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A review by libraryofabibliotaph
A Curse of Crows by Lauren Dedroog
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
At last, it's time to sit down and write my review. What a ride it has been...
I've read the first published version of ACOC way back in 2022. Although the story itself was chaos incarnate, I quickly fell in love with the characters. Since then, I've met Lauren on various occasions and I've become a big fan of her and her book. So of course I had to read the newly published ACOC 2.0. As always, I'll try to keep my review uninfluenced by all things mentioned above and spoiler free.
The story is set in a richly developed world, with lots of characters, species, deities, demons, creatures,... You name it. You can feel that everything is backed up by a complex history, and that every character is well thought through. While I love epic fantasy, and this story definitely is becoming one, it comes with a downside: sometimes it can be really confusing to remember everything and keep everyone apart. Luckily there is a glossary at the beginning of the book, and the author herself is very helpful as well. Normally I don't like it when a book starts with such an extensive glossary, because it makes me feel like I should study that first before I would be allowed to dive into the book (I prefer to discover the information bit by bit while reading). In this case however, my love for the characters outweighs that feeling for the biggest part.
You could say there seem to be some similarities to ACOTAR's storyline, but otherwise, the story contains more than enough original elements so that this didn't really bother me.
The author manages what few other authors manage to do, and that's making me bond and fall in love with characters from the very first chapters of a book. I want to be part of Diana's crew and go on adventures together, all while cheering and crying right alongside this marvellous cast. There is also a lot of character development, and you can follow various friendships bloom from close by.
The writing style varies from poetic to filled with humour and everything in between. I've highlighted various sentences, sayings and conversations because they were so beautifully written and/or made me snort out loud. Some parts were also very human and recognisable, making this book leave even bigger marks on every reader (or so I think).
The villain origin part of the story is mostly surfacing in the last 100 pages. Before that, it's mostly background information, build-up for the rest of the series, and characters trying to overcome their trauma. This results in the pace being somewhat slower than expected, but I get the feeling that the next book will contain much more action and villainous deeds. Because of that, I'm really looking forward to reading the other books in this series. I can't wait to discover what else Diana and her friends still have up their sleeves.
I've read the first published version of ACOC way back in 2022. Although the story itself was chaos incarnate, I quickly fell in love with the characters. Since then, I've met Lauren on various occasions and I've become a big fan of her and her book. So of course I had to read the newly published ACOC 2.0. As always, I'll try to keep my review uninfluenced by all things mentioned above and spoiler free.
The story is set in a richly developed world, with lots of characters, species, deities, demons, creatures,... You name it. You can feel that everything is backed up by a complex history, and that every character is well thought through. While I love epic fantasy, and this story definitely is becoming one, it comes with a downside: sometimes it can be really confusing to remember everything and keep everyone apart. Luckily there is a glossary at the beginning of the book, and the author herself is very helpful as well. Normally I don't like it when a book starts with such an extensive glossary, because it makes me feel like I should study that first before I would be allowed to dive into the book (I prefer to discover the information bit by bit while reading). In this case however, my love for the characters outweighs that feeling for the biggest part.
You could say there seem to be some similarities to ACOTAR's storyline, but otherwise, the story contains more than enough original elements so that this didn't really bother me.
The author manages what few other authors manage to do, and that's making me bond and fall in love with characters from the very first chapters of a book. I want to be part of Diana's crew and go on adventures together, all while cheering and crying right alongside this marvellous cast. There is also a lot of character development, and you can follow various friendships bloom from close by.
The writing style varies from poetic to filled with humour and everything in between. I've highlighted various sentences, sayings and conversations because they were so beautifully written and/or made me snort out loud. Some parts were also very human and recognisable, making this book leave even bigger marks on every reader (or so I think).
The villain origin part of the story is mostly surfacing in the last 100 pages. Before that, it's mostly background information, build-up for the rest of the series, and characters trying to overcome their trauma. This results in the pace being somewhat slower than expected, but I get the feeling that the next book will contain much more action and villainous deeds. Because of that, I'm really looking forward to reading the other books in this series. I can't wait to discover what else Diana and her friends still have up their sleeves.