ARC Review | The Crow Rider (The Storm Crow, #2)

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Title: The Crow Rider (The Storm Crow, #2)

Author: Kalyn Josephson

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 368

Publication Date: July 7, 2020

Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Princess 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.

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.

• 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.

• 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.

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.