Such a great sequel! I need the next book immediately!! If you haven’t picked the first book up I recommend you do it today!

Crows are how one kingdom functions and prospers. But when another empire destroys all the crows in one fell swoop and takes over, two princesses are left to pick up the pieces and try to save their kingdom. Until the youngest finds a last crow egg that somehow survived the slaughter. Honestly, I did not finish this book. I loved the idea and it had a lot of promise but I couldn’t get past my hatred of the main character. I found her irritating and unlikeable

The YA fantasy genre is quite populated these days, but to find a book that is not only packed with excellent adventure and world-building, but also accurate and relatable depictions of mental illness, is a rare and exciting thing. This book proves that those two things are not mutually exclusive; you can have a badass heroine who also struggles with depression. This book did a great job of keeping me interested and making me love and feel for its main character.

The Storm Crow felt like an amalgamation of so many YA fantasy novels. Girl is betrothed to the prince of an enemy nation, hidden band of rebels scheming to overthrow the nation, the leader is over-the-top evil and has no other personality trait. It all goes how you’d expect. It was a slow read because most of the time it is just Anthia going about her daily life and interacting with characters who don’t have enough depth to make it interesting. There’s surprisingly little action and the plot involving the crow's egg is completely predictable.

There are two things that did stand out. One was the romantic arc which didn’t take the predictable route. I mean I’m kind of glad that the author did something a bit different, but I have to be honest that this romance wasn’t very exciting. Forced betrothal romances can be fun if written well, and those characters had more spark than the romance we got. Maybe it’s hypocritical to want a cliché after criticizing so many of them but subverting clichés is only fun if you make it interesting.

The other thing that stands out from this novel is that it tries to tackle mental health. Not many YA fantasy novels attempt this subject so I appreciate the effort. I also can’t speak to everyone’s experience and I’ve seen some reviews about how they found it comforting or relatable. But for me at least I didn’t think it was very well done. It was often brought up in passing or in retrospect, and we never really got to delve into how she was truly feeling. Of course it wouldn’t be an fun book if she was constantly in a deep depression, but it just felt too glossed over. Again I think the author had good intentions, but it didn’t work for me.

Rating: 5 / 5 ★

This book was absolutely brilliant. An epic, raw fantasy novel with magical crows and rebellions.

The Storm Crow tells the story of a tropical kingdom called Rhodaire, where magical elemental crows are a part of society and everyday life. Until one day an invading empire attacks and destroys everything.
Princess Anthia spirals into depression after the attack on her kingdom which killed all the crows and her mother, the Queen. But right when everything looks bleakest and Thia is about to be sent off to marry the crown Prince of the rival kingdom, she finds a hidden crow egg that survived the attack. With her sister Caliza, she devises a plan to take back what was stolen from them.

There is so much epicness in this book to love and I don’t know where to start!
Okay okay; the crows. I loved the crows. I thought this was a really unique magic system, there are battle crows, storm crows, earth crows, fire crows, shadow crows etc. Magical crows for pretty much everything. The opening prologue gives you this sense of awe and transports you to this very real and vivid magical land filled with these wondrous birds.

And then it is all brutally taken away. This was before the first chapter and I was already attached. I felt the pain this kingdom and Thia felt at this magic, these beautiful and incredible creatures being destroyed.

But what came next… I think this is one of the reasons I connected with this book so much. The author has done a brilliant job of portraying depression. And honestly I feel like this should happen more often in fantasy novels. I mean her kingdom is decimated, her mother killed, her way of life forever changed, it makes complete sense that she would struggle to get out of bed and face the day.

“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.”

As someone who has dealt with and still does battle depression I connected with this book and our protagonist. I felt the raw emotion and bleakness that she felt and connected with so much of this brilliant writing.

“The crows were gone.
Every day, I said those words to myself, but they didn’t feel real. Each breath felt like a lie, as if I’d climbed out of a cocoon into another realm, one of ash and shadowed memories that tore at me like talons.”

But Thia, oh gosh Thia. She is strong. She is so damn strong. She battles depression and everything the world has thrown at her but she grows as a character; it’s not instant but she gets through it. And she fights back.

“A spark of fury rallied against the prison of grief and pain that had grown inside me layer by layer over the last few months.”

I also loved all the other characters in this story. There is Caliza who is Thia’s sister and is thrown into the position of Queen after their mother dies.
I loved that Caliza although not the main character, and despite not having a very large role, felt real and strong too. She didn’t always understand what Thia was going through in regards to her depression but she tried and she was doing her best. She was thrown in the deep end after their mother died and has had to be strong for their kingdom. But she loves Thia and she does all she can to help her and their kingdom, sometimes making the tough choices that no one else wants to.

I also loved Kiva who is Thia’s best friend and a guard. I loved the friendship between Thia and Kiva and the way they had each other’s backs. It felt real and I loved the depth they would go to to protect each other and look after each other; this friendship was definitely one of my favourite things in the book.

“I felt like a kite someone had cut loose, left to the mercy of the slightest breeze that could tear me apart.”

But one of the other things I really liked is the villain. I feel like I might not have noticed this if it hadn’t been on my mind recently but I had been thinking a lot about how there is a new wave of strong female protagonists in fantasy novels (perhaps this isn’t new but noticing it and commenting on it has been) but then I started to think; what about the villains? All the books I had read recently had male villains that the women had to fight/beat and I was thinking; I want a strong female villain. And then bam I read this book and along came Razel.
Razel is the Queen of Illucia, the Kingdom that has slowly been conquering all the others.
She is evil and beautiful, brutal and unapologetic and even though you kind of hate her I loved her because of how horrible she was. She is powerful and I think it was great seeing the powerful villain be a woman.

“Don’t let Razel win. Don’t let her silence the storm inside you.”

Also one of the epic things that this book has is at the back there is a breakdown of all the different types of elemental crows and a breakdown of the kingdoms in the book. I love when books do this, and it was extremely informative. The world building in this novel felt incredibly well done and it was easy to picture this thrilling fantasy world.

Anyways I think I have rambled on enough about all the reasons why I loved this book. I highly HIGHLY recommend you go out and read it asap because it was brilliant and amazing and I can not wait for the next one!

This is a book I didn't know if I'd likebut I ended up enjoying it quite a bit even though I had a few things I didn't like.
I actually don't have much to say about it, I'd definitely read the sequel.

Iyla is the storm crow Anthia is riding. I like the name iyla. She is to have a crow of her own. Iyla belongs to her mother's best friend. I couldn't get interested.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for provinding this ARC. Unfortunately I couldn't finish this book (~15%). The worldbuilding seemed very rudimentary to me and I couldn't get invested into following the main character. This book didn't work for me, but I hope the author continues to improve in future installments of the series and beyond.

Disclaimer: This review MAY contain spoilers. I received an Advance Reader Copy at no cost from the publisher/author. All opinions in my review are my own. 

This book was positively smashing! I can only imagine that the rest of this series is going to be killer. 

The world-building in this book is magical. Absolutely atmospheric. It is written so well that the reader can step right into Thia's shoes and feel everything that she is feeling. It starts in the first pages and it doesn't let up. I love fantasy stories that have richly imagined worlds because it draws me into the story and makes me live the story. This book definitely falls into that category. There were a few things other than the physical world that I felt needed a little more depth, such as the magic system. I am hoping that these things get more explanations in the next book. 

The premise for this story is so riveting! From the moment I read the synopsis for this book, I knew that it was one that I was going to read without a doubt. I love unique stories with original worlds and The Storm Crow is a book that really does stand apart in that respect. So many kudos to the author for the creativity laced in this book. While the baseline tropes that are used are nothing new, it is the combination of ideas and themes that are woven into them that made this so special. 

As with the tropes in this story, the plot is one that has been done before, though I did like all of the elements that the author used to make her own. Some parts of the story were a little predictable but otherwise satisfying. The pacing seemed a little off to me, but it was something that didn't bother me terribly. 

This story really spoke to me because of the mental health representation. Depression, anxiety, and PTSD are all things that I personally struggle with so it was amazing to see such a wonderful portrayal of these in a fantasy book. If these things themes are included in a book then it is usually a contemporary book. I loved seeing them pop up in my favorite genre. I also loved the diversity in this book. 

Let's talk characters. Anthia is one of those characters that latches onto you and won't let you go. Her struggles were so easy for me to identify with and I was cheering her on through the whole story. Ericen is a character that I was unsure of at first but he really grew on me. The other side characters were likable and written into the story well. I loved the overall theme of characters with things that haunt them. Everyone is grappling with their own shadows in this and it really spoke to me. Some characters could have used some more depth but they were enjoyable overall. I also have to mention that I adored Thia's friendship with Kiva. Wonderful representation of friendship is something that I am always on board for. 

The romance in this book doesn't overpower the story. It is a sweet, slow-burn romance that is very heartwarming. I am genuinely excited to see where the romance will lead in the next book. *wink*

The writing style is just gorgeous. I totally fell in love with it. It is crafted so that the reader can effortlessly devour the words. Not only is it easy to read, but there are plenty of details contained in the text, though not so much to bog the reader down. 

Overall, I'd like to applaud Kalyn Josephson for such a breathtaking and beautiful story! This is a very creative and magical tale that I wholeheartedly recommend. I enjoyed reading this so much and I can't wait to see what will happen in the next installment of this series!

The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson was really great! I loved that it talked about depression and anxiety, we rarely hear about mental illnesses in YA fantasy but I thought it was well written. The storyline about magic crows, family and politics was enticing. Very little romance (just enough) and mostly focused on friends and family. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Thank you NetGalley for a free ebook copy.

This high stakes fantasy story was just what I needed during the winter months. It was an easy read for me. I give it 3 stars because I had a hard time focusing on the imagery. It just wasn’t there for me. I would recommend this to my friends who like YA fantasy and looking for a new author!

I was provided an e-arc from netgalley to read and review 

I unfortunately missed the opportunity to read

This book was such a refreshing experience and I totally adored every page! It has:

- brown princess protagonist
- matriarchy world building (there are like three men in this book total!!! women everywhere you look!! women in all the positions of power!!!)
- it is not a Big Bad Thing to be queer or POC
- so so many queer side characters (it's like the random baker is just like "oh my husband is over there" and can I just say how wholesome and needed it is to have casual rep too
- I headcanon Caylus is autistic (we autistics see each other!! WE KNOW)
- NOT a cliche romance
- Anthia's #1 priority is to raise her son and hatch him from an egg (fyi he is a crow)
- HUGE crows you can sit on
- actual desserts on every second page

I'm getting this distinct vibe that I had a good time with this book...
FUNNY. I definitely did. I just don't understand why there are so many books that are like "dragons exist! But women are still considered dirt!" when you have a whole big head that can imagine anything. Just stretch the two braincells a little, do it. So this book did it, and I loved that. Thia's friendship with Kiva (who is GAY) was authentic and loving and important. There were complex women villains, and loving women, nurturers and warriors. And when the boys showed up (n joke, there are like 3; very refreshing) they were diverse and interesting too. Plus the romance was NOT what I expected and my heart swelled for it.

Also mental health rep in fantasy? Gah, I need more of this. It was really well done too, because Thia has a lot of self loathing + battles a lot of misconceptions by others and outright discrimination. She's called the "princess who turned her back on the kingdom" after the horrific battle, because she was so depressed she couldn't get out of bed. And she has a journey of accepting herself, fighting to keep getting up, and trash talking herself bUT ALSO having people input into her life that depression is not her fault. It's not a fault.

Also the crow baby was adorkable, with his big crow puppy dog eyes that just melted everyone.

Now I am a voracious reader, so when you read a lot, you kind of get a hm haven't I read this plot before vibe a lot. So even though I adore this book to pieces, it did feel like a very typical plot line (princess must be taken to enemy prince's land and forced to marry him but discovers he's Maybe Not That Bad but also she's raising a rebellion). I mean, Ash Princess, Gravemaidens, The Bridge Kingdom, etc etc. It's not an insult. I think a LOT of readers won't mind because they won't have read it so often. And at least there were twists with the romance.

Overall? I will politely push this book in your face. I just found it really refreshing that it wasn't falling into tired YA tropey traps. It fought for a different angle to a typical story and I admire the heck out of that. Also I want the sequel badly.

For a debut novel, in the flooded teen fantasy genre, The Storm Crow provides what I was hoping for with a little twist here and there. The easiest way to describe this is expect the Crows to be equivalent to Dragons in most stories. 

Plot
There are politics, different countries (at war of course), and strong relationships. Not only are there some partners meeting up, but also lovely friendships and even some sisterhood moments. This places Kalyn Josephson in a category above most of the average YA writers of today; as she was able to create love in more than just the average pairing. 

Depression
I would be surprised to learn if Josephson hasn’t had some mental health moments in her life. The descriptions and emotions of our lead gal who is suffering from depression are very well done. And instead of having the depression last a day and magically getting it better; The Storm Crow focuses on finding our lead gal purpose and inspiring her to have desires.

Overall
I’m really impressed with Josephson’s first book. If she continues to improve on what she has begun in The Storm Crow I’m confident she will be the next big teen fantasy author. Her pacing, descriptions, world building and characters are all at a quality above the average author in this genre. The more I think about this book the more I feel my four stars might be too low. So consider this one a solid 4 stars with an opportunity to jump to 5 if the sequel carries forward on par or stronger. 
I just need to keep remembering that a giant Crow is as cool and sleek as a Dragon. 😉

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

I really liked this book and can't wait for the sequel. I really appreciated the depiction of depression, and found it to be mostly accurate. I'm knocking off one star because of the romance. It felt very unnecessary, and I didn't feel their connection at alllll. If there had to be a romance plot, I would've picked a different character that I felt she actually had chemistry with. Overall, a great start to a YA fantasy duology!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for the eARC!

wow honestly one of the best books I've read 5tacos I recommend. One of the most interesting unique plots I've read, I love reading it

This book was an automatic approval for work (I work at a bookstore). It did not mesh with my reading tastes, but I think there is definitely a market for this kind of book! Those who like teen fantasy and/or teen sci-fi might really enjoy it!

I really enjoyed the magical system. The idea between all the crows had me intrigued from the very beginning. 

As for the plot itself, I felt like there were a few moments that were a bit bland causing me to really try to make it through some of the history and world building, but eventually I made it through. 

There are secrets and danger around every corner in this multiple POV story. 

I gave this one 4 out of 5 stars and would recommend it for YA Fantasy readers who want a different type of magic to read from.

I think I would have enjoyed The Storm Crow a lot more if I wasn't so burned out on YA fantasy, because the plot is extremely generic. I paused at the midway mark and really struggled to motivate myself to pick the book back up again, because I could predict exactly how the rest of the plot was going to go (and I was right!). 

I did like the main character, who is a typical YA heroine (princess forced into politicking for the sake of her land, special power no-one else has) but isn't so cookie-cutter in terms of being sarcastic and feisty. She experiences depression, which is a nice thing to see in a book aimed at teens, but I felt it was pretty much hammered home rather than being shown organically (at one point she yells at someone that she is depressed, which didn't ring true as something she would a) realise, b) state, and c) have a word for given the generally medieval state of medicine in the world. So, nice to have the rep, but it isn't very nuanced. 

It's not a bad YA fantasy, by any means, and if you enjoy the genre then this is a really good example of it. But as I say, I've just seen one too many similar plots to have loved it.

Wow! I really enjoyed this one! This quite reminded me of Eragon by Christopher Paolini, but with crows and also a really interesting female lead (I mean, there were loads of other differences, too, but this was just my initial impressions!).
Thia is a really interesting character, and I found her fireyness - and how that gets absolutely dimmed by depression - to be relatable and fantastic to read in a main character of a YA Fantasy. I felt a little apprehensive as I realised that there was some depression representation going on, and I will say that it didn't *quite* hit the mark for me (there was a slight implication that depression will go away or at least get better if you 'work hard enough at it', but it wasn't overt), but overall I think it was great to see some rep going on in a fantasy book, and I think the author did a decent job.
There's so much going on in this book, and so much rep other than the mental health rep! LGBTQ+ rep is present, as well as some PTSD rep, which I, again, am not sure it quite hit the mark there, but I actually appreciated it being included, even if it needed a bit of work. The world that Josephson has created here is really interesting, and we only really get introduced to a small part of it - I really hope she will expand it in future books! And the CROWS. I want all of them, pls.

I think I could probably keep rambling, but I'll just stop here. Tl;dr: this book is pretty great for a debut, I want to know what happens next, the end.