Crow's Shadow

by Lynn Hoyn

Badger has known a cold and lonely life of survival and harsh reality, but after leaving his criminal past behind he believes himself content being a caravan guard. When he stumbles across his boss, whipped and beaten in an alleyway, he lends his help and discovers more than just friendship. But after realizing what he’s found, will a cruel man, foolish mistakes, and his own criminal history tear it all away?

Genres: Fantasy, M M Romance

153 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 17, 2012

Reviews

[Jerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark and powerful story about what one's concept of freedom is, based on the circumstances of your upbringing. Well written with an ancient setting that could be earth yet could be fantasy. There are some typos. Both MCs are slow to reveal or even acknowledge there is some feeling for the other. Both change/mature considerably during the story. There are some seriously depressing scenes in prison and quite a bit of whipping and beating, not the BDSM kind, but the kind meant to almost kill you. The love is sweet and palpable. I would eagerly read a continuation of the story. It ends with a HFN with the anticipation of a HEA.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the development of the relationship between Crow and Badger. I liked the medieval world. I liked the hurt/comfort, although sometimes the hurt seemed a bit exaggerated and I didn't understand how people could be so cruel.

I would have liked a bit more at the ending, to get to HEA instead of HFN.

But really my principal complaint is with the editing. There were multiple instances, maybe half a dozen, of the wrong word being used, a small change in the spelling that changes the meaning. Fiend instead of friend. Also, the author consistently used the word "drug" instead of "dragged", a slang usage that seems very unusual for a book, especially one not intentionally Southern.

The world and main characters were interesting, although everyone else seemed unnecessarily and unrealistically cruel. I'd still be interested to read more.

[Liz Winters · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite m/m books ever. I loved it when I read it the first time in 2012 and after re-reading it recently I'm happy to say I still love it every bit as much. This is definitely not your typical m/m romance. The setting has an "old-time western" feel to it, very dark and gritty. There's a lot of violence too - not consensual violence (a la BDSM,) but straight up brutality that is reflective of the harsh setting. Normally I don't enjoy violent books, but for some reason in this context I didn't mind, perhaps because the interactions between the main characters were never violent, and I dare say often they were positively sweet, considering what was constantly happening around them.

I was fascinated with the two main characters - Badger and Crow (no, neither one of them is a shifter - there's nothing supernatural in this story.) Both of them had led difficult lives filled with few pleasures, so it's that much more poignant when they forge a bond and actually snatch moments of pleasure with each other. Their relationship is far from smooth, and they face both internal and external demons. I won't lie, this story takes you on a roller coaster of emotions and often punches you in the gut, but that only makes it more powerful. It's independently published and my 2012 version had a few editing errors, but nothing big enough to make me downgrade the rating. A solid five star book that I'm sure I will be re-reading again in the future.

[atmatos · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was very good, I bought it after I finished my Prime copy.

[Monika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't judge this book by its cover! I did and sadly I left it sitting on my Kindle for years. The cover doesn't reflect what's inside at all.

This was suspenseful and extremely violent at times but there was also a beautiful love story in there! It's definitely one of those stories that's not for the faint of heart. Be warned!

I loved it! There could be so much more to Crow & Badger's story but sadly it appears this is it.

TAGS
-- sort of historical -- angst filled -- suspense -- extreme violence -- torture -- abuse -- some hard scenes to read -- loads of ugly crying -- some really sweet moments -- coming out -- LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the MCs... Crow & Badger -- satisfying ending but I really wish there was more -- would read again

[Abigayle Severson · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this is lowkey just a random book with the same word count as a fanfic I read but couldn’t find on here 🙃

[SueM · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars