Jen’s review of The Unleashing (Call of Crows #1) by Shelly Laurenston

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.

Until recently, I’d never been much of a paranormal reader, but in an effort to branch out I’ve been reading, and enjoying, more PNRs. I’m not an expert in the sub-genre, but I had heard very good things about Shelly Laurenston. When I saw she had a new series out I decided to give it a shot. Wow, am I glad I did because I loved this book.

This is a complicated story, partly because it’s doing the world building for the series, which is based on Nordic mythology. (The author’s note at the beginning explains she based it all on real stories but gave them her own twist.) The heroine is Kera Watson, former Marine and recently murdered coffee shop employee. Yep, before the book even opens Kera is murdered, but she has been brought back to life to become a member of the all-female Crows. The Crows are one of the Viking clans serving the Nordic gods, and they are the only ones who are made, not born, into their clan. The sister-Crows, as they call themselves, are loud, opinionated, antagonistic, and very violent, but smart, loyal, and totally hilarious. (No really!) Crows are basically the assassins, called in when their patron goddess Skuld needs somebody killed. As a former Marine and protector, Kera struggles to accept this new role and the world she knew nothing about, and she struggles to get along with the rowdy and disorganized Crows. Fortunately, she has help in the form of Ludvig Rundstrom (Vig). He is a member of the Ravens, which is an all-male Viking clan of fighters and protectors. He teaches her about their world and helps her learn the skills she needs to thrive. Everyone is put to a test when an ancient evil gets resurrected, and Kera must learn to accept her Crow role so she can help defend the world.

I love so much about this book, but my favorite thing is that it is very, very funny. I genuinely can’t remember the last time I laughed out loud so much while reading a book. When it started, though, I was worried it wasn’t the book for me. It is incredibly violent, which isn’t normally my style. The Crows are mean and obnoxious, and I just kept thinking that Kera was in a yucky, impossible situation. But after a while, I realized that the violence is so over-the-top that it has a dark humor. And the horrible jerky Crows end up revealing themselves to be complicated but ultimately loyal friends. They are crass, rude, and bloodthirsty (seriously, stay away if you’re easily offended), but, again, hilarious. Here’s an example from a conversation some of the Crows have after Kera gets into a fight with her mentor, Erin:

“You kicked her in the cunt. Trust me, the last thing that girl wants is some Viking pounding away on top of her.”

With everyone starting at her and looking disgusted, Erin reminded them, “There’s always anal.”

That’s when they all walked away from her, leaving her alone in the room.

I also loved the relationship between Vig and Kera. Vig is freaking adorable. As Kera discovers, he actually had a crush on her for months and had been visiting her coffee shop just to see her, but he was so massively shy that he never worked up the nerve to talk to her. He has a reputation among the clans as being frightening and fierce and one of the most brutal warriors around, and he is…on the battlefield. But outside of battle, he’s shy and awkward and sweet, like a gentle, bearded, sexy giant. The romance is lovely, but it’s not the most important thing in the book either. Kera’s journey (and the world building) is equally important, and she’s a wonderful character. She’s described as being of mixed race, as are many of the Crows. She’s a warrior, but she also has strong principles. I enjoyed seeing her learn about the world and learn to depend on her sister-Crows.

Honestly, it is just so COOL to have a series centered around a group of female warriors. As I said above, I don’t read tons of PNR so maybe there are some other great examples out there (and if so, tell me in the comments!), but most of what I’ve read has been about groups of men. It’s great to see a group of women being the violent, ass-kicking ones for a change. The Crows aren’t sweet and loving–they’re tough, they’re harsh, but they’d die for each other. They make no apologies for being assassins, and while they don’t kill indiscriminately, they aren’t exactly “good guys” because they work for gods/goddesses that aren’t clearly “good” either. It’s fun and interesting and I want more!

The book isn’t perfect. There are some instances where it felt like rules in the world were bent only when convenient. Some parts feel a bit info-dumpy, though I overlooked it because this is a complex world and there’s a lot to learn. It was hard to keep all the names and relationships straight, and I expect it will take several books before it’s fleshed out. Still, it’s been a long time since I enjoyed a book as much as I did this one, and I can’t wait to read the future installments.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

This book is available from Kensington. You can purchase it here or here in e-format.  This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.