Book Blurb:
Sixteen-year old Anna Arden was once just the magically barren girl from an elite Luminate family. Now she has broken the Binding—and Praetheria, the creatures held captive by the spell, wreak havoc across Europe. Lower-class citizens have access to magic for the first time, while other Luminates lose theirs forever. Austria and Hungary are at odds once more.
Anna Arden did not know breaking the Binding would break the world.
Anna thought the Praetheria were on her side, content and grateful to be free from the Binding. She thought her cousin Matyas's blood sacrifice to the disarm the spell would bring peace, equality, justice. She thought her future looked like a society that would let her love a Romani boy, Gabor.
But with the Monarchy breathing down her neck and the Praetheria intimidating her at every turn, it seems the conspiracies have only just begun.
As threat of war sweeps the region, Anna quickly discovers she can't solve everything on her own. Now there's only one other person who might be able to save the country before war breaks out. The one person Anna was sure she'd never see again. A bandit. A fellow outlaw. A man known as the King of Crows. Matyas.
Find out more about the book and series on Goodreads
My Review:
4 Out Of 5 Stars
Genre: Another-World, Fairytale, Historical, Mystery, Romance, Royal-Court, Supernatural, Suspense, Teen, Witches--
Anna as been shipped off to her sister in Vienna, hopefully so her actions in Hungary can die down and Anna can potentially find a husband to take care of her. But Anna does not want a husband- she already has feelings for someone and she would rather take a stand against the injustices on the world instead of being a wife. Meanwhile, the magical creatures that she unleashed from breaking the binding are roaming freely among men, something those in power want stopped. A war is brewing just under the surface, and which side is just is anyone's guess.
Book 2 in the series jumps right back into the world we left in Blood Rose Rebellion without the recap that sometimes weighs down sequels. We have our main character Anna who has gone through a lot of tragedy as well as personal growth since the start of Blood Rose Rebellion. She now knows what she is capable of, where her loyalties lie as well as what she is willing to stand up for. I was impressed by her strength, both emotionally and physically with some of the tasks she is challenged with and I rooted her on. I will say I was a little let down with her bout of clinginess towards a certain cute Rominy boy- and her determination to be with him even when he basically shot her down in a spectacular manner. Don't get me wrong, he is a nice enough guy, but he barely showed up in this book (also had no character growth to peak my interest) and I would be ok if Anna discovered another love interest in the course of her journey- sorry for those who ship them!
I found Hunger very interesting at the end of Blood Rose Rebellion and I was so excited to see him show up in The Lost Crow Conspiracy. I was afraid that we were done with him, but I was pleased to be wrong this time (...even though Ann probably wants to be done with him). Hunger is enigmatic, with unknown motivations and desires, yet shows up all the time- sometimes to help, other to hinder. Ok, fine, he is my favorite character and I do not care if he has shady intentions, I just request more of his presence because he keeps me on my toes while I try to guess what he will do next.
Surprisingly, the story switched narration to a character who I never expected to hear from again. Sorry for the spoiler, but death may be only but a brief fate for some of the characters in this story. I loved that the Gods, or the original magical creatures, also have an agenda at play and the most of unlikely of heroes. I did like experiencing this character's point of view, so different from Anna that it made the plot seem like an entirely new concept. Side note, it was also interesting that Gods, or the creatures who believe themselves to be such, can also die- nobody is safe during this magical revolution!
I feel like three fourths of this book was build up, setting up the characters and the world for the conflict that was to come next. It was a little slow for my liking, it felt like more contemplation and emotional discoveries than any action actions. But boy did the last fourth of the book make up for it! Between one dangerous, action packed moment to the next, I flew through the section. And that ending! The King of Crows is fantastic and I am so excited to see how everything will play out in the next book, which is shaping up to be an epic conclusion to the series.
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