River of Crows

The debut book in a new series set in a magical kingdom called Arcania, River of Crows is an engaging middle grade mystery, with excellent world building.

To 12 year old Ty, Ayslenne is just an odd girl who attends his school. He doesn't know anything about her or her missing brother, but when he helps her to rescue a rather special bird, Ty has no idea what he's getting himself into.

After they journey through a portal, they accidentally find themselves in an enchanted land ruled by a brutal tyrant. Luckily, Ty and Ayslenne meet others with whom they can seek company and camaraderie. And, as they're trying to figure out how to get home, the pair soon discover just how serious the consequences of failing to do so will be for them...

This is an enjoyable and fast-paced adventure with likeable protagonists and excellent supporting characters. Recommended for those who like dangerous magical adventures in faraway lands!

What worked:
The prominence of crows in the story presents conflicting impressions for readers. In general, crows don’t have a positive reputation due to their size, black color, and association with witches and other evil things. Then, this book opens with crows killing a man and attacking his family so negative feelings are reinforced. However, the main character Ty befriends a crow with a streak of white that saves him from bullies near school. It turns out the bird is actually a man named Corwin with the ability to transform into a crow. Just when you start thinking Corwin might be a good character, he reveals that he’s part of the Black Guard that follows orders from the evil emperor.
Magic is common in the world of Arcania and people without talents are looked down upon. Ty and a girl named Ayslenne pass through a portal from Ordane, which literally means “lacking magic”, and Ty finds he has much to learn about this new land. A humorous moment is found when Ty meets a hob (a fey folk) professor who says he’s an expert on Ordane. The hob is so proud of his magnificent collection of Ordane artifacts like Lego pieces, frisbees, and plastic buttons and is fascinated by zippers. Every new character is stunned to learn Ty comes from Ordane since the emperor has made it illegal to build portals between the two worlds. Ty discovers he possesses magic but being untrained can make it unpredictable and dangerous. It’s triggered by strong fear or anger but impulsive emotions make his powers erratic. Readers won’t know what to expect.
The plot is full of adventure as Ty tries to help new friends rescue their families. They don’t know if the family members have been executed, are languishing in prison, or have been transformed into crows in the Black Guard. How can family members be found if they might be crows flying among thousands of other crows? Ty and his friends trek across the country through a vast, dense forest searching for information and guidance. The long trek offers plenty of time for Ty and Ayslenne to bicker and nag which other characters and readers will find quite humorous. The plot reveals secret connections between some of the characters that might explain unexpected behaviors. The emperor is executing anyone showing signs of rebellion so characters are leery of sharing true thoughts with strangers.
What didn’t work as well:
There are instances where the setting jumps to other places or times but they don’t add much to the plot. Knowing what the emperor is thinking and doing is useful information but the other jumps could have been woven into the story. Also, Ty displays bravery and determination that’s not as evident while living in Ordane so his actions in Arcania may initially raise eyebrows. These issues aren’t a big deal and shouldn’t affect reader enjoyment.
The final verdict:
An adventure about a young character discovering new powers isn’t unique but the prominent inclusion of crows makes it feel fresh. Ty’s strong sense of virtue and willingness will connect with readers and the drama and action will keep them engaged. Overall, I recommend you give this book a shot!

A great beginning to a middle grade series. This felt magical and like an adventure I would eat up as a young reader. It was enjoyable for me as an adult librarian too.

This is a book about friendship, bravery and discovering who you are and where your talents lie. It is also a great adventure story following Ty and his friends. This is the first book of the series so it will be interesting to see where the story goes.

📱E-Book Review📱

River Of Crows
NP Thompson

🌟🌟🌟🌟

This is the first book in an exciting new series for the YA audience - The Arcanium series.

This story was packed with adventure and magic and had me hooked from the start!

Now, I don't know if many of you know....but I have a fear of birds (black birds especially ...and crows feature heavily in that fear!) and I know that I should have guessed from the title - but there was a lot of focus on crows in this book!

Putting that fear aside, I loved the whole storyline and the way this flowed was perfect to keep younger readers engaged the whole way through.
The chapter lengths great for allocating a set amount of reading each day, but I challenge you to put this one down!

I loved our characters and the strange friendship that they developed.
I love this in a book, as it creates that mindset, outside of fiction, that all people are different and even those who at first don't seem like you'd get on well with, can really gel and become the best of friends.

Being a fantasy, we do have some world building to get through, but I thought this was really well woven into the storyline and perfectly described to create a clear vision in my head, immersing me in the magical new world.

A great start to this series and I can't wait to read on into book 2

I totally enjoyed this book. A fast paced book with loving characters. A great first book in a series. Hoping to see the stories unfold in the upcoming books.

I genuinely loved this book. The story to the characters to the writing. Highly recommended for any middle grade reader who loves magic and wants to get lost in a new series. I can’t wait for more!