accurately showed what it is like to live with depression. It is inspiring and powerful, to witness her journey.

The pacing was kind of weird for me in this one. The very beginning was slow to get into, but began progressing quickly. The late middle was a bit slow too, but the ending pulled through for me. I just loved Res and the banter. It was a satisfying end, but I wish there was more.

These books were so great to read! I enjoyed reading about this world so much, getting to know it, it was pretty interesting, with the Stella, which became a more important part in the 2nd book. And yeah, Thia was an amazing character, first she goes into her enemy's stronghold, and then is a central figure of the revolution. All while dealing with depression.

This world of Crows and magic was pretty interesting to read. There were some pretty big secrets that were revealed that were fantastic to read! The fact that Res has all of the different abilities, well, that's a pretty big question mark. And that Res's powers were unstable, well, Res went on a bit of a journey himself!

There is a bit of romance in these books. I wasn't sure where it'd go, because Ericen was ripe for being a redeemed character, but then there was Caylus. So I'm so glad that I could dive right into The Crow Rider, and see how the romance-and the rebellion-would end! Loved it!

The author has said that this was a duology. I'm pretty sure Thia's story is done, but I'd love a spin off series. But there was a hint that could be a future story, so if there is, I would love to read it! More characters deserve to find happiness, especially the one that I'm thinking of!

This was a fantastic series, and I can't wait to read more by Kalyn Josephson.

With The Storm Crow, it invited readers to a world every bookworm wants to visit and by the ending, it was shaping up to be pretty epic. The Crow Rider does what second books are supposed to do, which is progress the storyline and raise the stakes!

This sequel was absolutely SOLID with a unique world that creatively addresses depression and colonialism seamlessly. Thia is a likable character, whose struggles with her mental health are a refreshing presence in the fantasy genre. The world-building is also done well. Giant crows with elemental magic that the people of a tropical culture bond with and ride??? The author expands on this but I do wish we had gotten more time with these creature in this installment. I won't like and say it's definitly one of the more creative concepts I've seen lately, even if the crows can be said to simply be replacing the more traditional "dragon" concept. The lore around them is interesting, and strong, and it never bored me.

There were also enough twists in the plot to keep me engaged. The characters are strong, and their motivations, both internal and driven by relationships, were engaging and drove the plot forward. This is definitely a character-driven story filled with emotion from beginning to end. The events were exciting, but would be nothing without the unique and emotional characters pushing those events forward to a fantasy conclusion.

I expect Josephson to be on of those authors who gets better and better with each book and I look forward to what she publishes next.

Summary:

The thrilling conclusion to the epic Storm Crow duology that follows a fallen princess as she tries to bring back the magical elemental crows taken from her people.

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.

Review:
Dynamic characters
Solid Plot
A perfect conclusion to the duology
What an ending!
I LOVED this story so much!!!!!!

Well I was a huge huge fan of the first book and all the character. But I don't know this one got me bored and I couldn't focus on anything else and I'm so sad since I was such a huge huge fan of the first one. :(

I still love Thia and Ericen so much but I don't know I feel that I lost the point of them and feel like it was so predictable for me. This is still a pretty good book that talk a lot of me because of thia's feeling. I can recommend it to you and it's still a correct final for a dulogy !

Fantastic read, providing a wonderful conclusion to the story started in The Storm Crow. The world felt solidly thought-out and believable. A good deal of the book relies on action, which felt consistently captivating with the magic incorporated in clever ways.

This is a soft three stars.

“The Crow Rider” brings us the the conclusion where Razel and Thia go head to head in a war that was built on pain and death as both sides attempt to use war as justice for the death of their loved ones and with only one crow at their disposal Thia is running out of time to convince the other kingdoms that its only a matter of time before the war reaches their shores.

It’s amazing and so sad that a book that is packed with so much action could leave me feeling so bored.

Everything you think is going to happen in this book does so there’s very little surprise which like the book before it makes everything rather dull and uninteresting. There was not one moment in this that took me by surprise or even to a point where I was completely invested it was just the typical book 2 plot of let’s get the team together and then thanks to it being a duology the actual battle is wrapped up rather quickly.


This book suffered from having too many elements and not focusing on the right ones, we have hints in this book to other kingdoms and their fights and their hurt by Thia’s
mother and instead of exploring that story as to why they abandoned their allies we get a quick “I’m not like my mom” broom to sweep it all under the rug. There were so many characters and side arcs that were way more interesting than the plot we’ve all read dozens of times and it’s a shame we never got to experience anything new. There was even a moment where I thought we would finally start breaking new ground but it was quickly taken care of and made no sense why it was brought up in the first place and the more I write this review I want to take stars away.

Don’t even get me started on the “love story” which was given a flat out no one second and then suddenly it’s so overwhelming that we push characters aside to make it make sense. I could go into more detail but that would give heavy spoilers so I’ll just leave it there.

Overall I feel like I wasted my time but I can see where others would enjoy the series and I’m happy they can do so but for me they’re just pretty covers that will remain on a shelf.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**