In pain, in fear, in longing and surprise; with every death Rhia hears the cries of the departed. This ‘gift’ from the ancient and mysterious Crow gives Rhia an intimate connection to death. One she’s fought to repress as she tries to create a normal life.
But those chosen by the spirits can never be normal. Rhia has glimpsed the future of her newborn son; a child who is stolen from her. And if she must deaden her heart to the living and wander the world of the departed to retrieve him, then so be it.
For her family and her people, Rhia would sacrifice anything. And Crow knows it.
We join Rhia and Marek in the second book just days after the 1st book ended. They’ve battled the Descendants, the people of Ilios, and are now going back to Kalindos so Rhia can be further tutored in her powers. Her second stage powers, now that she’s pregnant. When they arrive they find that the Descendants have been to Kalindos and either killed or kidnapped the inhabitants of the small village. While dealing with death the survivors are figuring out how soon they can get to Ilios and retrieve their families.
Meanwhile there are Ilions in Asermos recovering form the battle. One man in particular, Filip has been severely wounded and cannot go home for if he does he will disgrace his family with his injury, yet he doesn’t feel comfortable in Asermos. When he starts to have powers from his spirit it really confuses him. He befriends a Kalindon, Alanka, and they find attraction and mutual respect.
Kalindon’s and Asermon’s come together to travel to Ilios after Rhia’s infant is kidnapped and the Descendants end up taking Rhia’s husband Marek as well. Marek becomes a slave in Ilios and starts to lose hope that he will ever get free with his son.
It’s also been foretold that a person with the Aspect of Raven – the ultimate spirit which has never been bestowed on anyone – will be born. Who could it be?
This book was incredible. I thought the first book was amazing, but the second book is just as good in a completely different way. It is a pretty dark book and sometimes disturbing but I can’t say enough about how wonderful it is.
Amy from
Romance Book Wyrm, who sent me the Aspect of Crow trilogy for Christmas, was nice enough to discuss the books with me via email.
Tracy: So I know you like fantasy books but what originally drew you to this book?
Amy: What drew me to Jeri’s Aspect of Crow trilogy was the fact that she used the animal spirits. Of course I had to read them, since I used that same idea when I dabbled in a little of my own writing. I thought it was neat to see someone else find animal spirits interesting enough to write about. I loved the trilogy so much that I wanted to share them with a few of my friends. And you came immediately to mind because I know you loved the Black Jewels trilogy and figured you’d love this one too.
Tracy: Well you certainly got me hooked on the books that’s for sure. After reading the first book (Eyes of Crow) I wanted to delve right into the second one, but I did wait a few weeks. The second book was much darker than the first and my God it was hard to read in some places.
First let me say that it was very cool to see Marek and Rhia still together and going strong at the start of the second book. I wasn’t sure where Jeri would pick the story line back up and it was great that there was only a few days lapse. Of course right off the bat the darkness begins. But Jeri, she does it with such feeling and emotion that you can’t help but be sucked right into the story!
Amy: I am so glad that you’re hooked, and that you haven’t read the first two wondering what the hell I found so fantastic about them! I’m not crazy…They are awesome books!
Yes, Voice does have darker moments than Eyes of Crow had, but that’s what makes it so good. Jeri didn’t sugar coat anything and she didn’t lighten the mood to appease anyone. She wrote it honestly and that is what set this apart for me. Of course, it has a happy ending! But you never once felt it, which in turn keeps you turning the pages!! Some books lose their appeal because you know the happy ending is there. There were scenes with Marek later in the story that were very hard to read, but we’ll get to that.
What did you think of Filip? I thought his role, being an Ilion, but later rediscovering himself and his relationship with Alanka, wasperfect. It added a nice layer to the overall story with the turmoil between the Spirit people and the Ilions (I asked (Jeri) if there was a name for the spirit people but there isn’t one!)
Tracy: Filip was interesting because he truly couldn’t figure out where he should be. He couldn’t go back to Ilios but yet he didn’t feel comfortable with people in Asermos either. All of these characters are written so well because you can just feel what they’re feeling. I was as indecisive as Filip was about his role in everything! lol But I thought he made the right decision for himself in the end.
No, Jeri certainly didn’t sugar coat a thing. When Rhia’s child gets kidnapped I just kept thinking that it truly wasn’t going to happen – even though I knew it would because of the blurb on the back of the book. But I kept expecting something or someone to save the day. That didn’t happen and it’s what makes this book stand out in my mind.
Now would you really call this an HEA ending? Happy things happened but it kind of kept me on edge for the next book and holy cow what’s gonna happen next???
Amy: Well, maybe I wouldn’t say it had a traditional HEA, but I felt it did have a happily ever after for now. There is still much to happen in the overall story ARC. Each book is like the beginning, middle and end. It’s like one story separated into three books, even though The Reawakened takes place 18 years later. But yes, the issues that drove Voice were resolved by the end…Nilik and Marek were reunited with Rhia…Alanka and Filip have their beautiful romance that is solid by the end…and they rescued some of the Kalindons at the end. Some of them have main roles in the next book, btw :). So yes, overall I feel there was a definite sense of peace by the end. Certainly you could feel the story wasn’t over, but a lull in the war that is still looming.
Now, I have to ask, since it is something that Jeri had as a question for a contest she had for The Reawakened. Who do you think Raven is? The Spirit people are relying on Raven to help them through the Ilion war that is in their future. But Raven has never bestowed her aspect. What do you think? I know, but I’m not telling. What I will say is Jeri does not lose her ability to tell a superb story and you’ll know when you read the last book what I mean!
Tracy: Wow I had no idea that there was such a jump in time to the next book. But I guess it makes sense with the Raven and all. Who do I think the Raven is? Well I think it’s Nilik, Rhia’s son, but that would just be too easy! lol! In the dream that the Asermons and Kalindons were having, the Raven did drop from a Crow so who knows – maybe it was Damen’s (a friend of Rhia’s) child. I just don’t know! Oh, the pressure! lol
You’re right there is a beginning, middle and end to both of the first two books and they have they’re own HEA’s in a manner of speaking. I think since the story doesn’t actually END it just felt good, but different for me (than a traditional HEA), but certainly not in a bad way. I really can’t wait to read the next book – although with other obligations I’ll have to for a couple of weeks.
Amy: I would love to discuss the third book with you when you get a chance to read it. There are so many things in that one too, but I think it is less emotional than Voice of Crow. There are truly some unique things going on in The Reawakened and I’m very excited for you to read it and share your thoughts again!
Tracy: Amy, thank you so much for having this discussion with me. You’ve added another “voice” to my review and I so appreciate it!
Rating: 5 out of 5
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I first heard about The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society over at Amy’s blog, Romance Book Wyrm. Amy was at her Romance Book Club meeting and another woman who also ran the Historical Fiction Book Club was talking about her next selection – which was TGLaPPPS. Amy decided to pick it up and read it and she was so glad she did. After reading the book Amy decided to send TGLaPPPS on a book tour. It finally made its way to me and I finished reading it yesterday and wanted to share some of my thoughts.
Be sure and visit Amy’s blog for all the details and don’t forget to leave a comment to be entered!