tandalone fantasy with depth and imagination. Draws inspiration both from fictional games and shows as well as from real world countries. 
Complicated allegiances and divided loyalties - check mark
magical animal companions -  check mark
f/f ship - check mark

All in all, a great time and an original idea adapted from Pokemon inspiration.

DNF. Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy! I decided to not keep reading this one, it was not for me. Thanks!

Steel Crow Saga follows four young people in a world of kingdoms at war. These people are on the edge of this war where they have to figure out how to have peace and it's not easy. We have Tala, a soldier who spent her life trying to fight the people who killed her family. Jimuro, the Prince about to be crowned that needs to go back home safely with the help of Tala (even though they were on opposite sides). Xiulan, the 28th Princess who wants to secure her claim on the throne by bringing Jimuro to her father. And finally, Lee, a thief who is the only lead Xiulan has to find Jimuro. 

I loved that this world had magic and animals that could be linked to you. Now, you can only have one and it's forbidden to link yourself with another human being. However, a dangerous enemy starts showing up with multiple animals, and our characters will have to figure out a way to stop him. 

Overall, I was really interested by this book. I really liked the lgbt representation included in here and the setting. I also like that this was a standalone and not a first-of a series. However, I wish this book had been shorter. Since I was behind on reviewing this ARC, I bought the audiobook and read it that way as it's easier for me. Unfortunately, I felt like not much happened in 23 hours of audio. It was really long (way too long in my opinion) and I ended up being a bit bored by the end of it. I feel like I would have loved a shorter more condensed version more. 

<i>(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)

I FINALLY kept up with this book and I LOVED it. The characters are diverse and the plot is fast paced. It takes ideas we know and imagines them in such amazing ways and even though this seems like a standalone I.m so excited to see where it takes off with the next one!

This was a middle-of-the-road read for me. While I liked a lot of aspects, there were some things I disliked, and overall, I just didn't feel strongly enough about the book to really warrant adding an in-depth review to the blog.

STEEL CROW SAGA is the book of your dreams if you love anime and in particular Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Pokemon. This is a story about adventures with Pokemon-like sidekicks, set in a post-colonial Asian fantasy world. It's full of found family, feels, and genuine fun.

If anyone ever wants a book that just feels like a blast from the get-go, I will certainly recommend this one. You get dropped into this world and it doesn't slow down until the end. It has a fun energy about it that radiates from every page, but it also has its dark moments which is compelling to read, as well. I really, really enjoyed it. 4 stars!

*I'm putting out this review JUST based on the book as I read it before the controversy  surrounding the author was brought to light weeks ago. This was scraped together from my notes at the time that I read this*

4.5/5 stars

Death ,Murder,  Racism, slurs, 

I'm not gonna lie, this book is good. I'm a little late to the game, so pretty much all of it has been said. This books has
♡Excellent LGBT+ rep
♡great diversity 
♡Multiple POVs from a greatly entertaining and diverse cast 
♡Is anime inspired! The magic system in this is cool!  The Shadepacts (and the way they impact the various cultures of this novel) are SUPER fascinating. 
♡I love everything about the cover. I want it on my self. 

All in all this book was an emotional, fun, and eye opening ride.

Just couldn't get into this one. It might be other people's cup of tea, but not mine unfortunately. I may look into the author's books in the future though.

Great fantasy!! I couldn't put it down.  While this is listed as the first in a series it will definitely stand alone.  There is no cliff hanger (which I personally love).  There are some fantasy writers that always end on a cliff hanger and then you feel obligated to see what happens even if you are tired of a series.  You can see both anime and Asian inspirations in this book which just added to my enjoyment.

Amazing! Fast paced and so easy to read. The cover is striking and so was every chapter inside! Characters were so complex and realistic in personality. I couldn't have asked for anything better.

At the beginning of this book, I wasn't sure whether I would love it, but wow did I. This was a fantastic book, and I'm excited to reread it at some point in the future. This book feels like one that will just get better and better on reread.

This book was interesting and towards the end it got really good. I had trouble keeping interested leading up to the halfway point. It ended really well and was nice to see the characters join together.

Solid story and characters. The four main characters were each very unique, and I loved each of their characteristics and quirks. The world building was fantastic. I will side with most where it felt like a mixture of Pokemon and Avatar/Fullmetal Alchemist. It was very much like reading an anime in novel form. I felt it was a bit longer than necessary, but overall I enjoyed this one. I do feel like the story was too neatly wrapped up for being the first in a series, but I also like that it could be viewed as a stand alone. I'm looking forward to more from this author.

I absolutely loved this book! Paul Krueger is a new-to-me author, and so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when I began reading STEEL CROW SAGA. Though I admit, I had high hopes. I was dying for something new and riveting. And I was not disappointed. The author does this brilliant thing, where he writes a flashback, then has a character explain/describe the flashback. The book takes place in an alternate history of Asia; Tomoda, Shang, Sanbuna, Jeongson and Dahali. The characters are incredibly written and developed, the story woven together seamlessly, allowing the reader to really sink into the story-line as the epic world unfolds. SO. GOOD. A definite recommend.

This book was such a wild ride i absolutely loved and I really enjoyed reslistening to it on audio. Its all my favorite things about anime but shoved into a book that made for such a great time reading.

I could not get into this book. The premise sounded great and I love the cover. I just couldn’t find love for this book. I tried on more than one occasion to make sure it wasn’t just a mood I was in. I really wanted to like it. I’m sure others will love it. Thank you for this opportunity.

Steel Crow Saga is interesting read as i never read anything quite like it. Their are several interesting characters besides the main four that we are introuduced to. I think the biggest reason that i did not enjoy it, is it felt way to long for the amount of story that was being told. I love long books but only if the story is enjoyable enough that i don’t realize i just read a 500 page novel. I should not be flipping looking to see how much is left in the story. I should be so immersed in the tale that i don’t want it to end.

The story is set in in a complex fantasy world, built and based in post-World War II Eastern Asia. The different races are unique and based on races from our world. Tomoda is based on imperialistic Japan, but with citizens who meld their souls with metal. It called metal packing. Shang is based on china, Sanbu the Philippines, Jeognsen-Korea, and Dahali, India.

This book is definitively aimed at a much older audience then young adult. The world is very diverse. Not only are the characters entirely Asian-inspired but most of the characters are sexually ambiguous. The women are kick butt, and the cultures have one histories of powerful men and women. Theirs even a secondary trans characters.

The other unique thing i found in this story is the use of shades which are viewed differently from race to race. Some see them as slaves other as family.

Overall this is story that is unique and well though out. What did not work for me may be just what you find enjoyable in story. Maybe it wasn’t the right time in my reading life for me to throughly enjoy this story. Either way it not terrible it not fantastic it just is.

Most of all, though, it is highly entertaining novel. It’s a complete story that while I could see further novels set in the world, the story here is tied off relatively neatly and the reader gets a complete reading experience in one volume.  Steel Crow Saga is a secondary world fantasy novel influenced by Pokemon novel that alternates its strong characters beats with shade combats, it alternates its cultural explorations of food, and societies with thoughts on war, the aftermath of war, colonial and post colonial narratives. There is much here not to say about the novel, to invite the reader to discover for themselves the richness of the narrative and the characters. I heartily recommend readers at all interested in secondary world fantasies to do so.

http://www.nerds-feather.com/2020/02/microreview-book-steel-crow-saga-by.html

This was such a fun book. I loved the LGBTQ+ representation, the character development and relationships. It reminded me a bit of Avatar: The Last Airbender which was really cool. I enjoyed that each pace was inspired by a different Asian country which made it so beautifully rich and  fascinating. Fans of Anime will also love this. I believe it is part of a series but is very much its own standalone story!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Then I let the ARC lapse on the site after publication so I borrowed the book from the library to read it. #transparency

I am so sorry I didn’t get to this book sooner. It completely engaged me as a reader because of these reasons: one, I adore the magical elements of the book, two, I love how effortlessly the author incorporated the Asian-inspired cultures, and three, the characters were so dynamic and interesting. It made for an all-around great read! I learned that it is intended as a standalone novel which is so frustrating since the world building was so strong.

The two magical elements in the book are shade-pacting and metal pacting. Shade pacting is when a person bonds half their soul with an animal and can summon the animal to help them if the situation calls for it (Pokemon inspired!). For instance, Tala bonded with Beaky the crow and since she’s a solider would go out on campaigns and use Beaky as a defense. Xiulan also had a rat as a shade and it became a symbol for her role in the Shang dynasty. The animal asks a question of it’s potential host and the host needs to agree in order for the pact to form. I loved seeing this example when Lee originally tries to pact with a rooster and it asks for blood of its enemies, but Lee doesn’t agree. Later she finds a bond with a dog she names Bootstrap, and they get along much better.

Metal pacting is controlling the element of metal, in the kingdom of Tomoda this means engineering cars so only people with metal pacting ability can drive them or controlling a bullet so that it hits a target with 100% accuracy. Notably, the people who practice metal pacting see shade pacting a slavery and control over the animal, so there’s animosity towards one another. The rules for these magic systems make it seem like one person can only do one type of magic, but of course, rules are meant to be broken. I really loved learning the rules and then reading how they are immediately broken by some of the characters. It brought a lot of depth to the system.

Through researching interviews and other reviews, I see and understand that all of the kingdoms and territories in this novel are based on real life cultures and countries. For instance, Tomoda, where Jimuro is from is based on Japan (Author’s Reddit AMA). Tala is from Sanbu, based on the Phillippines, Xuilan is from Shang, based on China, and Lee is from Jeongson, based on Korea. There is also another community called Dahali, based on India. See also: this Goodreads review and this review from Geekly Inc. Honestly, this is refreshing to read. There are only a handful of fantasy books that I can name off the top of my head that have Asian-inspired characters and settings. In the acknowledgements, the Author says that it’s his most autobiographical work and I understand what he means because the writing is so hopeful and loving when writing about these different worlds (especially food references!) (though I’m sure there are other points of autobiography that I am not seeing).

The representation in this book is top notch, there are queer characters everywhere and not every relationship ends in tragedy! The most fun relationship is between Xiulan and Lee, who are complete opposites (princess and thief, respectively) and yet come together for a common cause. Both make the other question their ways of life and this makes them stronger as a pair. The pairing of Tala and Jimuro was interesting to me because it’s less romantic, though I can see that perhaps in a hypothetical future they would be together, but the writing was very careful and calculated when they had to consider each others world view. It was a very thoughtful approach to making and maintaining a relationship. It wasn’t like many high-fantasy books I’ve read in the past (or even a romantic trope, hate-to-love).

I think my only criticism was that I didn’t completely understand the relationship between each country and how they all fit together. The timeline was hard to follow. And I would have appreciated a map at the beginning of the book since there was a lot of travelling in the plot. This book is still highly recommended by me because it’s fun and entertaining. There were a few twists I didn’t see coming and I love how easily the battle scenes played out in my mind. Recommended for those interested in high fantasy a la Robert Jackson Bennett, N.K. Jemisin, and S.A. Chakraborty, or those that enjoy anime.