Georgia Kostopoulou
After reading “The Storm Crow” I was very much intrigued to see how the story continues. I really liked Thia as a character. She is very realistic, one that the reader can easily relate to. I was very fond of the Crow too! It’s a magical creature and I am fascinated by magical creatures! Therefore I moved on to “The Crow Rider” to see what happens next.
There we see Thia planning a rebellion. She manages to meet her allies but taking them on her side and convincing them to join her cause is not an easy task. Nobody is willing to go into war with Razel because they all know what that will mean for them! They don’t want to sacrifice their people, their soldiers and their peace for those that didn’t stand by their side, didn’t help them. Thia’s mother has taken some decisions in the past that are now having an impact on Thia’s endeavor. She needs to show them that having even one Crow is enough, especially a Crow like Res. But this is not an easy task.
Res is getting better by the day. He is learning to control all his powers, but one day he loses control of his magic, harming Thia in the process. Res is devastated and afraid of what he can do and what could go wrong. Thia is a part of himself. When she’s hurt, he feels is too through that bond between them. It is not easy for him to display such magic again. And as if this is not enough, Thia is 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. She has difficult decisions to make. Can she help Res control his magic through the bond they have? Can she become the crow rider she always wanted and lead the rebellion? Is this a war she can win?
This second book continues exactly where the first one ended. There are no references to the past events. No repetitions of what one situation or the other would mean. Who is who and the relationships between kingdoms. The fact that I continued with this one very soon after the first book helped me keep track with all that happened. However, I’m afraid that if someone reads it long after the first book, certain details might not be remembered. It did gave me the impression that this was just the second part of the story. One book instead of two might be a better choice, but then it would have been a rather thick one! Anyway, it worked for me so I’m not displeased!
If you look into it from another angle, then this second book is too short. Let me explain what I mean. In general, both books needed a bit more world building. I was not sure I knew everything about everyone and then in this book we get Sellas. Something we haven’t seen before. And they are supposed to be god like entities that were trapped in an eternal prison and now they escape and they assist Razel. This doesn’t sit well with me, nor how we see them during the final battle. I expected more on that part.
In general I think this book needed a bit more work, a bit more development. A certain relationship stops, all of a sudden, without any indication. I needed more explanation on this, more signs to show were it was heading. I didn’t see it. It just worked for the plot, in order to get the next steps rolling. It felt a bit rushed in certain points. The action scenes were very quick too.
Overall, it was a good book, an easy read with a magical creature that had an interesting personality.
