I have read 40 books so far this year (February 27, 2022), and this is easily in my top 3 favorites of the year. This book has everything you could want in a book. There's mystery, battles, romance, plot twist, treachery, and everything is so well crafted. The world building is A+, the story itself is fantastic. The characters are rich, and well developed. I can't gush about my love for this book enough. Thank you so much for this story. It was truly a privilege to read.

(I will be posting to goodreads, storygraph, and tik tok)

Plot:✨
Eris Telari never wanted to be a Queen. But when her brother gets assassinated under mysterious circumstances, she takes up the responsibility and becomes the first woman to rule Brucia. However, she faces a huge challenge when an undefeated elven warlord attempts to invade Brucia. When no one comes to her aid, she decides to seek help from the band of elven mercenaries to repel the forces of the enemy.

Ruith is the leader of the elven mercenaries. He is not only charming but dangerous. His mercenaries, a.k.a The Crows, have earned the reputation of winning any battle against all the odds. When he comes to know the person who is responsible behind the attacks in Brucia, he accepts the offer to fight for the Queen. But from the first moment he sets his eyes on Eris, he is intrigued and charmed by the fierce Queen of Brucia.

Review:✨
The title of this book immediately caught my attention. It sounded like a merger of ACOTAR and SoC and I got intrigued. I have never been interested in reading the former but the latter is one of my favorite books. When I read the blurb I thought I shouldn't miss out on this book and decided to read it. If not epic, this was a pretty good beginning to an adult fantasy series and it deserves more hype. This series will have not one, not two, not three but four slow-burn romance unfolding throughtout the series.

When I read the book, I thought this book would mostly revolve around the romance between Ruith and Eris, but there was so much more to the story and I really liked that this book was not focused on having many spicy scenes. I just felt the initial interactions between them felt forced, but later I began to like them as a couple. The chemistry between Katyr and Issac is so good, and I hope to see more of them in the next book. The politics is surely engaging, but I was slightly struggling to understand the magic system of this universe. But mostly, I really enjoyed reading it. I really appreciate that we have diverse characters in this book, and I'm excited to learn more about their journey. I think the book ends with a perfect cliffhanger, and it only piques my curiosity about the next book.

Thank you NetGalley and Xpresso Tours for sending me the ARC of this book. 💖😊

Rating:✨
3.5/5

“A thousand tomorrows could not love you the way I do right now.”

A Court of Crows was everything I wanted it to be. The story is enticing, with a city under siege and a queen who is trying to do right by her people, but also do right by herself when she gets entangled with the leader of a mercenary army who has come to help them win an impossible battle.

Eris is a badass sword queen and Ruith is a beautiful, dark haired, morally great love interest with a man bun and their star crossed love story is wonderful to watch unfold. The secondary love story is also interesting and nuanced and I can’t wait to see how it develops more later in the series.

Truly, it doesn’t take long to fall in love with the main cast and you get a nice big helping of Found Family Trope. Not to mention the banter and the adorable giant war hound, Brick, who I would die for. If you’re a fan of ACOTAR or The Cruel Prince, you should give this one a read!

*And thank you to NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for sending me an e-book edition to review!

This could have been a really good book, but the writing just wasn't up to par. Also, don't tell me the book is going to be spicy if the spice is like nutmeg or something else that is technically a spice but not actually spicy. The sexybits in this book were fucking sparse and disappointing, so don't pick it up if you're looking for "steam."

Eris is an okay character. She wasn't really irritating. She wasn't really terribly bright either. I enjoyed the commanders. They were interesting characters. This book was a lot longer than it needed to be. There were points where it dragged on. The plot was interesting enough though. I might consider reading the next one, if only because I enjoy the shrike.

Hmm, this had potential.

There were quite a few interesting plot points. I liked reading about the budding relationships. The interesting plots and relationships seemed few and far between though. The whole book is about preparing for and trying to stave off an attack, it has a lot of detail that left me feeling quite bored and uninterested throughout the book.

There was also a very covid-esque element to the book where there was a sickness going around. There were mentions of slowing the spread, limiting how many could gather, even health passports. After living these things for the last two years, I certainly did not want to read about it!

Like I said, I enjoyed the budding relationships, but they all kind of fell flat. With the main couple, I just didn’t see where their “love” developed. I don’t think there was much build up or connection because there was much more page space spent on other things.

The end of the book got a bit more interesting and we also got the first two chapters of the next book. These things intrigued me enough that I will read the next book in the series as I think it could be better.

*thank you to Eliza Eveland and Grim Cat Press for giving me a copy of the book for review*

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review!
I LOVED THIS NOVEL! The romance part of it isn't my cup of tea, BUT the main male elven characters /aka the Crows/ were what made the entire book to me worth reading. Instead of focusing just on the main pair the author chose to develop these amazing characters and let them shine and with that - make us fall in love with them! It's amazing when a supposed supporting cast gets this kind of attention and care! And for that alone I give my special 5th star!

Oh this was a beautiful read! I've been searching for well over 6 months for a book that held my attention. There were many books, but none got me excited like A Court of Crows. I accidentally opened my kindle at work during lunch and there was the cover staring back at me.

I swore I wouldn't start it, maybe just read the first page and see if I could get excited... Let's just say I ended up reading for 45 min. Rushed home to keep reading. I was irritated when I had to put down Eris and Ruith and his army.

Eliza is a new to me author and I'm beyond excited to see where book two leads everyone post failed siege on Brucia, Eris's kingdom.

Great story building. The kingdom of Brucia is built well with words. I can picture the barracks and the castle. I can see The Dove and Dagger, the brothel. And the character buoʻding is phenomenal. I will be so sad and disappointed if we don't get excellent character story's like we did in book one.

Eagerly waiting by the ok two.

Thank you NetGalley!
I devoured this in a night.
Eris is probably one of my favorite characters to date. As well as the rest of the characters.
This was very well written, immersive and I could not put it down. I loved everything about it. The magic system, the world building, and the relationships were all amazing and I can’t wait to read more in the next book!
Definitely a favorite to add to my fantasy romance collection.

NA Fantasy Romance with a Warrior Queen trying to save her Kingdom. Sold!

To start with the things I love would easily be the characters. I loved how they all interacted together and had complex backstories. Some true identities were revealed in perfect timing that had me non stop reading. Now, I can usually predict plot twists from a mile away, but there was one that had me throwing my phone it was incredible!

To add some things I didn't like: I felt it jumped right off the cliff without getting to know our MC, Eris. Also this is a multi-POV book where we lose her voice quite a bit.

The world building along with each characters place in different aspects of it was the best part of this book. It sets up the series well, and I can't wait to read the next book!

Mortal Queen Eris has a problem. After centuries of peace with the elves, they've returned to claim what they believe to be theirs, namely, resources, land, and human slaves. With the enemy at her gates, she finds she has no choice but to call for aid from a team of mercenaries, commanded by four elves, called The Crows. Eris's kingdom is hesitant to trust them due to their heritage, but Eris and Ruith are determined to protect Brucia at any cost. As they fight and plan side by side, their chemistry boils over, and they have to decide if they can sacrifice their happiness for their kingdom.

The plotline of this novel is really intriguing. It shows the intricacies of war and holding off a siege. There are so many moving parts and mysteries to unravel that they'll instantly captivate readers' attention, including the political intrigue, spy networks, training and strategizing, impatiently waiting, etc. The magic system within is complex and beautiful, too.

The romance element is very mild and heartwarming. There are graphic scenes, but they are centered around emotions rather than actions. Because the romance is sweet and emotional, there are a few moments where it gets a little cheesy and a little predictable.

Overall, I gave Court of Crows four out of five stars. It's an excellent adventure, with great details and an incredible setup for future installments.

Because the romance takes a back seat to the plot and character arcs, I think readers looking for plot-heavy novels will really love it. There are a few trigger warnings, including sexual harassment and minor SA (a kiss taken by force), and because it's war, there is a lot of violence and death.

To ease your mind, I'll tell you one thing: The dog lives.

It's challenging to create a fantasy world and keep the reader engaged and not confused! This book is complex in its storyline but the author gives many details to help make things clear. I was fascinated with the characters (and there are a lot!) and enjoyed learning all the storylines and personalities. I think this will be part of a series and I'm eager to see what happens next!