The Unleashing (Call of Crows, #1) in Dangerous Hero Addict Support Group

Jun 25, 2015 Danielle The Book Huntress rated it really liked it

Shelves: warrior-woman, asian-hero-or-heroine, humor, 2015-challenge-factory-challenge, character-multi-ethnic-heritage, animal-character-steals-the-show, norse-mythology, 2015-cover-to-cover-challenge, not-for-the-faint-of-heart, interracial-romance

This was a group read for the Dangerous Hero Addict Support Group, and I'm glad it got voted for. It gave me that push to read Shelly Laurenston. I've heard from many that she's a good author, and I actually have most of her Dragon books written under G.A. Aiken, but I just hadn't gotten around to reading her books written under this name.

One thing that one needs to understand about this book is that it's very heroine and women-bonding centered. Kera is a woman who needed strong bonds with women This was a group read for the Dangerous Hero Addict Support Group, and I'm glad it got voted for. It gave me that push to read Shelly Laurenston. I've heard from many that she's a good author, and I actually have most of her Dragon books written under G.A. Aiken, but I just hadn't gotten around to reading her books written under this name.

One thing that one needs to understand about this book is that it's very heroine and women-bonding centered. Kera is a woman who needed strong bonds with women who had her back and who accepted her no matter what, and she found that with the Crows. At the same time, it's a romance, but the romance doesn't really develop until maybe 70 or so pages into the novel. Having said that, I found this very enjoyable. It's really funny and every character is a real 'character'. There's even a dog that manages to steal some scenes.

I liked Vig, a lot. He's a dangerous hero, but in a cuddly kind of way (when he's not in battle mode and ripping people's arms off.) He's very supportive to Kera, and I'd call him the perfect boyfriend. I would say the cover is highly misleading. I tried not to be embarrassed about it when I'd have it at work and my coworkers saw it. Vig has a big beard and lots of hair. He's not a clean-shaven male model type. I guess the publishers didn't think people would go for a cover with Vig as he looks in the book. It seems to me that having big beards is very much in vogue, so I'd find that intriguing if the cover actually reflected that (not that like facial hair, because I don't). I like that Vig was comfortable with himself and thus with Kera as she was. I think that's so crucial in a relationship that people accept you as you are. They want the best for you, but they aren't constantly trying to change you. The romance worked for me because it was built on mutual like and respect, as well as passion and strong emotion.

This book is pretty violent, with descriptive action scenes. It wasn't over the top, and after reading Matt Reilly this past month, it seemed kind of mild, to be honest. The story is about a violent subculture of fighters for the Norse gods who go all out. I wasn't surprised for it to be violent with that expectation. The story itself is intriguing and makes me want to keep reading this series.

So I really liked this one. I liked Kera a lot. She was a real person and I appreciated her strengths and weaknesses. She was very caring, but tough as well. I loved the multicultural feel to this book. There are people of just about every race and ethnicity. And considering this is based on Norse mythology, it was cool that Laurenston was able to achieve this. I also loved how the Crows are all strong women but not all cut from the same mode. I love when the diversity of strong women is presented instead of making it seem like all women have to be the same to be strong and confident.

There was a lot to appreciate about this book. Four well earned stars. ...more

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Jul 15, 2014 Darcy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: pnr, 2015, e-book, audio-book, listened-to-at-work, net-galley-books, norse-mythology, 2020, re-read-2020

When I saw that this author had a new series coming out I was excited as she is an auto read for me. When I learned that the subject matter was near a book she had previously written I was just as excited as I had read that book and liked it.

As this book opened I wasn't sure. I liked Kera right from the start, her floundering in a new situation made me feel for her. I thought she did a great job trying to acclimate to her new world. What made me leery was all the other Crows. I didn't really lik ...more

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Apr 03, 2015 Dina marked it as wish-list

Shelves: paranormal-romance

A new series by Shelly Laurenston? I'm in! ...more

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Dec 14, 2014 Michelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: shelly-laurenston, arc, read-in-2015

The Unleashing is similar to Hunting Season, it uses a lot of the same mythology but it can be read as a stand alone.

This is a unique take on Norse mythology with Crow's, Raven's, Valkyrie and more.

I really don't want to give anything away, let me just say - I am a huge Shelly Laurenston/G.A Aiken fan, some books I need to be in the mood for due to the over the top humour and constant ADD-ness of it all. This is definitely one of the best she has ever written and I pray she writes more! ...more

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Feb 25, 2015 Ally rated it really liked it

Shelves: ebook, netgalley, paranormal-romance, urban-fantasy, 2015

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Posted on

First line: She didn't know what woke her up. The lightning and thunder crashing outside the bedroom window? A rare thing in the beginning of an L.A. summer; so maybe. Or the fact that she was in a strange bed? Or the fact that she was naked in a strange bed?

First off let me point out that I had no clue Ms Laurenston was coming out with a new series but remembered around this time she usually releases a book from her Pride series and was looking for the something like Posted on

First line: She didn't know what woke her up. The lightning and thunder crashing outside the bedroom window? A rare thing in the beginning of an L.A. summer; so maybe. Or the fact that she was in a strange bed? Or the fact that she was naked in a strange bed?

First off let me point out that I had no clue Ms Laurenston was coming out with a new series but remembered around this time she usually releases a book from her Pride series and was looking for the something like that but instead found The Unleashing.

As a fan of Ms Laurenston I have certain expectations from her books, as I would think most people would who have read her work do, but if you haven't then Ms Laurenston tends to add a hilarious yet sarcastic and wicked sense of humour to her characters and books along with characters that say what they think and can also kick-ass. The Unleashing hits all these and also adds in a little more blood and gore than I was expecting, but no complaints from me.

My actual one and only complaint was in fact that I found it a little slow at times and kept wanting more, more, more. Which honestly is a bit unfair for the author as if she tried to cram any more goodness into The Unleashing then she would be expected to top that every time and that's just not realistic! No, it's really not, even if it would be really, really, really good!

The Unleashing as the first book in the Call of Crows series really drew me in. The story opens with a great big bang and I loved it! It then slows down a little and you get an explanation and what the series is really about. The Crows!
There are a great deal of interesting and dynamic characters that I can't wait to know more about. Most of them are part of the Crows but some of the others belong to the Ravens. As you can tell there are more than one Viking group involved in this book and I enjoyed the way Ms Laurenston portrayed them.

The Unleashing while about the Crows was also about Kera and Vig. I just adored Vig, I mean seriously adored him. I thought he was a brilliant character and liked him from the get go. Kera on the other hand took a while for me to warm up to. Thankfully because of Vig {and Ms Laurenston's writing, of course} it didn't take me very long to warm up to her.
The downside was I was expecting to like her from start to finish but clearly didn't. I felt a little like her fellow Crows, getting annoyed at her because she was too stuck in who she used to be instead of who and what she was now.

At times I did have issues with some of Kera's fellow Crows as they would on occasion overstep my comfort zone but on a whole, I liked them. Especially when paired with the Ravens. I'm looking forward to more of those, "how did you die?" stories.

Overall, I really liked The Unleashing, it's a very unique story with a quirky but interesting set of characters and am already looking forward to the next book!

This review is based on the ARC of The Unleashing, provided by Kensington Publishing ...more

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May 22, 2015 Pet rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I laughed, I laughed some more, and then not done with me she made me laugh again. As usual SL dragged me on a whirlwind ride of fun and laughter with a huge dose of sexy and sweet romance (about 7 foot worth of sexy, sweet romance).
If you do not know what you want to read next, read this. If you are fed up with dark and heavy emotional angst stories, read this. If you are having the week from hell and are one match short of setting someone on fire... read this.
Seriously it has Vikings... nuff ...more

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