Eragon meets And I Darken in this thrilling new fantasy debut that follows a fallen princess as she ignites a rebellion to bring back the magical elemental crows that were taken from her people.
THE STORM CROW by KALYN JOSEPHSON
Series: The Storm Crow #1
Publication date: July 9, 2019
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Genre: YA fantasy
SYNOPSIS
In the tropical kingdom of Rhodaire, magical, elemental Crows are part of every aspect of life...until the Illucian empire invades, destroying everything.
That terrible night has thrown Princess Anthia into a deep depression. Her sister Caliza is busy running the kingdom after their mother's death, but all Thia can do is think of all she has lost.
But when Caliza is forced to agree to a marriage between Thia and the crown prince of Illucia, Thia is finally spurred into action. And after stumbling upon a hidden Crow egg in the rubble of a rookery, she and her sister devise a dangerous plan to hatch the egg in secret and get back what was taken from them.
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Praise for The Storm Crow:
“The Storm Crow is everything we love about YA fantasy, with an enchanting world and original magic that keeps the story fresh. Clashing kingdoms, thrilling action, and an imperfect heroine make this book a must-read. This soaring debut was a delight.” –Adrienne Young, New York Times bestselling author of Sky in the Deep
“THE STORM CROW is a fantastic debut. Written with both power and charm, it showcases some of my favorite world building ever in a YA fantasy, and has nuanced, wonderful characters and relationships. Dragon fans should get ready for their next favorite creature. I loved this.” –Jessica Cluess, author of A Shadow Bright and Burning
“Ambitious worldbuilding and an engaging premise…first half of a planned duology should excite readers looking for strong characters and romance-laced adventure.” -Publisher’s Weekly
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kalyn Josephson is a Technical Writer in Silicon Valley, which leaves room for too many bad puns about technically being a writer. She grew up in San Luis Obispo, CA, but now lives in the Bay Area with four awesome friends (because it’s the Bay 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). When not writing YA Fantasy, she loves baking, reading, playing sports, and watching too many movies.
You can find her on:
The Storm Crow by Kalyn JosephsonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
"Crow or no crow, one way or another, you will fly. You were always meant to rule the sky.”
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.
I knew what I needed to do, but working up the will to do it felt like trying to fight my way above water in a depthless ocean. It was so hard not to drown.
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.
Could I really trust this boy, who was at once everything I had learned to hate and yet none of it at all?
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!
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