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princessleopard's review against another edition
3.0
Preface: I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Explicit content: Violence, death
Recommended for: Urban fantasy readers that like a touch of mystery, but no real surprises
This was a disappointing read for me. It's got an okay premise - evil scarecrows, a demon, and a dude risen from the grave all terrorizing a lil town. Classic small town horror stuff. However, there are really no surprises throughout the whole novel. If you stop at any point and actually think about the plot, you can tell exactly where it's going, beat by beat. Oh, there are dudes who used to know each other and have some terrible secret, a kid who disappeared when he was their age, and a zombie rises from the grave at some point? Wonder what that secret could be. Oh, there's a mysterious figure giving the orders to our main villain guy, and only one real person of power in the town, who we get a pointless scene with just to establish they exist? Wonder who's the big bad. That kinda thing. Sometimes that works, if the story is fast-paced enough to keep you from ever pausing to think, but this doesn't really have that, either. It's really just a lot of waiting for the characters to catch up to what is going on.
The characters themselves are pretty flat. Thomas is pretty boring, imo - just your standard disgraced journalist type. Jezebel was pretty cool (I enjoy buttkicking lazy sheriffs) and it was nice to learn her motivations over time. There was a romance angle between the two of them, but honestly I didn't feel any chemistry between them, and the lil catfighting between her and Thomas's ex felt pretty forced. Salem was also a pleasant surprise; I wasn't expecting him to be a sweet lil dude instead of a super creep. That's about where the interesting characterization ends, though. Everyone else in the story is just a flat archetype. Homeless man, bad guys, creepy old man, etc. And pretty much all of them die, so there's no reason to be invested in them anyway.
The ending was pretty disappointing - def would have rather the fates of two characters to have been swapped, though I understand why things shook out the way they did. It was a weirdly downer ending for what is your basic horror schlock, though. I was at least glad we didn't get a last minute omg-the-killer-is-still-alive thing, at least.
Overall, this book is pretty average. If you want something you don't have to think too much and is mildly spooky, you might enjoy this, but it doesn't really offer anything more than that.
Explicit content: Violence, death
Recommended for: Urban fantasy readers that like a touch of mystery, but no real surprises
This was a disappointing read for me. It's got an okay premise - evil scarecrows, a demon, and a dude risen from the grave all terrorizing a lil town. Classic small town horror stuff. However, there are really no surprises throughout the whole novel. If you stop at any point and actually think about the plot, you can tell exactly where it's going, beat by beat. Oh, there are dudes who used to know each other and have some terrible secret, a kid who disappeared when he was their age, and a zombie rises from the grave at some point? Wonder what that secret could be. Oh, there's a mysterious figure giving the orders to our main villain guy, and only one real person of power in the town, who we get a pointless scene with just to establish they exist? Wonder who's the big bad. That kinda thing. Sometimes that works, if the story is fast-paced enough to keep you from ever pausing to think, but this doesn't really have that, either. It's really just a lot of waiting for the characters to catch up to what is going on.
The characters themselves are pretty flat. Thomas is pretty boring, imo - just your standard disgraced journalist type. Jezebel was pretty cool (I enjoy buttkicking lazy sheriffs) and it was nice to learn her motivations over time. There was a romance angle between the two of them, but honestly I didn't feel any chemistry between them, and the lil catfighting between her and Thomas's ex felt pretty forced. Salem was also a pleasant surprise; I wasn't expecting him to be a sweet lil dude instead of a super creep. That's about where the interesting characterization ends, though. Everyone else in the story is just a flat archetype. Homeless man, bad guys, creepy old man, etc. And pretty much all of them die, so there's no reason to be invested in them anyway.
The ending was pretty disappointing - def would have rather the fates of two characters to have been swapped, though I understand why things shook out the way they did. It was a weirdly downer ending for what is your basic horror schlock, though. I was at least glad we didn't get a last minute omg-the-killer-is-still-alive thing, at least.
Overall, this book is pretty average. If you want something you don't have to think too much and is mildly spooky, you might enjoy this, but it doesn't really offer anything more than that.
carolmariee's review
4.0
My rating of four stars is based on what I would expect from a debut novel/story. If I were to compare it to someone who has written 10/20 books I would have given it a lower rating.
I have to admit, at times this story really got the best of my imagination and at one point reading it at night was a little too much for me. But that's a good thing! It was spooky and exciting.
At first the plot seemed to be unfolding very quickly. The characters were quick to believe and come to conclusions but after finishing the books I find that it was very well paced and a good sized story for a debut.
I have to admit, at times this story really got the best of my imagination and at one point reading it at night was a little too much for me. But that's a good thing! It was spooky and exciting.
At first the plot seemed to be unfolding very quickly. The characters were quick to believe and come to conclusions but after finishing the books I find that it was very well paced and a good sized story for a debut.
lilyn_g's review
4.0
Review Excerpt: Kyle Alexander Romines, for whom this is a debut book, proves himself to have a deft hand with words as he weaves this supernatural thriller about a decision made by reckless youths, and the far reaching consequences it has.
The Keeper of Crows is nothing new or ground-breaking. No single part of the mystery was super hard to figure out; however, it still kept my interest. Romines’ talent was enough that even though I had worked out how the story was going to go early on (large plot points, at least), I still wanted to keep reading it, to see how he’d work it. The details and unique touches he’d add. That says something.
For a full review, please click here.
The Keeper of Crows is nothing new or ground-breaking. No single part of the mystery was super hard to figure out; however, it still kept my interest. Romines’ talent was enough that even though I had worked out how the story was going to go early on (large plot points, at least), I still wanted to keep reading it, to see how he’d work it. The details and unique touches he’d add. That says something.
For a full review, please click here.
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