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The Unyielding (Call of Crows 3) by Shelly Laurenston – Dual Review

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The Unyielding (Call of Crows 3) by Shelly Laurenston – Dual Review 

 

The Unyielding
Call of Crows series – Book #3
by Shelly Laurenston
Release Date: March 28, 2017

The Unyielding

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / BAM /

About the Book: Release Date March 28, 2017

Stieg Engstrom, Angriest Viking Ever, has got big problems. The human Viking Clans of earth are in danger of being obliterated—along with the rest of the world—and the only one who may be able to save them is a super pain-in-the-ass Crow. Most people annoy Stieg, but this is the one woman he really can’t stand…

Erin Amsel loves being a Crow! Why wouldn’t she when the other Viking Clans are so hilariously arrogant and humorless? She’s not about to let all that come to an end! She just didn’t expect to be shoulder to shoulder in battle with Stieg. Then again, he’s so easy to torment—and also kind of cute.

With the future of the world riding on them, Stieg knows he’ll have to put aside his desperate need to kiss the smirk right off Erin’s face. Wait. What? He didn’t mean that—did he? No! They have one goal: To conquer the idiots. Because nothing bugs Stieg more than when idiots win. If only he can keep himself from suddenly acting like one….

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Barb’s Review:

The Unyielding by Shelly Laurenston is the 3rd book in her Call of Crows series.  This is a different type of series then Laurenston’s other two series that I read, but this one is equally as fun and wild crazy.  I love Shelly Laurenston; she is one author I can’t get enough of, as her humor has you laughing so often, even if it’s totally crazy.  Well in this case, I guess its fun to be crazy.  LOL

The Call of the Crows series takes place in a modern day Nordic world with Gods, Goddesses, Vikings, Crows, Ravens, and Protectors. As I have said before, every character is wild, vicious, and crazy; but so much fun. This was an exciting action filled story about the world possibly coming to end with Ragnarok near.  Whereas, much  of this series is centered around the Crows, in this story, all the clans,and their gods play big parts.

The Unyielding belongs to Erin Amsel, one of the Crows we know so well.  Erin is not liked by many, but she loves it that way; she is tough, obnoxious at times, enjoys being bitchy, but she is a great hardnosed warrior.  Kera and Jace have been working long hours to find a way to kill the evil Goddess Gullveig, who is indestructible, before she causes the Ragnarok that will kill all humans and destroy the world.  When all the clans meet, the conclusion is that Erin is the only one who can possible go into other realms and try to steal Sutr’s sword,which can kill Gullveig.  The only problem, the chance of survival is slim, especially since she has to steal it from a mighty Dragon. 

Erin is determined to save the world, even if she knows the odds are against her.   Steig Engstrom is our hero, and a Raven, who also hates Crows, and Erin.   But in a short time, Steig has been told to keep an eye on Erin, and keep her safe until she can go on the mission.  Along the way, he slowly begins to respect and fall for her.  It will be Steig, who will go with her to the forbidden lands, and they will help each other try to survive. 

The first half of the book, is about Erin and Steig getting into all kinds of situations, but it also is about all the clans trying to come up with a plan.  The last half is when everything is falling apart, for both the clans and Erin & Steig.  The fighting on both sides were amazing well done, really violent, but hysterical at times, which relieves the tension.  I can’t really tell too much more, since this is a difficult review to do, as despite all the tense action, great characters, bantering, and deathly situations, Laurenston has us laughing in between.  Now how can I write about those crazy people?  LOL  You really have to read it to fully understand.

Laurenston has created a fantastic paranormal fantasy world, with her leading characters totally nasty or wacky, and we love it all.  I will say the last third of the book had us unable to put the book down, and I loved the romance between two unlikely people, such as Erin and Stieg.  They were great together.  But then again, I loved Kera and Jace too, in the previous books. If you like fantasy, in a Norse mythology setting, filled with action, dangerous and crazy warriors or gods, and Laurenston’s unbelievable humor , then you need to start this series.   Lastly, Thank God I found you, Shelly Laurenston (Thanks, Sandy).

Sandy’s Review

THE UNYIELDING is the third installment in Shelly Laurenston’s contemporary, adult CALL OF CROWS fantasy/paranormal romance series based in Norse mythology. The continuing story focuses on the upcoming battle of Ragnarok and the end of the world as we know it. This is Viking warrior Stieg Engstrom, and Crow Erin Amsel’s story line. THE UNYIELDING can be read as a stand alone but for cohesion, enjoyment and backstory I recommend reading the series in order.

For more information about Ragnarok follow this link: http://norse-mythology.org/tales/ragnarok/

Told from several third person points of view THE UNYIELDING continues to focus on Norse mythology-the birth, life, death and rebirth cycles-including the destruction of everyone and everything, known as Ragnarok. With the resurrection of the goddess Gullveig, the end was fast approaching and Erin Amsel-crazy, manic, and most hated of the Crows (the warrior clan of the goddess Skuld)-is tasked with retrieving a magical weapon to destroy the goddess before H*ll comes to Earth. Enter Stieg Engstrom, Viking warrior, and the man with whom Erin will fall in love but not before our leading couple must survive the Nine Worlds and all of the dangers wrought within.

Shelly Laurenston’s THE UNYIELDING is a story of action, suspense, adventure, humor and a mythological apocalypse with sass, snark, the Viking Clans, shifters, dragons, gods, goddesses, elves, dwarfs, giants, Maids, rotting corpses, a rabid squirrel, a dog blessed by the gods, and a goat-yep, a goat. Laurenston’s ability to weave humor, playfulness and comedy into a tale is amazing. The whimsy, wit and charm of the back and forth banter is fabulous, unique, insane and energetic. For fans of Laurenston’s Pride and Pack series, as well as her DragonKin series (written as G.A.Aiken) the humor is familiar, entertaining and seductive. You can never go wrong with a story by Shelly Laurenston !

Previous Reviews and Reading Order
The Unleashing
The Undoing
The Unyielding

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The Undoing (Call of Crows #2) by Shelly Laurenston-dual review

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THE UNDOING (Call of Crows #2) by Shelly Laurenston-dual review

The Undoing

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date march 29, 2016

No one would ever accuse Jace Berisha of having an easy life—considering her husband…you know…killed her. But that was then! Now she fights for mighty Viking gods with the spectacular and vicious Crows.

But things are turning very bad, very quickly because a vengeful, ancient goddess has come into the world with just one thing on her mind—ending it. And the only way they can hope to stop her is if the Crows join forces with their one-time enemies, the Protectors. A Viking Clan created to do nothing but kill every Crow they see.

Thankfully, Protector Ski Eriksen is a peace loving kind of guy. Because the woman he is desperately trying to get close to is the beautiful and not-very-chatty Jace. Battling Nordic clans? Unkillable goddesses? Jace’s mean-spirited dog? None of these things would ever get in the way of a true Viking!

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Sandy’s REVIEW:

THE UNDOING is the second installment in Shelly Laurenston’s adult, contemporary CALL OF CROWS paranormal / fantasy series based upon the gods and goddesses of Norse mythology. The continuing story focuses on the upcoming battle of Ragnarok ; and the building relationship between Jacinda ‘Jace’ Berisha-a Crow, a Beserker, and a specialist in ancient languages, and Viking Protector Danski ‘Ski’ Eriksen. THE UNDOING can be read as a stand alone but for backstory and cohesion, I recommend reading the series in order as each installment prepares for ‘The Doom of the Gods’.

For more information about the meaning of Ragnarok click on this link: Norse Mythology: Ragnarok

Told from several third person points of view THE UNDOING is a story line steeped in modern day Norse mythology; of gods and goddess; of a pending war to end all wars; and the return of the goddess Gullveig-who wreaks havoc on Earth in order to instigate ‘The Doom of the Gods’. But there is a potential for human involvement as Jace’s ex husband-a false prophet-has a strong support network with close ties to our leading heroine.

THE UNDOING follows the Crows (Jace and her fellow sisters), the Protectors (Ski and his warrior brothers of Viking scholars), the Ravens and a whole other assortment of earth bound warriors whose duty is to protect, to battle, and to defend their gods.

The relationship between Jace and Ski is slow to develop as Jace must decipher and translate ancient text to unearth the secrets and stories of Ragnarok, and the end of the world. While our heroine is under the protection of the Protectors, she finds herself falling in love with her very own personal guard. The $ex scenes are limited, provocative and seductive. Jace and Ski are quiet but strong; shy but passionate-the romance is secondary to the over arcing story line premise.

THE UNDOING has a very large ensemble cast of characters from Norse and Celtic Mythology including gods, goddesses, Scandinavian and Viking influences, folklore and legacies. The world building continues to focus on the coming of Ragnarok, and the end of life as it is or once was. Jace’s Crow-sisters are a force unto themselves, while Ski’s Viking Protectors wait quietly to be called into war.

Shelly Laurenston blends humor with crazy characters and dangerous situations. You can always count on Shelly to add a bit of sarcasm and witty word play to her story lines making a difficult situation easier to fathom but in comparison to her Pride, and Dragon Kin series I found the humorous situations lower in number and less in your face ‘slapstick’ funny. The kickass heroines are strong and capable yet avoid the bitchiness factor that is the doom of many story line premises.

THE UNDOING is a story ripped from Norse mythology and Celtic lore. The premise is intense yet humorous with playful and entertaining moments; the characters are animated, colorful and action-oriented; the romance is a slow build between two quiet and introverted warriors. Shelly Laurenston’s CALL OF CROWS series is as much a story about family, as it is about the mythological gods and goddesses.

 

Barb’s Review:

The Undoing by Shelly Laurenston is the 2nd book in her wild crazy fun exciting Call of Crows series. If you have not read anything by Laurenston, then you are missing an adventure that will have you filled with wild excitement, sexy romance, and laughing all the way. There is no one like Shelly Laurenston. Thank you, Sandy. 🙂

The Call of the Crows is a totally different type of series, which takes place in a modern day Nordic world with Gods, Vikings, Crows, Ravens, Protectors, and even a flying pit bull. Every single one of the characters, many of whom we have come to love, are wild, vicious, and mostly crazy; but darn so much fun.

The Undoing belongs to Jace Barisha, who is a member of the female clan, Crows. Jace was murdered by her husband, and brought back to a second life after she promised her loyalty to a God. Jace is shy, and quiet, but she has the rage of a beserker, which helps when the crows have to fight the other clans or Vikings to save the world. In the last book, Kera became a Crow, and she is the one who is closest to Jace.

Ski Eriksen is our hero, a key member of the Protectors. Jace’s knowledge of all languages will put her in closer contact with the Protectors, helping them translate their many books. In a slow built romance, Jace will learn to control her rages, befriend all the Protectors, and fall in love with Ski. Ski falls hard for Jace, and is instrumental and helping her control her powers.   I loved most of  the Protectors, how they began to care about Jace. Everyone usually fears Jace when she flips into her berserker rages. Keep in mind, all the clans usually hate each other. Most of all I loved the crazy antics of the Crows, as well as the other clans. All the clans are vicious and wild, but we spend time with all the members of the crows, especially Jace, Kera and Erin , not to mention the Protectors and Ravens.

There are two parts of this story, which involves Jace’s ex who was released from jail, after murdering her. The other is about trying to stop a powerful goddess from causing the end of the world. I couldn’t even explain to you about the wild fierce fighting & battles among each other. It is non stop action; fierce and violent; loyal sisters who do anything to protect their own; but most of all it’s like following a wild bunch screaming along the way. I had so much fun reading this, as you couldn’t help laugh at the antics.

The climax was pulse pounding, as all our favorites work together to fight the goddess; but it will take Jace to rise up out of an  impossible situation to help save her sisters. Wow.   Shelley Laurenston, I do not know how you do this. You make us enjoy the crazy, wild, fierce and violent situations; you make us laugh hysterically at the antics of them all; and most of all, you make us love them too.

Reading Order and previous review
1. The Unleashing
2. The Undoing

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Barb’s Review

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The Unleashing (Call of Crows #1) by Shelly Laurenston-a review

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THE UNLEASHING (Call of Crows #1) by Shelly Laurenston-a review

The Unleashing

Amazon.com / B&N / KOBO / The Book Depository

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 31, 2015

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.

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REVIEW: THE UNLEASHING is the first installment in Shelly Laurenston’s new fantasy/paranormal romance Call of Crows series loosely based on Norse mythology. As per the author’s introductory comments Laurenston has taken some liberties with the gods and their backstories, adding her own twist to the stories. This is Viking descendant and Raven Clan member Vig Rundstrom, and former marine and the newest Crow Clan member Kera Watson’s storyline. The Clans are the present day human representatives of the Viking gods on Earth and do battle each evening with the enemies of the gods.

The storyline follows Kera’s murder and admittance into the Clan of the Crows-a women-only mythological Clan whose membership initiation results from a violent death or murder. Too late to save the woman with whom he had fallen in love, Vig Rundstrom called upon the god Odin to give Kera a second chance at life. What ensues is Kera’s immediate introduction into a world she knew nothing about-not only will Kera be the recipient of special powers and wings-but her rescue dog pit bull Brodie will be bequeathed some skill and talent of her own.

THE UNLEASHING introduces a large ensemble cast of characters from several mythological Clans which may seem overwhelming in the initial stages of the series but as per Laurenston’s style of writing, all of the characters will, most likely, have some role in future storylines. The focus of THE UNLEASHING follows the Crow and Raven Clans and I hope to see some future relationship developments. The Raven Clan is an all male Clan descended from the Vikings-big, bearded and tough. The romance in the storyline is not particularly strong as the author focuses more on the mythology and character introduction.

The first half of the storyline acquaints the reader with the characters, the set up and some of the background of Norse mythology and the development of the Clans. In the second half of the story, there is more action as the Clans must join together in battle-someone or something is trying to release a dangerous power.

If you are a fan of the author’s paranormal, shifter PRIDE series, you will recognize many similarities between character nuances and personality traits especially with the females of the Crow Clan. I recognize similarities of Dee, Blayne, Jessica, Sissy Mae, Gwen, Ronnie Lee, and even a little bit of Hannah (Beast Behaving Badly) who comes through with the introduction of Jace. The females of Laurenston’s SMITH PACK from her Pride series are well represented by the Crow Clan.

Shelly Laurenston’s trademark wit, humor and snarky one-liners are present as the character personalities begin to develop and come through as the storyline builds. All of the females are warriors; fighters in their own right; kick a$$ heroines who defend, protect and, in the case of the Crow Clan, bringers of death. THE UNLEASHING is a wonderful introduction to a new series.

Copy supplied by Netgalley.

Reviewed by Sandy

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