Murder of Crows

The Twenty-Sided Sorceress, Book 2

By: Annie Bellet

Narrated by: Folly Blaine

They say you can never go home again. If only that were true...

Game store owner and nerd sorceress extraordinaire Jade Crow knows death stalks her in the form of her murderous ex-lover, Samir, a sorcerer who wants to eat her heart and take her power. With the help of her friends, and sexy tiger-shifter Alek, Jade trains for the inevitable confrontation.

Until her estranged father shows up begging for help. Someone or something is murdering the crow shifters of Three Feathers ranch and her father believes sorcery is the only way to stop the killings. Faced with an unknown foe, a family that exiled her decades before, a deepening relationship with Alek, and Samir's ever-present threat, Jade will need all the power she's gained and then some to stop the Murder of Crows.

Murder of Crows is the second book in The Twenty-Sided Sorceress urban fantasy series.

©2014 AnneMarie Buhl (P)2015 AnneMarie Buhl

Sometimes it's true that you can never go home again.

Jade's father begs her to come back home to help the crow clan where many are being murdered. Alec drives Jade to her family from where she was banished as a child. She manages to help, but her grandfather and her father both die. She is banished again.

Painful Ending

Although I enjoyed the book, following Jade's journey as she fights to learn her magic, grows stronger and fights to do the right thing, is painful to listened to as she is manipulated and judged.

The reader conveys Jade's struggle with emotion. She gives voices to the different characters well, but especially to Jade.

I'm sure that continuing Jade's journey is going to be stressful. But I'm just gonna have to continue as I hope eventually she gets her HEA.

Level Up

I had a fun enough time with Bellet's first novelette in this series -- the characters were amusing and Folly Blaine's narration was delightful -- so I listened to this short book in between some other long and more complicated novels.

As a result, I had a surprisingly good time with this one. Bellet did a very solid job of upping the stakes this time out. Jade is in a happy romantic relationship and is gaming with her friends. She's expecting the bad times to come, and when an estranged family member shows up, Jade faces it all with determination. The stakes are upped this time out, and the emotional weight and the fallout exacts a certain strain on the characters and their relationships with each other. In the previous volume, Jade and company seemed to get along a little too well. By the end of this book, that familiar comfort has been replaced with uncertainty and conflict, and I found myself ready to queue up the next one. (WHEN DOES IT COME OUT?!?!)

Folly Blaine continues to captivate, hitting all the right notes between romance, humor, adventure, and horror. She's the perfect narrator for this series, and a big part of the reason I'm ready for the third installment.

This isn't a complicated urban fantasy that subverts all the tropes of the genre. Instead, it's just an awful lot of fun and easy listening, and I'm looking forward to more.

Good overall

I found this book to be an easy read. It flowed well. I liked the call back to D&D and the snippets that were thrown in. As a former player myself I appreciated the knowledge that was apparent from the author. The story line was deep enough to keep me interested. When I finished I immediately sought out the next books in the series.

Two hitches I found was the love interest and her heritage. They were underdeveloped and a bit unbelievable but that didn't stop me from enjoying the book as a whole.

Book two
Another good read from this author. Great continuity of characters. Basically they acted the way I'd expect them to given what the author has provided so far. I found the development on this one a little more difficult to follow but still enjoyable. I'm glad I read it but can't say it's her strongest work. Key components were sprung on the reader and didn't quite tie in as well as I would have liked. Having said that, I'll still read the next but did find this to be a little weaker than the first.

I found this book a little harder to get into. As her heritage was so absent from the previous book accepting how much of a role it played in her life was a little difficult for me.

Review Murder of Crows

We move at a quick pace into the mysterious events that are happening to a people in a place our main character would rather have forgotten. Her clash with the supernatural sets the stage for the next book and at the same time it's pulling you in deeper. Great job Folly Blaine bringing Annie Bellet's work to life.