The Unleashing (Call of Crows #1)
by Shelly Laurenston
Blurb:
Kera
Watson never expected to face death behind a Los Angeles coffee shop. Not after
surviving two tours lugging an M16 around the Middle East. If it wasn’t for her
hot Viking customer showing up too late to help, nobody would even see her die.
In
uncountable years of service to the Allfather Odin, Ludvig “Vig” Rundstrom has
never seen anyone kick ass with quite as much style as Kera. He knows one way
to save her life—but she might not like it. Signing up with the Crows will get
Kera a new set of battle buddies: cackling, gossiping, squabbling, party-hearty
women. With wings. So not the Marines.
But
Vig can’t give up on someone as special as Kera. With a storm of oh-crap magic
speeding straight for L.A., survival will depend on combining their strengths:
Kera’s discipline, Vig’s loyalty… and the Crows’ sheer love of battle. Boy, are
they in trouble.
Themes: magick, paranormal
Rating: 3.25 stars
Heat Rating: 
Review:
Wow. So let's be honest here as we begin a foray
into an all new world of crazy, slightly unstable, and freaking gorgeous men and
women, created by none other that the insidious mind of Shelly Laurenston. Shelly is one of my favorite authors,
really she is, but the woman is nuts, in only the best ways, and can make you
wonder just where these insane plots, offbeat characters, and just plain weird
worlds come from. This new series
revolves around a group of Norse (Viking) gods and goddesses and the champions
they have picked for their individuals causes and teams. The Crows are of course the lowest of the
low; women of mixed blood that really have no understanding of what they are
getting themselves into when they trade their service for another chance to
live a full life. The counterpart of
this group, not really friends, but tense allies, are the Ravens, which are a
group of sexy as hell men that are descended directly from the old Norse
people. And in this first story of the
series it has pretty much become the Crows and Ravens against the world, and by
that I mean all the other factions that serve their respective gods. The characters are full of sarcasm, sass, and
really just plain insanity, but they are so hilarious in their interactions and
the way they handle day to day challenges, there's no way I couldn't like them. But then again I’m a bit twisted myself. So
if you are looking for a very mainstream and respectable group of people
working together in harmony to save the world... yeah not the story for
you. But if you love crazy as hell,
smart-asses, with wicked skills for killing enemies, and the sensual games that
arise when they group up--jump aboard this crazy train and ride that baby into
the station!
I
loved the way Laurenston had Kera and Vig come together, starting with a little
crush which ultimately pulled Kera into her new crazy world. Being able to relate to Kera as she deals
with all the changes in her new life, watching her come into her own, and even
seeing how she interacts with her new compatriots, remind us that maintaining a
sense of humor can make any situation seem bearable. Vig was the strong and sturdy influence that
Kera needed in her new world of insanity, being there to offer her comfort in
all moments, no matter what she needed and standing by her side as she fought
her way through the enemies that surrounded them. I especially loved the changes that
Laurenston created in Kera's dog, because seriously?... who the hell comes up
with these things? In the end it was a usual Laurenston tale, with a fun
spin, but I will remind readers that Laurenston's characters are in no way
mainstream and can be an acquired taste. If you are a fan of any of her other work as
either herself or G.A. Aiken, I believe you will enjoy The Unleashing as much
as I did. I am looking forward to seeing
what is coming next and what trouble this new group of crazy bitches and sexy
men can get into.
*eARC provided by publisher (via
netgalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No
compensation was provided.
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