The Crow Rider
Kalyn Josephson
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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’ 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’ 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.
After finishing The Storm Crow I immediately wanted to find out what happened to Thia, Kiva and Erican and so I was super excited to read The Crow Rider. The premise of giant crows, which are not only super helpful in battle but are vital to the cities that have been built around them is wonderful. I was looking forward to seeing more magic and more Res, the crow, in this book and I was not disapointed.
First up, The Crow Rider took the world building from the first book and continued to build upon it with visiting Trendell and introducing us to Jindae and Trendell cultures even more. This helped open up the world, and showed that whilst our main characters conflict is Rhodiare v Illucia, the issue is much bigger and effects the whole of Kythra.
Throughout the book Thia, our main character, has to continue to grow and develop. She grew up quickly into a more active role despite her depression in the first book, but now she must take part in political talks to save her kingdom. I liked how she still had niggling doubts because of her depression, showing that whilst hidden it’s not gone completely. Plus the strength she had to help those she loved, even when others told her not to showed that she was still confident enough in herself despite this.
On top of Thia, we’re introduced and re-introduced to so many new characters in The Crow Rider. Whilst I still adored Kiva and Auma’s relationship, as well as Calyus and Erican’s changing relationships with Thia… I most liked the new character Elko. The Jindae princess was as tough as Kiva with the political thinking of Caliza. Her friendship that formed with Thia was relied on for most of the second half, and I enjoyed her attitude towards her people and the war to come.
Speaking of relationships, I found the relationships whether romantic, familial or of friendship to be written so well. Each relationship developed and changed in some way throughout this book, and most often this was in such a healthy way and through good communication. I found this to be a breath of fresh air compared to many books which has poor communication at the heart of conflict.
Relationships as a whole are seemingly a huge part of this book. With Thia needing to form relationships in her own way to form alliances for the war. As Thia had been trained to be a crow rider and not a ruler like her sister, this was a struggle as she was trying to act a part. Once she opened up as herself, the others seemed more inclined to help her. This also helped developed Elko, Auma and Samra as more fleshed out characters.
My favourite part of The Crow Rider was that it is so much more magical than the first book. With Resyries growing into his powers and training, we get to see a lot more magic come back into this world. More magic in this book was what I wanted from the ending of The Storm Crow! On top of this, we’re introduced to Sellas as a larger part of the storyline. I adored delving into the bigger mystery surrounding them and how they fit with the crows and the magic.
Whilst this is meant to be a duology, I felt the ending left it open for the world to have spin offs. I’m looking forward to reading more books by Kalyn Josephson because I enjoyed this series so much.
Positives of The Crow Rider
- Relationships are developed and HEALTHY
- More magical than first book
Negatives of The Crow Rider
I received The Crow Rider by Kalyn Josephson as part of a Book Tour ran by Faye Rogers for Sourcebooks Fire. This is an unbiased and honest review.
