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  About Amy Hello, I'm Amy, an aspiring motorsports writer and former blogger.  If you dig deeper enough, you find some very old blog posts, as this started as a book blog, but that's really where I got my start in writing: book reviews, hot book topics and as well as the odd personal essay.  After leaving university, I left the book blog behind, but continued writing and going in the world of social media, writing film reviews and promoting queer cinema, but after a tragic event in my personal life, I quickly discovered Motorsports.  What started as a love for Formula 1, while finally watching the Formula 1 film, Rush, and discovering Formula 1 TikTok, this love soon expanded to everything Formula E, IndyCar, Formula 2, Formula 3, as well as F1 Academy.  I soon found the itch to write come back, with the fast-moving news of motorsport, to the drama, the competition, and the journey of drivers trying to find a race seat. I found that it was the people and storie...

Blog Tour: The Crow Rider by Kalyn Josephson Book Review

 * I am reviewing this series which I was gifted for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own. *




Title: The Crow Rider
Author: Kalyn Josephson 
Publisher: Source Fire Books 
Source: From Publisher


Book 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, perfect for readers who want fantasy books for teens.
This, her allies, and her crow, Res, are planning a rebellion to defeat Queen Razel and Illucia once and for all. This must convince the neighbouring 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. 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.

Book Review:

After seeing that I could be part of the blog tour for The Crow Rider, I was really excited because I had heard some really good things about The Storm Crow. All of this was really great as I enjoyed both books in the series and it is definitely a duology that I recommend. 

I think that one of the things that I enjoyed about this book, is that it builds on The Storm Crow. Thia and her depression was something that I found really interesting about the first book and was happy that this was something that continued in the second book. This was also something that is explored in another character as well so I am glad that this was explored especially in a fantasy book. 

I would be lying if I was in love with the romance in the first book but I think that once we discover some things about the secondary love interest. (I do wonder if he is coded as asexual but I don't think it is mentioned by name. If this is the case, it would be one of the only male asexual characters in a book.) I also think that the relationship between the main love interest is well-developed and I enjoyed it more this time. 

I also really liked the main characters. I think that we Thia grow a lot in this book and over the two books and I really liked that. The books are also really great with the female characters as they are quite complex and all of them are given a chance to express and find themselves, for better or for worse.

The world is also explored in this one and I really do love the setting and by travelling to many different areas, I think it was great to then explore other themes and ideas that are explored in the book. We also get to explore Res and the magic system more and I think that Kalyn did a great job making Res such as real and likeable character. For a crow, Res definitely has a personality that comes off the page. I also love the law with crows as it is so new and I have never read a series like this before. 

As someone who wants to be a writer, I always find action scenes so hard to write but I think that throughout both books I really loved reading about the fight and action scenes. I think that they were well-written and added to the story so much. I could really picture them in my head and I just wanted to mention it. 

I read the whole duology in about a week, so it is safe to say that I was immersed in the world and the characters. I think they are easy to get into and fly through which is a testament to Kalyn's writing and the fantasy world that she crafted. If you are looking for a new and different fantasy series that is quite short, I definitely recommend this one! 

The Verdict:

The Crow Rider is a satisfying and intense sequel and an end to the series that makes it worth the read. 

Have you read The Crow Rider? Or The Storm Crow? If so what did you think about it? Let me know in the comments.

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