I ended up really enjoying this! I went in expecting it to fully go either way, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it!

For the longest time, I kind of thought this book would be just another YA fantasy that read kinda like all the others except the characters and nations have different names and its crows instead of dragons. Instead, it seems like The Storm Crow flipped a lot of tropes on its head, and I genuinely enjoyed most of the narrative choices! It did take me a while to get into the book, but in the end I really loved and appreciated it for all the things it did differently.

First, this book seemed like it was going into the standard love triangle, and the love interest seemed simple from the start (and to be fair it could still go this way in other books), but then it simply didn't. There's not more to explain here without spoilers, but I seriously dread love triangles so much and seeing this not turn into one was such a relief.

Second, Thia continues to treasure the friends she's had longest instead of suddenly treating a brand new love interest as the only person who matters. This is one of the things I loved the most about this book, Thia and Kiva's friendship and how loyal the two were to each other. This was especially shown in

Spoiler

the intimidation scene between Thia and the Illucian queen. Logically, Thia was closer to breaking and spilling the secrets to hatching crow eggs when her lifetime best friend was threatened rather than her love interest of a few weeks.

However, most fantasy books quickly make the love interest(s) more important than pre-existing friendships, so the fact that this book didn't, and doesn't seem to sidelining Kiva for romance, is something I find amazing about this book.

Third, the love interest isn't who I expected it to be (and hopefully remains that way). Most fantasy books have the rival prince become the main love interest, especially if the MC is forced into an arranged marriage with him. Honestly, until more than halfway in the book, I was still desperately hoping that this would be the romance, as I'm always into some enemies to lovers. In the end though, I'm glad that that relationship is moving towards friendship and camraderie rather than just romance and attraction. It feels like a stronger bond so far, that Thia just genuinely cares about what happens to the Illucian prince, and not just because he's hot. It also meant that there was room for a softer, calmer romance to happen more in the background of things, and it felt like the steadying ground Thia needed in her life.

Additionally, I loved that the magic and its source was actually further explored in this book, and seems to be a focal point of the entire series. Often times magic just exists in fantasy books, and I'm glad that, in a society that knows little about why magic works the way it does, just that it's how it's always been, someone is actually trying to learn more. Of course Thia might be more motivated to deconstruct the system she's been raised in because everyone who knew the rituals are dead (and she therefore has to learn everything all over again), but it satisfies my need to know the 'why' behind things nonetheless.

All in all, I'm super excited to read the sequel, and probably will be jumping right into the sequel now!

I really enjoyed this finale!! (Honestly, I really enjoyed this duology overall.) It's definitely not a favorite series ever, but I genuinely would recommend this, and felt it stuck out (in a good way) from other YA fantasy series out there!

My review of The Storm Crow really went into detail on what this book/series does differently from other YA fantasy books, and after finishing its sequel, I can safely say that most of those features continued well into this book!

First, I absolutely love how the romance was resolved in this book. While it did end up falling into a love triangle, it solidly ended one relationship (and in a great way! they're still friends! and it all makes sense instead of it just being from drama) before moving on to the next. Additionally, even though the romance did become the one stereotypically expected from this kind of set-up, it still played the same role in the story as the other one did instead of taking over like most romances do in YA. Other relationships and friendships in the story remained just as vital to Thia, and I just loved seeing that in this book.

Second, I feel like this series is the absolute perfect length. Many fantasy series go on for books and books (or are at least trilogies), and it leads to some books feeling less important than others, especially second books. This series could have easily been stretched out to a third book, but instead we now have two books that are evenly paced, are both just as exciting, and didn't feel like they dragged on at all. The pacing of the overall story between the two books also worked extremely well, with enough twists and action in both. It made the story feel seamless, something I noticed since I read these two back to back.

I also ended up really enjoying the plot and characters. The plot, while semi-predictable at points, kept my interest the entire time. The action/battle scenes were also extremely well-written, and I was definitely on the edge of my seat during many of them. I also liked where the story went, and the choices Thia struggled with (fulfill her need for revenge or stop it's never ending cycle?). It overall felt like the plot and characters directly affected each other, with important events having lasting effects on characters (that they couldn't just brush off). I also just really grew to love Thia, especially as an MC. She's far from the 'badass woman who can do everything', but we've honestly had so many of this kind of MCs lately. She has flaws and weaknesses, and constantly struggles with PTSD and depression from past trauma, and none of it is dealt with lightly. It's not just there for drama, but actually impacts her actions and choices, and we see Thia constantly struggle with it. It felt real and raw, not just a 'character trait.'

Overall, I really enjoyed this series, and I'm excited to see what else Kalyn writes next!

I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected! It also definitely benefited from being a standalone, and not trying to drag out the story further (and it was also just so nice to read a decent fantasy standalone!)

I was hooked on the characters fairly quickly because I loved how they were introduced. The first chapter is from someone else's POV, and we meet these characters (accused of crimes that'll end in death) just as that person does. Right away, we get a fairly clear picture of who each of these characters are, from their personalities to their role within their group. It also served to hook me into the story right away, because we're left wondering how they got in this position, and why most of them are oddly chill with it. The characters only become stronger as the book goes on in my opinion too, as we learn their flaws and depths. They're diverse both in personality and identity, and I felt like each character actively contributed to the story and had their own role to play. None of them were there simply to raise up one or two characters, and the book could've just as easily been told from any one of their perspectives. In the end, I ended up loving them all for different reasons as well. Newt was the soft cinnamon roll of the group, but he was far from helpless himself. Alys was the smart logical one, but had her own fears and anxieties that she was working hard to manage. Cassa was the self-proclaimed leader of the group, brash and entirely reliant on the rest of the group to keep her wild plans from failing constantly. Evander was the comedic relief yet so much more, as we learn about the depths of his relationship with his sister and his need to keep everyone safe and happy. Then there was Vesper, the one with constantly shifting allegiances (at least according to the people around her), who was just trying her best to do what she thought was good. Everyone had such depth, even some side characters (like the Chancellor), and I loved their endings, as they were fitting (yet also extremely heartbreaking).

I also liked the world that the book was set in. The entire city runs on prophecies and the powers of a few (rooks to read/steal/shift memories, seers to tell the distant future/give prophecies, sentients to read faces (and memories on those faces), and diviners to tell the near future), and while the powers weren't necessarily unique, the way they were utilized in the story was. The book dealt a lot with memory and people's perception of it, and what happens when certain memories are shared or misplaced, and it led to many moments where characters lose moments here and there, and it dramatically shifts their actions directly afterward. It led to some really interesting moments, and it worked really well alongside the plot!

The plot was also well-done, as it gave enough space for build-up as well as resolution, which can very often be an issue in stand-alones. We got multiple chapters at the end of the book for loose ends to be tied up (not all of them, but enough that the story feels cloesd), leaving readers with a decent sense of closure. Not only was the pacing well-done, but the story itself was too. There were some predictable moments, but even then the characters did not react to certain information predictably. There were also constantly shifting allegiances, not within the group but with who the group trusted and believed, and it kept both the characters, and the reader, on edge. While I still think the characters are the strongest aspect of the book, the plot definitely didn't take away from my enjoyment. I also really liked that the author chose to end the story the way she did, with the sacrifice that was involved, rather than the characters miraculously saving the world and everything suddenly being okay after. There was loss and still room to grow, and things are far from okay in this world, but we can still see a path to a better future.

Overall, I really enjoyed this, and I can't wait to read other books by this author!

I've been lucky enough to get ARCs of both this book and it's predecessor, The Merciful Crow, and I'm glad for it too! This was one of those series that was on my radar but needed the push to get into, so having an ARC definitely helped that!

Now I'm part of the blog tour for its sequel, and I couldn't have been more excited when I got approved! I'd been wanting to know where the story went from the end of book 1, (though admittedly not desperate because while the ending had been dire, it ended on a somewhat good note). The beginning of The Faithless Hawk set things back in motion quickly though, and I spent almost the entire book on edge!

I honestly really enjoyed where the series ended up going in this book, from the revelations about the castes and the truth behind the gods. We got to see so much more of the world and its lore in this book, and I always love that in my fantasy stories. Myths and gods and stories are entirely my jam, and the extra focus on that in this book made it even better for me. The book also felt really well-paced, it didn't try too hard to keep twists for the end and the action was spread evenly throughout the book. It never dragged and yet also never felt like too much all at once. The only thing I didn't care as much for was the large amount of court scenes in the middle/later half of the book, and I really like seeing Fie on the road more, with her Crows. It didn't bug me enough to like the book any less though.

This sequel also did a really good job of building upon the characters we know and love from the first book, and you could really see them grow in this book, without deviating too much from their core personalities. I loved the choices that were made with all their individual plot lines, especially Fie's and Tavin's. Some journeys definitely hurt to read and often frustrated me in the moment (which was their purpose), but it fit so well into the story and the characters that I didn't actually mind as much as I usually do in books. Nothing felt like it was thrown in there for drama or to keep couples separated, it rather just felt like how a character would act in that particular situation. It made for flawed and layered characters, and were one of the strongest aspects of the series for me. I also just love Fie, how she uses her magic, and her strength. I wouldn't have loved this series as much from any other character.

I also ended up finding an audiobook on one of my many audiobook subscriptions when I was about to start my read, so I ended up going for that instead of reading it physically, and it was a great choice! The narrator brought the entire story to life for me, and it was overall an extremely enjoyable listen. I loved how the narrator narrated Fie, and her manner of speaking and tone, and it fit the character super well. It fit in perfectly with how I read the characters in book 1, as I usually have issues starting to listen to audiobooks a book into the series, as I already have a clear interpretation of them. Instead, the audiobook only increased my enjoyment of the series, rather than take away from it. I'd highly recommend listening to this series if audiobooks are your thing!

Overall, I'm super happy I traded for this ARC on the BEA convention floor (conventions feel so far away now!), and can't wait to see what this author writes next!

The Starless Sea is Erin Morgenstern’s upcoming novel, following the highly acclaimed The Night Circus. The Starless Sea is a ballad of stories, composed entirely of alternating short stories found in the Starless Sea to the main story itself, one that has been in the making for thousands of years. Written in Morgenstern’s lush and descriptive style, The Starless Sea takes you on a journey that you wish would never end.

The experience of getting this ARC was so surreal that I still don’t believe I actually got it, that I held it in my hands, and that I read it. Was this all just a fever dream? It very well could be. The Starless Sea was just too good for it to be actually real.

But it is, and it comes out in a few short months, and all of you need to get your hands on it, whether you’ve been following Morgenstern since The Night Circus or if this is your first book of hers (it was mine!). There aren’t many books I’d say this for, but there’s something in this book for everyone to love. It’s a book for readers about readers, written in a poetic and fantastical style that makes even the most mundane of scenes seem utterly fantastic. I was in love with every short story, every chapter, every interlude, whether they lasted one page or several. The Starless Sea is built out of a myriad of storytelling elements, and the way Morgenstern weaves them all together is a sight to behold.

This book is much greater than the sum of its parts, but I still have to commend Morgenstern on how well plotted, thought out, and written every aspect of this book was. The characters felt wholly real and realistically motivated, all of them escaping standard cookie cutter tropes. They were characters you fell in love with on page one, from their way of seeing the world and their interactions with it to how they thought and talked and loved. This love only grows stronger with each page as these characters fall in love with The Starless Sea and the stories as you, the reader, do as well. I’d die for any of these characters anyday.

The world and plot were absolutely fantastic as well. They were weaved together quite closely, with knowledge of one revealing the path of the other, and it created such a seamless, well-paced story. There were no jarring moments of info-dumps, no moments of you knowing something the characters don’t (you learn from the stories as the characters do), no moments of the plot outpacing what you know about the world and can understand of it. It was just so well done that I can marvel at it on just a technical level, ignoring the emotional impact of it all.

All of this is further tied together by the writing style itself. It’s an interesting and unique style, one composed of strings of fairly ‘simple’ sentences in such a way that leaves the reader hooked, beautifully visualizes scenes and moments, and imbues the entire novel with a sense of wonder, magic, and mysticism. It’s such a hard style to pin down and therefore makes it a joy to read.

The Starless Sea has left me a forever fan of Morgenstern, and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next (after reading The Night Circus, which has just been hardcore pushed up on my tbr). I cannot wait until everyone has the joy of reading this masterpiece.

Ahhh this was a lot of fun. I listened to this book over the course of two days and it was honestly so relaxing yet fun (I smiled a LOT while listening). I seriously need to stop procrastinating reading all my Bennett books, as I've loved them all so far and had such a great time listening to them.

I absolutely loved the setting of this one, and it was a perfect summer read! (I think the annual meteor shower that takes place during this book happened around the time I was reading too!). I seriously loved just getting to see the main couple spend time together (with just each other), because it led to actual communication which then led to resolution, and it was a perfect example of second chance romance. There was also just something special about listening to a story set in the middle of nowhere, and I honestly longed to be hidden away in a forest somewhere while reading this. Bennett also did a great job of bringing the setting to life, and I could see all the nature scenes clearly in my head!

I also really liked the main character and love interest in this one, perhaps more than the ones in Alex Approximately. They both felt real and layered, and both had made mistakes in the past, rather than the blame falling on just the LI or just the MC. It led to some tense moments (there's not a single person to blame or be angry with), but that just made the final resolution even sweeter. The family drama definitely felt darker/harder to deal with, but it ended up complementing the story well. I really liked how it ended up being resolved too, it was dealt with without taking too much from the romance, and overall felt realistic rather than miraculous. It made for a very interesting read overall.

The audiobook was also fantastic for this. As I said before, I could clearly picture so many of the scenes, and this came from both the descriptive writing and the narration. The narrator for this book did such a good job with the tone and inflection in all the dialogue, and it often felt like someone was really speaking to me (I've been appreciating this more after listening to some audiobooks where this fell more flat). It also brought the main character to life for me, and made the story even more enjoyable.

Overall, I loved this and it was a perfect, quick summer read. I really need to read more Bennett soon!

I liked this book, but I didn't love it. I listened to this one on audio (like I do most contemporaries these days), and it was an overall enjoyable listen, if it didn't connect with me as much as other recent reads.

I want to preface and say that I do think this book touches on a lot of important subjects, and the exploration of all of these within the book was very well done! I liked CJ as a character and her voice as she gave readers a background of Japanese Americans in the US, especially in regards to WWII and internment camps and the lasting effects these had on the lives and careers of Japanese Americans. Suguira also did a really great job of providing a wide perspective on the topic through the voices of varying characters, from the extremes of CJ's aunt and mother (history is everything vs. history means nothing) to the more muted versions of these perspectives in CJ and her classmates. On top of this, there were discussions on teenage and unwanted pregancy, on feeling like a failure/not living up to your parents' expectations, etc. and in the end this gave the book a lot of layers.

Unfortunately, because there are so MANY big topics focused on in this book, it made the discussions of most of the other topics besides the treatment of Japanese Americans feel quite shallow. I thought we would get deeper looks into the other topics mentioned above, but they were more there to give CJ extra depth than to actually be fully explored in the book. It meant that while I enjoyed the book, it didn't feel lasting.

There was also a LOT of friend drama between CJ and literally all of her friends and the people around her, and even the romance was only sort of cute. I loved all the characters individually quite a lot, and loved CJ and the LI together, it was just how they got together and all the friend drama that came with it that I struggled with. It was hard to listen to at points because some things just got so petty and very 'high school' (which makes sense because they're in high school), but it just felt overly dramatized at points.

In the end though, these annoying aspects didn't overshadow the story for me, though I think this might be because I listened to the story and was moving along no matter what. If I had been reading physically, there would've been too many times I wanted to throw away the book, I think. Still, I enjoyed this, and will probably be reading other works by Sugiura!

I had high hopes for this book, and honestly it delivered!

Sci-fi has always been one of my favorite genres but that I criminally underread, for some reason. My shelf of sci-fi only takes a bit more than a shelf on my bookcases, whereas fantasy takes so many more. When I was accepted to review this ARC, I was excited to broaden my sci-fi reads even more, and I loved the diversity that this book seemed to promise.

The world that Lewis builds in this book has a history riddled with war, like many fantasy and sci-fi books. This book takes place in what could be considered the future, as many humans have fled Earth for Mercury, Mars, and Venus, and there have already been many wars that have resulted from advancements made (like sentient AI) and territorial disagreements. What Lewis does that is unique is the lack of a 'good' side in this war. We have a POV on both sides of the war, and in the end both characters are coming to terms with the atrocities that their side commits in the name of progress, victory, and religion. It allows more space for morality and choice to be explored, since there is no one true choice or group to side with. Everyone's out for themselves, and it's up to each character to individually decide if they'll be selfish like everyone else or struggle for change. The truth of the crimes committed by each side also led to some extremely interesting twists that left me reeling in the last few chapters of the book, and has left me desperate for book 2.

Lewis also does a fantastic job of writing a layered, diverse cast with a variety of allegiances, backgrounds, and motivations. There's First Sister, a woman who's been stripped of her name and identity in order to better serve the Mother and her demands. There's Saito Ren, a war hero turned captain who strives for peace. There's Lito, a skilled swordsman who has lost his partner and his pride in one of his side's biggest losses. And then there's Hiro, child of one of their side's largest financial supporters, a soldier turned traitor, who only speaks through a series of tapes left to their old partner, Lito. Together, they weave a story of war and allegiance that reveals the struggles of choice, and whether the good of one comes before the good of many. I loved all of these characters for very different reasons, and they kept surprising me as they grew along with the story, and made the hard choice when no one else would. I can't wait to see where book 2 takes them.

Overall, I really enjoyed this, and can't wait to see where this story goes from here!

I really enjoyed the first book in this duology, Spin the Dawn, but it's sequel didn't fully live up to the first book, for me.

Honestly, I was super hyped for book 2 after the events of the first book. I love when books involve demons, especially when it's because the main character is slowly turning into one, and so this book seemed entirely more my jam than the first (which I already loved!) Instead, I found the execution lacking, and while I still loved the writing and the world (a LOT), I felt like I lost my connection to Maia in this book, and was less interested in the plot because of it.

A lot of my issues with this one came from the repetitive cycle that Maia seemed to grow through when battling her demon. It clearly wasn't something she could tackle alone (she's not really skilled or knowledgeable in magic, she doesn't know a lot about demons, etc etc.), yet she seemed entirely convinced that she had to face it alone. Normally, I get this in MCs, but Maia's resolve in this decision to fight her inner demon (literally) alone wavered so much it got annoying. There were many moments where she acquiesced, let someone in to help her, only to suddenly change her mind in the next chapter. This wavering resolve also bled into her solo plan for handling the demon as well. She seemed to constantly shift between being certain she could keep the demon from taking over to being completely ready and willing to just give up. It was frustrating to read at points because of both of these reasons, as I never knew for sure which attitude Maia would have at a given moment. Additionally, her isolation for most of the book (due to her wanting to handle this alone), only made these shifts more obvious to the reader, since we mainly spent time with Maia in her head, rather than getting lots of dialogue to break up inner monologues.

I also found the overall plot week, at least compared to the first book. I loved the competition that bled into a journey to collect these mystical objects in the first book, but I felt like the second book lost a lot of structure compared to the first. This is also partially due to Maia's wavering desires, but the story felt a lot less consistent overall, since the goals were far less clear. Maia has a single goal in mind, to keep her kingdom united and at peace, but the way to do this constantly shifts, and sometimes Maia loses site of this entirely and decides she's just going to give herself up to the demon and become the guardian of the forgotten isles instead. It meant that the middle of the book, which consisted of a journey, continuously had different destinations. On top of that, I found the war scenes lackluster in the beginning and end of the books, as they felt shallow and unrealistic at points. It felt thrown in almost, with not enough attention paid to battle strategy and research at points. (I also partially blame my notice of this aspect on the fact that I've just finished The Poppy War series, which has extremely well-done politics, war, and battle scenes. This means my judgment of those same scenes in this series might be a bit more harsh because my mind made a more direct comparison between the two). Additionally, setting and world was my favorite thing in the first book, and I felt like I lost a lot of that here as well. I didn't have a good a picture at times of the areas that Maia was moving through.

Still, even with these complaints, I did enjoy this series overall and I love the world. Maia as an overall character has such a strong heart and is so good as a person, and I love that about her. I loved the closing scenes of this book a LOT, both for what it meant for Maia and the impact it had on the story overall. I also really loved that fashion and magic played such a strong role in this story and were never overshadowed by the power of the sword or other weapons, Maia was never made weak because she chose scissors as her weapon instead of blade. The world overall is so lush as well, and I can definitely see more series being written in this setting (so many lands to explore! all with different ideas of magic!!) The magic system was another plus too, it felt extremely unique and I enjoyed the role it played in the story. Overall, while I'm mildly disappointed by the sequel, I still like this series overall, and can't wait to see what Lim writes next!