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chasshole's review
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I loved this book the first time around and just as much the second time! I was excited for the second book(The Blood of Queens) to release so I obviously had to reread! Ren and Molly and Haim are such enjoyable characters and there's mystery of a backstory to all of them. I'm excited to learn more about "The Children" and more about Haim in the next book!
bookish_satty's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Loved this story a lot especially the unique magic system and the original lore of the world. The pacing was good and I liked the scenes where Ren was in his element as a master thief especially the heist scene at the beginning of the book really captured my attention. The side characters were well fleshed out and had their own unique personalities. The murder mystery was very well written and seamlessly blended in the overarching plot of the whole series though I'm still a little confused about the motive behind the murders.
Overall a great action packed quick read with is full of suspense and intrigue. Definitely reccomend!
Overall a great action packed quick read with is full of suspense and intrigue. Definitely reccomend!
theshaggyshepherd's review
4.0
The Blood of Crows is an audiobook that was offered to me by the author. The cover really stood out to me and the blurb sounded very interesting too. It’s also nice to sometimes have a fantasy book that isn’t super long despite loving chonkers.
Despite the shorter size for this genre, the author still managed to really pack some things in here. I love what we learned about the magic system so far and how he wove the reveal about that into the story as it unfolds. It never felt like just an info dump to me. At the same time though, I really would’ve loved to learn more about this world already. This was a good setup for future books though in that sense.
I got really attached to the characters really quickly. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of some of the adult male voices in the audiobook (they weren’t bad but they were often so similar to each other that I thought someone we already knew was speaking rather than a new person), I did really like the narrator’s voice for the MC and story narration. For that, this seemed the perfect fit. Between him and the author’s writing, they created a character I loved to follow, root for, and worry about.
While the writing did remind me a little bit of a YA book here and there, the content definitely didn’t. I loved the way we experienced the murders by the serial killer and some of those descriptions are definitely meant for adult books. That’s how I love it though. Give me all the darkness.
The cleverness of some of the characters was a refreshing and entertaining break from the seriousness. I keep seeing people mention the romance in this book but I found that factor to be a really small part of this story so it shouldn’t keep you from picking this book up. There is much more of a focus on platonic relationships and loyalty, some formed over years and others over days, which adds some interesting dynamics.
I love it when you can slowly piece some things together and guess part of the ending. The author managed not only that though. He also ended up totally blowing my mind and has me desperate for the next book. I cannot wait for its release later this year!
Despite the shorter size for this genre, the author still managed to really pack some things in here. I love what we learned about the magic system so far and how he wove the reveal about that into the story as it unfolds. It never felt like just an info dump to me. At the same time though, I really would’ve loved to learn more about this world already. This was a good setup for future books though in that sense.
I got really attached to the characters really quickly. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of some of the adult male voices in the audiobook (they weren’t bad but they were often so similar to each other that I thought someone we already knew was speaking rather than a new person), I did really like the narrator’s voice for the MC and story narration. For that, this seemed the perfect fit. Between him and the author’s writing, they created a character I loved to follow, root for, and worry about.
While the writing did remind me a little bit of a YA book here and there, the content definitely didn’t. I loved the way we experienced the murders by the serial killer and some of those descriptions are definitely meant for adult books. That’s how I love it though. Give me all the darkness.
The cleverness of some of the characters was a refreshing and entertaining break from the seriousness. I keep seeing people mention the romance in this book but I found that factor to be a really small part of this story so it shouldn’t keep you from picking this book up. There is much more of a focus on platonic relationships and loyalty, some formed over years and others over days, which adds some interesting dynamics.
I love it when you can slowly piece some things together and guess part of the ending. The author managed not only that though. He also ended up totally blowing my mind and has me desperate for the next book. I cannot wait for its release later this year!
geethr75's review
5.0
An excellent book with a twist at the end that I didn't see coming. (Okay, I did at one point, but it could very easily have been missed)
It follows the journey of Ren who sort of stumbles from one accident to the other, but manages to extricate himself from them all either with the help of friends, or his own quick wits. The epilogue left me wanting to read the next book immediately.
An excellent read, and I loved the characters, the world, the atmosphere and the magic system. Recommended for anyone who loves fantasy books.
It follows the journey of Ren who sort of stumbles from one accident to the other, but manages to extricate himself from them all either with the help of friends, or his own quick wits. The epilogue left me wanting to read the next book immediately.
An excellent read, and I loved the characters, the world, the atmosphere and the magic system. Recommended for anyone who loves fantasy books.
blueshadow's review
5.0
SO GOOD
A fun action-packed heist story in a fantasy world
Aside from some violence, it was quite clean, which I really appreciated, as it is rare to find in this genre.
My one complaint is a minor grumble that there were A LOT of loose ends left throughout. Most of these were quite minor, so it didn't matter all that much, but I do appreciate when an author remembers to tidy up.
A fun action-packed heist story in a fantasy world
Aside from some violence, it was quite clean, which I really appreciated, as it is rare to find in this genre.
My one complaint is a minor grumble that there were A LOT of loose ends left throughout. Most of these were quite minor, so it didn't matter all that much, but I do appreciate when an author remembers to tidy up.
cyriax's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
tezzarudge's review against another edition
4.0
This was a super solid debut book.
It's gives off the Michael Sullivan - Riyria vibes, but with a YA spin.
I thought the author did a great job at maintaining a superb paced story, whilst packing in character introduction and development
I really appreciated the plot twist and low-key enjoyed the budding romance within the story.
A good book
It's gives off the Michael Sullivan - Riyria vibes, but with a YA spin.
I thought the author did a great job at maintaining a superb paced story, whilst packing in character introduction and development
I really appreciated the plot twist and low-key enjoyed the budding romance within the story.
A good book
szeththeassassin's review against another edition
4.0
Please read my review at the link below:
https://escapistbookcompany.com/2022/10/07/review-the-blood-of-crows-the-crows-gambit-1-by-alex-c-pierce/
Thank you for taking the time to read my review. As always, happy reading and Stay Great!!
https://escapistbookcompany.com/2022/10/07/review-the-blood-of-crows-the-crows-gambit-1-by-alex-c-pierce/
Thank you for taking the time to read my review. As always, happy reading and Stay Great!!
moonsaku's review
Too messy. Has potential to be good but can’t stick it out. Hasn’t captured me.