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Carnival of Mysteries
Crow's Fate
You can’t fly away from destiny.
Crow Rapp assumes he’ll spend his life growing corn in rural Illinois, like the grandparents who raised him. But during a visit to a traveling carnival, he encounters a handsome stranger named Simeon Bell—and receives a prophecy of a horrifying future. When that future materializes soon afterward, Crow flees… only to find that no matter how far he goes, fate pursues him.
Simeon reenters his life a decade later and causes Crow to consider whether actively fighting his fate might be better than constant attempts at escape. In a world tinged by magic, where myths are as real as the sky above them, the men try to determine Crow’s true identity. Along the way, they test the powers of friendship and love and explore the boundaries of free will—ultimately discovering whether the force of destiny can be overcome.
Crow’s Fate is part of the multi-author Carnival of Mysteries Series. Each book stands alone, but each one includes at least one visit to Errante Ame’s Carnival of Mysteries, a magical, multiverse traveling show full of unusual acts, games, and rides. The Carnival changes to suit the world it’s on, so each visit is unique and special. This book contains an Illinois farmboy, a roustabout from London, and realizations about the power of love.
Crow Rapp assumes he’ll spend his life growing corn in rural Illinois, like the grandparents who raised him. But during a visit to a traveling carnival, he encounters a handsome stranger named Simeon Bell—and receives a prophecy of a horrifying future. When that future materializes soon afterward, Crow flees… only to find that no matter how far he goes, fate pursues him.
Simeon reenters his life a decade later and causes Crow to consider whether actively fighting his fate might be better than constant attempts at escape. In a world tinged by magic, where myths are as real as the sky above them, the men try to determine Crow’s true identity. Along the way, they test the powers of friendship and love and explore the boundaries of free will—ultimately discovering whether the force of destiny can be overcome.
Crow’s Fate is part of the multi-author Carnival of Mysteries Series. Each book stands alone, but each one includes at least one visit to Errante Ame’s Carnival of Mysteries, a magical, multiverse traveling show full of unusual acts, games, and rides. The Carnival changes to suit the world it’s on, so each visit is unique and special. This book contains an Illinois farmboy, a roustabout from London, and realizations about the power of love.
358 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 12, 2023
65 people are currently reading
237 people want to read
About the author
Kim Fielding
176 books1,306 followersKim Fielding lives in Oregon and travels as often as she can manage. A professor by day, at night she rushes into a phone booth to change into her author costume (which involves comfy clothes instead of Spandex and is, sadly, lacking a cape). Her superpowers include the ability to write nearly anywhere, often while simultaneously doling out assistance to her family. Her favorite word to describe herself is "eclectic" and she finally got that seventh tattoo.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
July 13, 2023
3.5-4 stars
This book was a ride and in true Kim Fielding fashion the story weaved perfectly with some added whimsy!
Joel Leslie’s narration also took this to the next level. I was kinda expecting to see someone from the Bureau series in here but sadly didn’t happen hah! But what a fun book.
I still need to make my way through Kim’s back list, but I am slowly doing it. I love how she is able to make even a short book so engaging. But this was a full length story that I was rooting for Crow and Simeon. I do think at times that Crow taking the blame for everything bad that happened to people got annoying so I am glad when Simeon put him in his place haha!
This is part of a multi author series made up of standalones so you can start with any book but this is the first one out, and is worth the read!
This book was a ride and in true Kim Fielding fashion the story weaved perfectly with some added whimsy!
Joel Leslie’s narration also took this to the next level. I was kinda expecting to see someone from the Bureau series in here but sadly didn’t happen hah! But what a fun book.
I still need to make my way through Kim’s back list, but I am slowly doing it. I love how she is able to make even a short book so engaging. But this was a full length story that I was rooting for Crow and Simeon. I do think at times that Crow taking the blame for everything bad that happened to people got annoying so I am glad when Simeon put him in his place haha!
This is part of a multi author series made up of standalones so you can start with any book but this is the first one out, and is worth the read!
Read
May 24, 2023Oh boy! I'm so excited about this one! The plot bunny had been calling to me forever, and when I was invited to join a multi-author shared-universe series, it was time for that plot bunny to shine.
This one is a long urban fantasy set mostly in the 1980s. Some literary muses helped me along: Ray Bradbury, Sophocles, and Walt Whitman, with maybe a dash of Neil Gaiman as well. I loved living in this world while I wrote it, and I hope you'll enjoy your visit as well.
This one is a long urban fantasy set mostly in the 1980s. Some literary muses helped me along: Ray Bradbury, Sophocles, and Walt Whitman, with maybe a dash of Neil Gaiman as well. I loved living in this world while I wrote it, and I hope you'll enjoy your visit as well.
July 16, 2023
3.5 stars
Kim Fielding is a GREAT storyteller. Her ideas, especially when it comes to fantasy/paranormal, are often unique, and not I often find in other MM books.
This one as well - it has combination of . May not an easy ride for me, because at times I ended up crunching my head trying to guess where the story was going (just like Crow, I wanted answers, darn it!). But again, I applauded Ms. Fielding for the story
Good start of a multi-author series. Look forward to some other titles because they are written by MM authors whose works I know and like.
Kim Fielding is a GREAT storyteller. Her ideas, especially when it comes to fantasy/paranormal, are often unique, and not I often find in other MM books.
This one as well - it has combination of . May not an easy ride for me, because at times I ended up crunching my head trying to guess where the story was going (just like Crow, I wanted answers, darn it!). But again, I applauded Ms. Fielding for the story
Good start of a multi-author series. Look forward to some other titles because they are written by MM authors whose works I know and like.
July 21, 2023
Intriguing characters and concept that ultimately failed in execution for me. I’m a Fielding fan who reaches for her books when I need a surefire winner so the way this one failed for me was completely unexpected and shocking.
First, I was low key bored for most of the ride.
Second, the way the paranormal side characters would point Crow in the right direction but not give him answers made sense but didn’t feel organic. It didn’t feel like, even with the clues, Crow actually solved the puzzle so much as Fielding solved it for him.
Third, and this was my biggest complaint, I felt beat to death with Crow endlessly thinking about and remarking upon how inspiring it was that Simeon was such a positive and joyful person despite having such a hard and harrowing life. For most of the story it felt like those sentiments bordered on toxic positivity and poverty/hardship/inspiration porn but eventually it crossed from bordering on those things to being full on toxic positivity. I admit that it is inspiring when people can stay positive despite hardship but over and over Crow compares his hardship to Simeon’s hardship in a way that minimizes his own. I’m not suggesting that Crow finding relief and hope in Simeon’s resilience was a bad thing but it smacked of oppression/hardship Olympics. Just because someone has it worse than you doesn’t mean your pain and hardship isn’t painful, hard and/or valid yet Crow keeps internalizing his hardships as ‘lesser’ and his reaction to his hardships as unworthy. Furthermore, Fielding low key insinuates that Crow’s hardships are due to his failure to confront and fight the evil force that he doesn’t understand and has virtually no resources with which to gain understanding. All that despite the fact that even the beings from whom the evil crows originate don’t know how to defeat them 🙄
Finally, the resolution to overcoming the evil felt like it came from a place of privilege. This is a lovely but naive sentiment. Maybe it’s because I read a lot of memoirs by Holocaust survivors… Maybe it’s because I’m living in the US as a mountain of anti-trans and anti-LGBT+ and ‘War on Woke’ legislation is being proposed and passed… Maybe it’s because I’m a cynical realist… but I’m sorry, I guess I just don’t believe that hope, love and joy alone are always enough to defeat evil that literally weaponizes power and kills people. It felt reductive and depreciative. Yeah, it’s a fantastical story but this element and the positivity one, though sweet in sentiment and can work in stories, didn’t work for me with this one.
Fielding is usually able to deftly weave this kind of messaging together in a way that’s poignant, insightful, hopeful and nuanced. Unfortunately she didn’t manage to pull it off here.
2 sad stars
First, I was low key bored for most of the ride.
Second, the way the paranormal side characters would point Crow in the right direction but not give him answers made sense but didn’t feel organic. It didn’t feel like, even with the clues, Crow actually solved the puzzle so much as Fielding solved it for him.
Third, and this was my biggest complaint, I felt beat to death with Crow endlessly thinking about and remarking upon how inspiring it was that Simeon was such a positive and joyful person despite having such a hard and harrowing life. For most of the story it felt like those sentiments bordered on toxic positivity and poverty/hardship/inspiration porn but eventually it crossed from bordering on those things to being full on toxic positivity. I admit that it is inspiring when people can stay positive despite hardship but over and over Crow compares his hardship to Simeon’s hardship in a way that minimizes his own. I’m not suggesting that Crow finding relief and hope in Simeon’s resilience was a bad thing but it smacked of oppression/hardship Olympics. Just because someone has it worse than you doesn’t mean your pain and hardship isn’t painful, hard and/or valid yet Crow keeps internalizing his hardships as ‘lesser’ and his reaction to his hardships as unworthy. Furthermore, Fielding low key insinuates that Crow’s hardships are due to his failure to confront and fight the evil force that he doesn’t understand and has virtually no resources with which to gain understanding. All that despite the fact that even the beings from whom the evil crows originate don’t know how to defeat them 🙄
Finally, the resolution to overcoming the evil felt like it came from a place of privilege. This is a lovely but naive sentiment. Maybe it’s because I read a lot of memoirs by Holocaust survivors… Maybe it’s because I’m living in the US as a mountain of anti-trans and anti-LGBT+ and ‘War on Woke’ legislation is being proposed and passed… Maybe it’s because I’m a cynical realist… but I’m sorry, I guess I just don’t believe that hope, love and joy alone are always enough to defeat evil that literally weaponizes power and kills people. It felt reductive and depreciative. Yeah, it’s a fantastical story but this element and the positivity one, though sweet in sentiment and can work in stories, didn’t work for me with this one.
Fielding is usually able to deftly weave this kind of messaging together in a way that’s poignant, insightful, hopeful and nuanced. Unfortunately she didn’t manage to pull it off here.
2 sad stars
August 8, 2023
For me, Kim Fielding is one of those reliable writers -- I know my world's not going to be shook, but I also know I'll like the characters and enjoy the story. And carnivals are enticing liminal spaces, plus this was on KU.
Sure enough, Crow's Fate delivered, with bonus clever wordplay around the worldbuilding (theMoirai Murray Family Agency, the sisters' uh modernized names ["Chloe" *snort*], and the "rookeries" late in the book, for instance). I also appreciated Fielding's choice not to explain every last detail of Crow's identity, or for that matter of Simeon's, though I would have liked more glimpses of Simeon's depths earlier in the story -- his sunny facade is maybe a little too sunny? Sometimes you just want people to not be so chipper. Crow's victory over the evil red birdoids was really well prepared by his emotional growth during his travels with Simeon, though there were points at which his "growth" tipped over into eye-roll territory for me, notably .
The thing about Fielding's reliability, though, is that it's a close cousin to predictability. I don't even mean that I saw more than a few specific plot points coming, but just that somehow her books never quite achieve liftoff for me. There's always that just-slightly-pat quality. The story has a moral? Something like that. I don't know how it happens when Fielding's also so imaginative.
3.75 stars, rounded up.
Sure enough, Crow's Fate delivered, with bonus clever wordplay around the worldbuilding (the
The thing about Fielding's reliability, though, is that it's a close cousin to predictability. I don't even mean that I saw more than a few specific plot points coming, but just that somehow her books never quite achieve liftoff for me. There's always that just-slightly-pat quality. The story has a moral? Something like that. I don't know how it happens when Fielding's also so imaginative.
3.75 stars, rounded up.
July 14, 2023
3.5 rounded up
I quite enjoyed this one on the whole! Interesting concept and unique world-building, enjoyable characters with a lovely connection, and a well-done 1980s setting. Some of the paranormal details and the plotting didn't quite work for me--rushed in places, or hand-waved/not fully explained--but I thought this was a fun and solid read overall.
I quite enjoyed this one on the whole! Interesting concept and unique world-building, enjoyable characters with a lovely connection, and a well-done 1980s setting. Some of the paranormal details and the plotting didn't quite work for me--rushed in places, or hand-waved/not fully explained--but I thought this was a fun and solid read overall.
July 16, 2023
Liked the premise of this book and what I think is going to be a good series but I have to admit it did take me some time to get into the story.
I did like Crow and Simeon when he arrived on the scene. I think they will have a good adventure when they go to London but some of the book seemed slow and maybe a little repetitive.
I did like Crow and Simeon when he arrived on the scene. I think they will have a good adventure when they go to London but some of the book seemed slow and maybe a little repetitive.
November 1, 2024
Crow has always known that he’s different. He just didn't know how different he was until his eighteenth birthday, when his world comes tumbling down around him. He was abandoned by his mother as an infant and raised by his grandparents on a farm in Illinois. Crow believes that his life feels unreal and totally upset. The thing is...he can't understand why.
Then he meets Simeon Bell, a roustabout at a traveling carnival, who seems to be a visitor from another time and another place. Simeon becomes his friend and then becomes his spiritual guide, when the two young men face the adventure of their lifetimes.
The story has been written to be far more emotional than I can find words to describe. Crow’s journey is a constant struggle to understand the "who" and the "how" he is supposed to be in this world. It's a horror story, but also a love story. Crow is a fascinating character, but Simeon is nothing short of...remarkable. You can't help but love him and want to wrap him up in cotton.
I tried to state simply, what the book is really about. The best and most honest thing I can think of to say is it's about relationships...the relationships among the various players. The plot quite cleverly has been created to keep the reader on edge right up to the very end... but it is the ever-changing personalities of Crow and Simeon that emotionally drives the story.
Crow is confused and isolated by his life and his fate. Simeon has always accepted what life has given him with the attitude of a survivor. He sees in Crow the opportunity to help his friend become more than he believes he is, while experiencing for himself a world he could never have imagined. When Simeon enters his life Crow started to question who he was and why he was pursued by monsters.... both real and figuratively, but more importantly, Simeon gives Crow the gift of hope...hope not only for his future…but hope fortheir future.
This is a series written by a variety of different M/M Romance authors, with a magic theme.
Then he meets Simeon Bell, a roustabout at a traveling carnival, who seems to be a visitor from another time and another place. Simeon becomes his friend and then becomes his spiritual guide, when the two young men face the adventure of their lifetimes.
The story has been written to be far more emotional than I can find words to describe. Crow’s journey is a constant struggle to understand the "who" and the "how" he is supposed to be in this world. It's a horror story, but also a love story. Crow is a fascinating character, but Simeon is nothing short of...remarkable. You can't help but love him and want to wrap him up in cotton.
I tried to state simply, what the book is really about. The best and most honest thing I can think of to say is it's about relationships...the relationships among the various players. The plot quite cleverly has been created to keep the reader on edge right up to the very end... but it is the ever-changing personalities of Crow and Simeon that emotionally drives the story.
Crow is confused and isolated by his life and his fate. Simeon has always accepted what life has given him with the attitude of a survivor. He sees in Crow the opportunity to help his friend become more than he believes he is, while experiencing for himself a world he could never have imagined. When Simeon enters his life Crow started to question who he was and why he was pursued by monsters.... both real and figuratively, but more importantly, Simeon gives Crow the gift of hope...hope not only for his future…but hope fortheir future.
This is a series written by a variety of different M/M Romance authors, with a magic theme.
July 27, 2023
So I enjoyed this well enough, but it's not my favorite from this author.
The biggest problem with this otherwise interesting fantasy is that there is a great deal of telling in plain ways, not typical of this author. I suspect it could've been cut by a quarter and lost nothing, except this low-level boredom at being told obvious things all the time.
On the other hand, cool fantasy. And I liked where it ended.
The biggest problem with this otherwise interesting fantasy is that there is a great deal of telling in plain ways, not typical of this author. I suspect it could've been cut by a quarter and lost nothing, except this low-level boredom at being told obvious things all the time.
On the other hand, cool fantasy. And I liked where it ended.
July 16, 2023
This book was absolutely amazing--easily one of the best I've read all year. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect going in and nothing could have adequately prepared me. Crow and Simeon are so wonderful. This story had everything: mystery, intrigue, romance, creepiness, joy, sorrow, adventure, loss, pain, acceptance. Seriously. As a reader, this is the sort of book that will never leave me. It's become part of me very being. As a writer, I feel so very unworthy. It blows my mind that such a complex and involved idea was not only conceived but brought to life so beautifully. The bar for the rest of the series has been set pretty high now, I hope it lives up to it.
September 22, 2023
I love the unique premise, as well as the "historical" (gah!) 80's setting. But the story kind of dragged in places, and it felt like I was being bludgeoned by the theme. It all felt a little too long and a little too on the nose.
July 14, 2023
fascinating concept,great characters
Rating: 4.5🌈
The one of the best gifts I can receive when it comes to my books is a multi-author series, especially when the center focal point or theme is so fascinating. It allows a reader multiple opportunities to view the same elements in a variety of wildly varied ways, including perspectives from characters and storylines vastly different from each other.
Kim Fielding kicks off this series from Tin Box Press with her story, Crow’s Fate. It has many of the best of the Fielding narrative touch that I expect from her tales. Some spare narrative that weaves together elements of mythology, sparsely told but heart wrenching plot lines , compelling characters and an ending that intrigues the mind but still leaves the reader satisfied.
And Fielding includes two of my favorite images from various mythologies, crows and ravens and combines it with the series theme of a Carnival of Mysteries where Midwest farmer to be Crow Rapp first meets English Simeon Bell who works within the traveling Carnival.
The imagery immediately turns from a normal scene of a foursome out for some fun to Crow discovering his world shattering.
We follow a complex duo making hard decisions about their lives, their future fate, including discussing the if humanity has freedom to choose between their own path or does fate choose for them.
There’s so much to this story and these characters that it can’t possibly fit all the exposition I felt it needed to convey all the foundation details of the big picture Fielding’s drawing here. It’s on a huge scale and, honestly, they’re not the room to fill in all the historical gaps or context we need.
However, since what we do get is so dramatically charged up and so emotionally wonderful, I admit to overlooking it at the end. It wasn’t until I finished the story and was thinking back that I realized that certain portions of her explanation for Crow was never delivered here.
It certainly deserves a sequel. For them as us. They are wonderful and the elements are fascinating and could use some additional foundation.
Crow's Fate: Carnival of Mysteries by Kim Fielding is a grand way to start the series and I definitely recommend it.
Carnival of Mysteries series:
- [x] Crow's Fate by Kim Fielding
- [ ] Step Right Up by L.A. Witt - July 19
- [ ] Magic Burning by Kaje Harper July 26
- [ ] Night-blooming Hearts by Megan Derr - Aug 2,
- [ ] Assassin by Accident by E.J.Russell-Aug16
- [ ] Dryad on Fire by Nicole Dennis - Sept 13
- [ ] Gods and Monsters by Rachel Langella - October 25
Rating: 4.5🌈
The one of the best gifts I can receive when it comes to my books is a multi-author series, especially when the center focal point or theme is so fascinating. It allows a reader multiple opportunities to view the same elements in a variety of wildly varied ways, including perspectives from characters and storylines vastly different from each other.
Kim Fielding kicks off this series from Tin Box Press with her story, Crow’s Fate. It has many of the best of the Fielding narrative touch that I expect from her tales. Some spare narrative that weaves together elements of mythology, sparsely told but heart wrenching plot lines , compelling characters and an ending that intrigues the mind but still leaves the reader satisfied.
And Fielding includes two of my favorite images from various mythologies, crows and ravens and combines it with the series theme of a Carnival of Mysteries where Midwest farmer to be Crow Rapp first meets English Simeon Bell who works within the traveling Carnival.
The imagery immediately turns from a normal scene of a foursome out for some fun to Crow discovering his world shattering.
We follow a complex duo making hard decisions about their lives, their future fate, including discussing the if humanity has freedom to choose between their own path or does fate choose for them.
There’s so much to this story and these characters that it can’t possibly fit all the exposition I felt it needed to convey all the foundation details of the big picture Fielding’s drawing here. It’s on a huge scale and, honestly, they’re not the room to fill in all the historical gaps or context we need.
However, since what we do get is so dramatically charged up and so emotionally wonderful, I admit to overlooking it at the end. It wasn’t until I finished the story and was thinking back that I realized that certain portions of her explanation for Crow was never delivered here.
It certainly deserves a sequel. For them as us. They are wonderful and the elements are fascinating and could use some additional foundation.
Crow's Fate: Carnival of Mysteries by Kim Fielding is a grand way to start the series and I definitely recommend it.
Carnival of Mysteries series:
- [x] Crow's Fate by Kim Fielding
- [ ] Step Right Up by L.A. Witt - July 19
- [ ] Magic Burning by Kaje Harper July 26
- [ ] Night-blooming Hearts by Megan Derr - Aug 2,
- [ ] Assassin by Accident by E.J.Russell-Aug16
- [ ] Dryad on Fire by Nicole Dennis - Sept 13
- [ ] Gods and Monsters by Rachel Langella - October 25
July 17, 2023
Destiny is Not Fated
I received an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.
A Carnival that rolls into the small town of Chinkapin Grove, Illinois in 1975 for one night only. Crow Rapp attends with a group of friends, enjoying the magic show that seems more real than it should. Feeling eerie, he leaves his friends to the midway games and wanders to the fortune teller’s tent where he meets a roustabout, Simeon Bell, who has a vision of Crow’s future and tells him to go home and stay safe.
Ten years later, Crow is a drifter, seemingly pursued by an evil flock of birds which cause death and destruction. By chance the Carnival – and Simeon – appear again…
The story is a romance between Crow and Simeon, and it’s much more. It’s a mystery and fantasy that works on several different levels, played out in the early days of the AIDS crisis. Fielding weaves in mythology, Walt Whitman, and Ray Bradbury as the mystery of who – and what – Crow is unfolds. Highly recommended.
I received an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.
A Carnival that rolls into the small town of Chinkapin Grove, Illinois in 1975 for one night only. Crow Rapp attends with a group of friends, enjoying the magic show that seems more real than it should. Feeling eerie, he leaves his friends to the midway games and wanders to the fortune teller’s tent where he meets a roustabout, Simeon Bell, who has a vision of Crow’s future and tells him to go home and stay safe.
Ten years later, Crow is a drifter, seemingly pursued by an evil flock of birds which cause death and destruction. By chance the Carnival – and Simeon – appear again…
The story is a romance between Crow and Simeon, and it’s much more. It’s a mystery and fantasy that works on several different levels, played out in the early days of the AIDS crisis. Fielding weaves in mythology, Walt Whitman, and Ray Bradbury as the mystery of who – and what – Crow is unfolds. Highly recommended.
October 17, 2024
4+⭐
Very interesting literal and mystical road trip. There's a dreamy quality in the story even on top of the actual dreams the protagonist has. I really found the setting creepy and compelling. It was just a hair too long, the story sort of lost its urgency and part of my engagement at a point, and in the end I didn't quite 100% feel all the major feels I think this could (and maybe should) make me feel. But it's still very good, and would certainly could make an excellent TV mini-series.
Very interesting literal and mystical road trip. There's a dreamy quality in the story even on top of the actual dreams the protagonist has. I really found the setting creepy and compelling. It was just a hair too long, the story sort of lost its urgency and part of my engagement at a point, and in the end I didn't quite 100% feel all the major feels I think this could (and maybe should) make me feel. But it's still very good, and would certainly could make an excellent TV mini-series.
August 9, 2023
4.5 stars
Kim Fielding in one of those authors who can make me read and *enjoy* stories I normally avoid. The imagery will stick with me for a long, long time. I cared about both protagonists from the start.
I was worried I would be disappointed or insulted by the ending but I was so satisfied.
Kim Fielding in one of those authors who can make me read and *enjoy* stories I normally avoid. The imagery will stick with me for a long, long time. I cared about both protagonists from the start.
I was worried I would be disappointed or insulted by the ending but I was so satisfied.
July 18, 2023
What a fascinating world! All through the book, I was all what in the world is Crow?! The author did a good job of keeping us in suspense and .
I enjoyed it and I will definitely read some of the other books in this shared world!!
I enjoyed it and I will definitely read some of the other books in this shared world!!
July 24, 2023
3.5 Stars
I think this book took a bit to find its footing but I really enjoyed the conclusion and epilogue. It felt a little long at times, but in retrospect, there was a lot going on. I liked how Fate played out but I you’d need to know some of the common myths to see some of the references.
There is a ton of character growth and a commentary on fate and free will which I found interesting.
All in all worth reading.
I think this book took a bit to find its footing but I really enjoyed the conclusion and epilogue. It felt a little long at times, but in retrospect, there was a lot going on. I liked how Fate played out but I you’d need to know some of the common myths to see some of the references.
There is a ton of character growth and a commentary on fate and free will which I found interesting.
All in all worth reading.
May 29, 2025
3.5
An interesting story.
Crow and Simeon were perfect together.
The story while interesting and engaging also seemed to drag just slightly.
But I'll still read there next story
An interesting story.
Crow and Simeon were perfect together.
The story while interesting and engaging also seemed to drag just slightly.
But I'll still read there next story
Read
July 31, 2023This review is for the very fine audiobook narrated by Joel Leslie. 4.75 stars.
This review and much more can be found at Love Bytes Reviews
Crow Rapp has grown up on his grandparents farm in Illinois. There isn’t a lot of money and he doesn’t know what happened to his mother who left him there with her parents and younger sister. He assumes he’ll just work the family farm. He’s not unhappy, but he’s not happy either. Then there is the little niggle that he really doesn’t like girls in the way his friends do, but it’s 1975 so he’s keeping that to himself . Then the summer before his 18th birthday, he goes to a carnival with his friends. He ends up in a the end of the medium/fortune teller and meets an English roustabout named Simeon. He looks into the Madam’s crystal ball and sees something so awful, he doesn’t want to tell Crow. Soon after Crow starts having dreams of birds – awful red birds. But on Crow’s 18th birthday, it appears that whatever Simeon saw is put into motion.
Crow spends the next decade crisscrossing the country. He takes on different identities, works for a while and then when something bad happens, he ends up moving on to the next place. After a decade of this, he runs across the Carnival again. And unsurprisingly, he meets Simeon again. But Simeon hasn’t ages at all and tells him it’s only been 3 months since he saw Crow. Obviously Crow is not 3months older though. Crow is convinced that he’s not actually human. Things keep happening to him that he shouldn’t survive. And yet he does. Over and over and again. And those damn birds are still there. Wanting him to join them.
Crow is furious with Simeon for not telling him what he saw years before. But Simeon has had not had it easy either. And he wants to throw in his lot with Crow. He does his best to convince Crow to fight against whatever it is that is trying to recruit him. That means going back to Illinois and trying to put together the pieces of his past. It’s a long journey with a lot of crazy stops, but with Simeon by his side, maybe, just maybe he can do it.
This is one of the most amazing stories I’ve listened to in some time. I feel pretty sure this book will be on my best of the year list. I was totally sucked in from the very first page. I don’t watch a lot of TV, but this had some Carnivale vibes as well as Groundhog Day sensibilities. Crow spends his adulthood keeping people at arm’s length to protect them as best he can. Anyone who gets to close to him – well let’s just say things don’t go well for them. This is an extremely moody and at times pretty dark story. But Simeon is the light to Crow’s darkness. I loved that the characters appearances belied their disposition. I loved the whole mystery that was slowly unraveled during their quest to find out what happened and where Crow really comes from. There are some pretty low lows, but also some fairly high highs. The descriptions and evocations of place were spectacularly done (full confession – I used to work in the Sears Tower and my town is in the middle of cornfields – Indiana, not Illinois, but you get the idea). My favorite city in the US is Portland, OR, where Crow spends time. So really this hit all my buttons as far as setting and also timeline. The 1980s were some tough times – especially for gay men. I was brought back to those dark days in some parts of this story which were really very sadly accurate. Kim Fielding has a real talent for bringing fabulous stories to life in so many genres. This is no exception. I am a huge fan and this was just a fantastic listening experience for me. I was totally absorbed in this story and couldn’t wait to get the answers and see what would happen to Crow and Simeon.
What can I say about Joel Leslie that I haven’t said before? He’s an amazingly talented performer and this book is a really example of that. The voices, the accents. The emotionally wrought moments. The hopeful playfulness of Simeon. Crow’s despair. The other worldly beings. Everything just really was pitch perfect. I was sucked in from the very first moment. It’s a long story and well worth your time. Just a spectacular marriage of author and performer. Highly recommended.
This review and much more can be found at Love Bytes Reviews
Crow Rapp has grown up on his grandparents farm in Illinois. There isn’t a lot of money and he doesn’t know what happened to his mother who left him there with her parents and younger sister. He assumes he’ll just work the family farm. He’s not unhappy, but he’s not happy either. Then there is the little niggle that he really doesn’t like girls in the way his friends do, but it’s 1975 so he’s keeping that to himself . Then the summer before his 18th birthday, he goes to a carnival with his friends. He ends up in a the end of the medium/fortune teller and meets an English roustabout named Simeon. He looks into the Madam’s crystal ball and sees something so awful, he doesn’t want to tell Crow. Soon after Crow starts having dreams of birds – awful red birds. But on Crow’s 18th birthday, it appears that whatever Simeon saw is put into motion.
Crow spends the next decade crisscrossing the country. He takes on different identities, works for a while and then when something bad happens, he ends up moving on to the next place. After a decade of this, he runs across the Carnival again. And unsurprisingly, he meets Simeon again. But Simeon hasn’t ages at all and tells him it’s only been 3 months since he saw Crow. Obviously Crow is not 3months older though. Crow is convinced that he’s not actually human. Things keep happening to him that he shouldn’t survive. And yet he does. Over and over and again. And those damn birds are still there. Wanting him to join them.
Crow is furious with Simeon for not telling him what he saw years before. But Simeon has had not had it easy either. And he wants to throw in his lot with Crow. He does his best to convince Crow to fight against whatever it is that is trying to recruit him. That means going back to Illinois and trying to put together the pieces of his past. It’s a long journey with a lot of crazy stops, but with Simeon by his side, maybe, just maybe he can do it.
This is one of the most amazing stories I’ve listened to in some time. I feel pretty sure this book will be on my best of the year list. I was totally sucked in from the very first page. I don’t watch a lot of TV, but this had some Carnivale vibes as well as Groundhog Day sensibilities. Crow spends his adulthood keeping people at arm’s length to protect them as best he can. Anyone who gets to close to him – well let’s just say things don’t go well for them. This is an extremely moody and at times pretty dark story. But Simeon is the light to Crow’s darkness. I loved that the characters appearances belied their disposition. I loved the whole mystery that was slowly unraveled during their quest to find out what happened and where Crow really comes from. There are some pretty low lows, but also some fairly high highs. The descriptions and evocations of place were spectacularly done (full confession – I used to work in the Sears Tower and my town is in the middle of cornfields – Indiana, not Illinois, but you get the idea). My favorite city in the US is Portland, OR, where Crow spends time. So really this hit all my buttons as far as setting and also timeline. The 1980s were some tough times – especially for gay men. I was brought back to those dark days in some parts of this story which were really very sadly accurate. Kim Fielding has a real talent for bringing fabulous stories to life in so many genres. This is no exception. I am a huge fan and this was just a fantastic listening experience for me. I was totally absorbed in this story and couldn’t wait to get the answers and see what would happen to Crow and Simeon.
What can I say about Joel Leslie that I haven’t said before? He’s an amazingly talented performer and this book is a really example of that. The voices, the accents. The emotionally wrought moments. The hopeful playfulness of Simeon. Crow’s despair. The other worldly beings. Everything just really was pitch perfect. I was sucked in from the very first moment. It’s a long story and well worth your time. Just a spectacular marriage of author and performer. Highly recommended.
August 27, 2023
Reviewed for Audiogals.net
Story A-
Narration by Joel Leslie A
Kim Fielding kicks off the new multi-author Carnival of Mysteries series with Crow’s Fate, the story of a midwestern farm boy who goes to a carnival in the mid 1970’ and ends up learning of a terrifying prophecy he can’t outrun. The books can be read in any order.
Crow Rapp‘s mother left him with his grandparents on their farm in Chinkapin Grove, Illinois when he was just a baby and has never been heard from again. No one knows who his father was and he is teased a great deal about it at school. Fortunately, he knows his grandparents and Aunt Helen love him, and he is content to think he’ll live out his life on the family farm. One summer night just before his eighteenth birthday a carnival comes to town, and Crow goes with his best friend Marty and two girls from school. While the other three are playing games, Crow is drawn to the brightly colored Fortune Teller’s tent. Inside he meets a beautiful, black haired young man in his mid twenties who speaks with an English accent. He introduces himself as Simeon Bell. Simeon is a roustabout for the carnival and is watching the tent while the fortune teller is away. Joking around, Simeon puts on the fortune teller’s scarf and decides to ‘read’ Crow’s fortune in the crystal ball. But whatever Simeon sees horrifies him, and while he refuses to say what he saw, he urgently tells Crow to go home and spend time with the people he loves.
Crow is terrified and returns home immediately, but he feels changed and withdraws from his friends, even Marty. On the night of his birthday three red birds fly through his bedroom window and tell him he must join them. Crow thinks he must be dreaming, but instinctively knows they are evil and he refuses. Later that night a terrible fire breaks out in the house and while Crow miraculously escapes, his grandparents are killed. On the ground, he finds a single red feather. From that day on Crow runs, staying only briefly in any one place and trying not to get close to anyone, leaving once the red birds find him and another tragedy happens.
Ten years later, weary and lonely, he hears there’s an old-fashioned carnival set up just outside town. He’s sure it’s the same one, and he’s determined to seek answers. He finds Simeon, who, oddly, hasn’t aged, and while Crow does get some answers they only bring more questions. With Simeon’s encouragement, Crow, accompanied by Simeon, starts on a journey to learn more about what’s happening to him. It’s a journey that eventually criss-crosses the country from Illinois to Oregon and back again. Along the way they are helped by several other-worldly individuals who give them rather cryptic pieces of information, and they start piecing the puzzle together.
Ms. Fielding writes an intricate and intriguing story which feels like a hero quest from mythology. She pulls from myth, legend, and philosophy to build her world, then she unravels the mystery (to Crow and to the reader) piece by piece, and I appreciate the way she weaves the fantasy into a solidly grounded 1980s reality. Her characters are well drawn and sympathetic. Even the many side characters Crow and Simeon meet give the reader insight into he two leads and help move the story along. There are a few pacing issues when the information Crow needs is doled out in dribs and drabs and it feels like he’s spinning his wheels, plus a few pieces of the puzzle are never fully explained. But Crow and Simeon are marvelous and the story kept me glued to my earbuds.
As they travel, a lovely slow-burn romance develops between Simeon and Crow. While Crow tries to keep Simeon at arm's length, Simeon charms his way into Crow’s heart. The book is perhaps more mystery than romance, but there is a great deal of relationship development, nonetheless. Fielding develops their bond through their interactions and conversations before the physical romance blossoms, and it is very satisfying.
I’ve never been disappointed with a Joel Leslie narration, so it’s no surprise that his narration for Crow’s Fate is top notch, as well. While Crow and Simeon are the main characters, they meet and talk to a wide variety of people along the way so Joel has to pull a lot of voices out of his repertoire for this one. Crow has a weary midwestern accent while Simeon’s is a lively English accent, plus there are men and women of all ages encompassing several American dialects. Besides dialects and accents, Joel is a master at conveying emotions. He can make you feel every bit of the characters’ grief, joy, tiredness, and excitement.
Crow’s Fate isn’t a lighthearted book. It deals with grief and malevolent paranormal beings, but it’s also a fascinating and unique story and has wonderful moments of love and redemption. Crow is like a mythological hero at times and as he begins to understand what’s going on, he works to defy his fate and build something new. I highly recommend this unique story on audio.
Story A-
Narration by Joel Leslie A
Kim Fielding kicks off the new multi-author Carnival of Mysteries series with Crow’s Fate, the story of a midwestern farm boy who goes to a carnival in the mid 1970’ and ends up learning of a terrifying prophecy he can’t outrun. The books can be read in any order.
Crow Rapp‘s mother left him with his grandparents on their farm in Chinkapin Grove, Illinois when he was just a baby and has never been heard from again. No one knows who his father was and he is teased a great deal about it at school. Fortunately, he knows his grandparents and Aunt Helen love him, and he is content to think he’ll live out his life on the family farm. One summer night just before his eighteenth birthday a carnival comes to town, and Crow goes with his best friend Marty and two girls from school. While the other three are playing games, Crow is drawn to the brightly colored Fortune Teller’s tent. Inside he meets a beautiful, black haired young man in his mid twenties who speaks with an English accent. He introduces himself as Simeon Bell. Simeon is a roustabout for the carnival and is watching the tent while the fortune teller is away. Joking around, Simeon puts on the fortune teller’s scarf and decides to ‘read’ Crow’s fortune in the crystal ball. But whatever Simeon sees horrifies him, and while he refuses to say what he saw, he urgently tells Crow to go home and spend time with the people he loves.
Crow is terrified and returns home immediately, but he feels changed and withdraws from his friends, even Marty. On the night of his birthday three red birds fly through his bedroom window and tell him he must join them. Crow thinks he must be dreaming, but instinctively knows they are evil and he refuses. Later that night a terrible fire breaks out in the house and while Crow miraculously escapes, his grandparents are killed. On the ground, he finds a single red feather. From that day on Crow runs, staying only briefly in any one place and trying not to get close to anyone, leaving once the red birds find him and another tragedy happens.
Ten years later, weary and lonely, he hears there’s an old-fashioned carnival set up just outside town. He’s sure it’s the same one, and he’s determined to seek answers. He finds Simeon, who, oddly, hasn’t aged, and while Crow does get some answers they only bring more questions. With Simeon’s encouragement, Crow, accompanied by Simeon, starts on a journey to learn more about what’s happening to him. It’s a journey that eventually criss-crosses the country from Illinois to Oregon and back again. Along the way they are helped by several other-worldly individuals who give them rather cryptic pieces of information, and they start piecing the puzzle together.
Ms. Fielding writes an intricate and intriguing story which feels like a hero quest from mythology. She pulls from myth, legend, and philosophy to build her world, then she unravels the mystery (to Crow and to the reader) piece by piece, and I appreciate the way she weaves the fantasy into a solidly grounded 1980s reality. Her characters are well drawn and sympathetic. Even the many side characters Crow and Simeon meet give the reader insight into he two leads and help move the story along. There are a few pacing issues when the information Crow needs is doled out in dribs and drabs and it feels like he’s spinning his wheels, plus a few pieces of the puzzle are never fully explained. But Crow and Simeon are marvelous and the story kept me glued to my earbuds.
As they travel, a lovely slow-burn romance develops between Simeon and Crow. While Crow tries to keep Simeon at arm's length, Simeon charms his way into Crow’s heart. The book is perhaps more mystery than romance, but there is a great deal of relationship development, nonetheless. Fielding develops their bond through their interactions and conversations before the physical romance blossoms, and it is very satisfying.
I’ve never been disappointed with a Joel Leslie narration, so it’s no surprise that his narration for Crow’s Fate is top notch, as well. While Crow and Simeon are the main characters, they meet and talk to a wide variety of people along the way so Joel has to pull a lot of voices out of his repertoire for this one. Crow has a weary midwestern accent while Simeon’s is a lively English accent, plus there are men and women of all ages encompassing several American dialects. Besides dialects and accents, Joel is a master at conveying emotions. He can make you feel every bit of the characters’ grief, joy, tiredness, and excitement.
Crow’s Fate isn’t a lighthearted book. It deals with grief and malevolent paranormal beings, but it’s also a fascinating and unique story and has wonderful moments of love and redemption. Crow is like a mythological hero at times and as he begins to understand what’s going on, he works to defy his fate and build something new. I highly recommend this unique story on audio.
July 17, 2023
Each of Kim Fielding's books is unique, in plot and in feel. This one begins with a lot of darkness and fatalism, but the story slowly winds its way toward hope.
Crow is the child of an adopted mother, left with his grandparents when he was small. He grew up in a small town, living a good life with love and family. Being gay cast one small shadow, his absent mother and the lack of a father cast another, but he had friends and a plan to run the family farm one day. Then a magic carnival came to town, and he met a beautiful English man in a fortuneteller's tent, and his life was never the same.
Because his future was dark enough to terrify that man, Simeon.
Prophecy's weight landed on Crow at eighteen, with a devastating fire, and the realization he was something more, or less, than human. Since then, he's wandered the US, driven from place to place by the advent of mysterious red birds who murder people close to him. He's a danger to anyone he cares about, and cannot put down roots. He's survived each attack, thinking it might be better if he didn't, except his paranormal healing means he can't seem to die. Then the Carnival shows up again, and Simeon with it.
Simeon --the cheerful London thief whose childhood in the city of a century ago puts Crow's troubles to shame. And yet, who's managed to keep good cheer and a fascination with the world alive. And who, for some reason, would rather follow Crow on his quest to find out who he is, than stay safe with the Carnival.
Simeon really makes this story, having a warmth and humor that Crow at first lacks. For all that this is Crow's story, it's Simeon's reactions to him, and his to this first heartfelt adult connection of his life, that pull us into really caring what happens. Crow had been keeping the world at arm's length, to survive his repeated losses. Now, he has to be fully present, and that lends both depth and urgency.
This is a story that builds. Even the people Crow cared about in the past come into deeper more poignant focus as he revisits them in light of how he's changed. The end is a warm HEA, and after spending the whole book diving forward to find out what came next, I was able to smile, sit back, and close the pages.
Crow is the child of an adopted mother, left with his grandparents when he was small. He grew up in a small town, living a good life with love and family. Being gay cast one small shadow, his absent mother and the lack of a father cast another, but he had friends and a plan to run the family farm one day. Then a magic carnival came to town, and he met a beautiful English man in a fortuneteller's tent, and his life was never the same.
Because his future was dark enough to terrify that man, Simeon.
Prophecy's weight landed on Crow at eighteen, with a devastating fire, and the realization he was something more, or less, than human. Since then, he's wandered the US, driven from place to place by the advent of mysterious red birds who murder people close to him. He's a danger to anyone he cares about, and cannot put down roots. He's survived each attack, thinking it might be better if he didn't, except his paranormal healing means he can't seem to die. Then the Carnival shows up again, and Simeon with it.
Simeon --the cheerful London thief whose childhood in the city of a century ago puts Crow's troubles to shame. And yet, who's managed to keep good cheer and a fascination with the world alive. And who, for some reason, would rather follow Crow on his quest to find out who he is, than stay safe with the Carnival.
Simeon really makes this story, having a warmth and humor that Crow at first lacks. For all that this is Crow's story, it's Simeon's reactions to him, and his to this first heartfelt adult connection of his life, that pull us into really caring what happens. Crow had been keeping the world at arm's length, to survive his repeated losses. Now, he has to be fully present, and that lends both depth and urgency.
This is a story that builds. Even the people Crow cared about in the past come into deeper more poignant focus as he revisits them in light of how he's changed. The end is a warm HEA, and after spending the whole book diving forward to find out what came next, I was able to smile, sit back, and close the pages.
July 20, 2023
Ulysses Dietz Member of The Paranormal Guild Review Team
Rating: 5 stars
Title: Crow’s Fate (Carnival of Mysteries)
Author: Kim Fielding
Publisher: Tin Box Press
Genre: paranormal
M/M
Publication date: 2023
Page count: TBD
Crow Rapp knows he’s different. He just doesn’t know how different he is until his eighteenth birthday, when his world burns down around him.
Abandoned by his mother as an infant and raised on an Illinois farm by his grandparents, Crow’s life feels as if it fated to be one of flight and pursuit for no reason that he can understand. Then he runs into Simeon Bell, a roustabout at a traveling carnival, who seems to be from another place and time. Simeon becomes his sidekick—and then his spiritual guide—as the two young men face the hair-raising adventure of a lifetime.
It is very hard to write about this book, because that last sentence sounds phony. It’s not untrue, but the story as Kim Fielding has written it is far more cerebral and emotional than the words “hair-raising adventure” can convey. Crow’s journey is one of the soul, a struggle to understand who and how he is supposed to be in the world.
This is a horror story, and a love story, and would translate beautifully to the screen with the right cast. Crow is a fascinating character, but Simeon is remarkable. Simeon brings wonder back into Crow’s desperate life, filled with a generosity of spirit that seems unimaginable in someone who has been through what he has.
And that, perhaps, is the crux of this book: it’s really about relationships among the various players in the drama. The plot is necessary, and quite cleverly crafted to keep the reader on edge all the way through; but it is the evolving personalities of Crow and Simeon that drive the book emotionally. Crow is confused and isolated by what seems to be his fate—stunted in every way. Simeon, who has always accepted his fate with the shrugging attitude of a survivor, sees in Crow the opportunity to help his friend become more than he believes he is, while experiencing for himself a world he could never have imagined.
Rating: 5 stars
Title: Crow’s Fate (Carnival of Mysteries)
Author: Kim Fielding
Publisher: Tin Box Press
Genre: paranormal
M/M
Publication date: 2023
Page count: TBD
Crow Rapp knows he’s different. He just doesn’t know how different he is until his eighteenth birthday, when his world burns down around him.
Abandoned by his mother as an infant and raised on an Illinois farm by his grandparents, Crow’s life feels as if it fated to be one of flight and pursuit for no reason that he can understand. Then he runs into Simeon Bell, a roustabout at a traveling carnival, who seems to be from another place and time. Simeon becomes his sidekick—and then his spiritual guide—as the two young men face the hair-raising adventure of a lifetime.
It is very hard to write about this book, because that last sentence sounds phony. It’s not untrue, but the story as Kim Fielding has written it is far more cerebral and emotional than the words “hair-raising adventure” can convey. Crow’s journey is one of the soul, a struggle to understand who and how he is supposed to be in the world.
This is a horror story, and a love story, and would translate beautifully to the screen with the right cast. Crow is a fascinating character, but Simeon is remarkable. Simeon brings wonder back into Crow’s desperate life, filled with a generosity of spirit that seems unimaginable in someone who has been through what he has.
And that, perhaps, is the crux of this book: it’s really about relationships among the various players in the drama. The plot is necessary, and quite cleverly crafted to keep the reader on edge all the way through; but it is the evolving personalities of Crow and Simeon that drive the book emotionally. Crow is confused and isolated by what seems to be his fate—stunted in every way. Simeon, who has always accepted his fate with the shrugging attitude of a survivor, sees in Crow the opportunity to help his friend become more than he believes he is, while experiencing for himself a world he could never have imagined.
August 2, 2023
I loved this book so much! Crow and Simeon are marvelous characters. The story is told from Crow’s point of view, and we get a full view of his concerns, his insecurities, and his hopes…or lack thereof. His life is extremely difficult, as death and destruction pursues him. He can’t afford to get to close to anyone, and so lives a lonely, desperate life. When Simeon enters his life Crow starts to question who he is and why he is pursued by monsters. Most importantly, Simeon makes Crow have hope for his future…their future.
In the hands of another writer this could have been a bit of a tedious book, but Fielding does a fantastic job of keeping the pace moving. The story turns into a bit of a travelogue as Crow and Simeon travel the country searching for answers. The surprises that they find along the way suggest very strange things are afoot. When things take a turn for the fantastical in the third act, though, the groundwork has been laid well enough that it doesn’t break the suspension of disbelief. What I loved the most about this book, though, is that from a simple story of a man pursued by his demons, we also get contemplation of fate, free will, nature versus nurture, and even some Walt Whitman and Greek tragedies thrown in as well. These all gave a depth to the story that I really appreciated.
I listened to the audio version of Crow’s Fate, performed by Joel Leslie. As always, Leslie’s delivery was excellent, with good separation between the characters, believable accents, and even female character voices that didn’t sound like “a man trying to sound like a woman”, if that makes sense. If audiobooks are your thing, this one is definitely worth picking up.
In the hands of another writer this could have been a bit of a tedious book, but Fielding does a fantastic job of keeping the pace moving. The story turns into a bit of a travelogue as Crow and Simeon travel the country searching for answers. The surprises that they find along the way suggest very strange things are afoot. When things take a turn for the fantastical in the third act, though, the groundwork has been laid well enough that it doesn’t break the suspension of disbelief. What I loved the most about this book, though, is that from a simple story of a man pursued by his demons, we also get contemplation of fate, free will, nature versus nurture, and even some Walt Whitman and Greek tragedies thrown in as well. These all gave a depth to the story that I really appreciated.
I listened to the audio version of Crow’s Fate, performed by Joel Leslie. As always, Leslie’s delivery was excellent, with good separation between the characters, believable accents, and even female character voices that didn’t sound like “a man trying to sound like a woman”, if that makes sense. If audiobooks are your thing, this one is definitely worth picking up.
July 30, 2023
This story is about finding your own destiny. The future is never pre-set. There may be roads that seem familiar, and triggers that make one think, "I've done this before", but it's a human fact, that we can determine which paths we choose to follow, and which fates we chose to ignore.
Crow believes he is evil. All the people close to him die tragically. He moves frequently, while voices whisper in his ear to join them. He has visions of fire, and himself turning into a blood red crow. He often wakes up after a tragic event to find red crow feathers next to him.
With the help of a young man that strangely talks about, and appears to be from early 1900's England, Crow finds himself on a journey of self discovery. Along the way, Crow and Simeon bond, fall in love, and become tangled in a web of evil that tries to claim Crow's very soul.
Can evil claim Crow's soul? Does Crow have the power to break the cycle, using the strength of the people he has cobbled together, and be free from his fate once and for all? Read this book if you love paranormal romance, main characters on their own journey of self discovery, and a mysterious carnival that pops up at random times, in small towns where the people of the town find exactly what they need.
Crow believes he is evil. All the people close to him die tragically. He moves frequently, while voices whisper in his ear to join them. He has visions of fire, and himself turning into a blood red crow. He often wakes up after a tragic event to find red crow feathers next to him.
With the help of a young man that strangely talks about, and appears to be from early 1900's England, Crow finds himself on a journey of self discovery. Along the way, Crow and Simeon bond, fall in love, and become tangled in a web of evil that tries to claim Crow's very soul.
Can evil claim Crow's soul? Does Crow have the power to break the cycle, using the strength of the people he has cobbled together, and be free from his fate once and for all? Read this book if you love paranormal romance, main characters on their own journey of self discovery, and a mysterious carnival that pops up at random times, in small towns where the people of the town find exactly what they need.
April 30, 2024
4.5 stars
Crow is a kid in rural Illinois when he first attends a carnival that is visiting the area. He is called somewhere and ends up in a fortune teller's tent, where he meets a roustabout who is looking after the tent while the soothsayer does something else. The roustabout, Simeon, jokingly agrees to tell Crow's fortune, but ends up seeing something, and Crow's life is forever changed. Ten years later, Crow is on the run from his fate. When he heads to yet another town after things go wrong in his current one, he comes across the same carnival, and Simeon is still there. This time, Simeon follows Crow, and they set off trying to figure out what exactly is going on.
I really enjoyed this. Following the story and trying to figure out what exactly was going on with Crow. Simeon was a little (well, big) bag of sunshine, especially considering the childhood he had. And the fact that he started to have an effect on Crow and his outlook, plus his stubborn insistence that once he made his choice, his place was at Crow's side, made me love him even more.
Even though the story is told entirely from Crow's POV, he is a bit more of an enigma to get to know. It was nice watching Crow come into himself and take a stand.
Crow is a kid in rural Illinois when he first attends a carnival that is visiting the area. He is called somewhere and ends up in a fortune teller's tent, where he meets a roustabout who is looking after the tent while the soothsayer does something else. The roustabout, Simeon, jokingly agrees to tell Crow's fortune, but ends up seeing something, and Crow's life is forever changed. Ten years later, Crow is on the run from his fate. When he heads to yet another town after things go wrong in his current one, he comes across the same carnival, and Simeon is still there. This time, Simeon follows Crow, and they set off trying to figure out what exactly is going on.
I really enjoyed this. Following the story and trying to figure out what exactly was going on with Crow. Simeon was a little (well, big) bag of sunshine, especially considering the childhood he had. And the fact that he started to have an effect on Crow and his outlook, plus his stubborn insistence that once he made his choice, his place was at Crow's side, made me love him even more.
Even though the story is told entirely from Crow's POV, he is a bit more of an enigma to get to know. It was nice watching Crow come into himself and take a stand.
September 24, 2023
I listened to this book, which is the first of a multi-author series, Carnival of Mysteries.
Kim Fielding has become one of my favorite authors. She’s has a strong literary background and writes beautifully. In this book, poignant human situations are woven together with magic, mythology, and romance. I appreciated the reality of friendship, family ties, love and loss. Crow grieved over the death he caused the people his life connected with, and his misery was deep. He had little hope until Simeon came into his life. With Simeon’s sunny companionship, Crow sets out on a journey from the Midwest to the Northwest Olympic peninsula by bus. Crow discovers a mythological explanation of his existence and the reason for the terrible effect he has on other people.
Joel Leslie was a good choice to narrate this book.
This book is a wonderful start to a multi author series with a mysterious carnival connection through out.
Just bought the second book in the series!
Kim Fielding has become one of my favorite authors. She’s has a strong literary background and writes beautifully. In this book, poignant human situations are woven together with magic, mythology, and romance. I appreciated the reality of friendship, family ties, love and loss. Crow grieved over the death he caused the people his life connected with, and his misery was deep. He had little hope until Simeon came into his life. With Simeon’s sunny companionship, Crow sets out on a journey from the Midwest to the Northwest Olympic peninsula by bus. Crow discovers a mythological explanation of his existence and the reason for the terrible effect he has on other people.
Joel Leslie was a good choice to narrate this book.
This book is a wonderful start to a multi author series with a mysterious carnival connection through out.
Just bought the second book in the series!
July 22, 2023
Crow’s Fate
I am not quite sure what I expected when I started reading this book but I gained so much more than than the satisfaction that comes with reading a well written story. It gave me hope and joy in the awareness that I am the captain of my own ship. (This comment will make much more sense after you, the person reading this review has also read this book). Kim has written a tale of love and the power of love to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges. Crow Rapp and Simeon Bell are very relatable characters also very different in their own natures who together learn how to fight demons both metaphorically and actual. I recommend reading this to anyone who needs the reassurance of the power of love.
As an addendum I do hope Kim writes a companion book detailing their further adventures in seeking the truth about Simeon.
I am not quite sure what I expected when I started reading this book but I gained so much more than than the satisfaction that comes with reading a well written story. It gave me hope and joy in the awareness that I am the captain of my own ship. (This comment will make much more sense after you, the person reading this review has also read this book). Kim has written a tale of love and the power of love to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges. Crow Rapp and Simeon Bell are very relatable characters also very different in their own natures who together learn how to fight demons both metaphorically and actual. I recommend reading this to anyone who needs the reassurance of the power of love.
As an addendum I do hope Kim writes a companion book detailing their further adventures in seeking the truth about Simeon.
July 26, 2023
Not a quick read, not a read you can skim, but a read where Time is a bit fluid, where a mysterious carnival can change the trajectory of a life (or does it?), where an MC's childhood is shaped by 70's cornfields, where an MC's childhoold is shaped by Victorian England. Where Crow and Simeon journey from those cornfields to Chicago to Pacific Northwest with stops to discover why Crow is surrounded by tragedy. Where crows are joined by a single rook. Where you meet some interesting women with scissors and thread, where love is found, where you get Whitman, Bradbury, Gaiman, and Sophocles while learning to see yourself in those tragedies with compassion, where you learn how we never really lose those places and people we love. Go read this.
"The more hope and joy and love you give, the more you have."
"The more hope and joy and love you give, the more you have."
July 25, 2023
Good ending
It took me a while to warm up to this book. I was expecting something a bit more light-hearted but this had a pretty serious start. Crow's life is pretty depressing. I liked Simeon. He's a bright spot through most is the story. The last few chapters were the turning point for me. I really connected with the character turning his view point around and finding the good in everything after losing it all. I also liked the philosophy of taking control of your own ship and remembering loved ones to bring you strength. The ending made me like the book and connect with the characters.
I hope the other books in the series will be as good
It took me a while to warm up to this book. I was expecting something a bit more light-hearted but this had a pretty serious start. Crow's life is pretty depressing. I liked Simeon. He's a bright spot through most is the story. The last few chapters were the turning point for me. I really connected with the character turning his view point around and finding the good in everything after losing it all. I also liked the philosophy of taking control of your own ship and remembering loved ones to bring you strength. The ending made me like the book and connect with the characters.
I hope the other books in the series will be as good
August 23, 2024
I don't think I could have love and hurt more for Crow. The things he had to endure from his 18th birthday and beyond, how utterly lonely he had to make himself in order to protect others, would have broken most people. I was so glad that Simone could be a part of his life and provide the support, companionship, and love that Crow needed.
The book does end in a bit of a mystery, so I'm looking forward to reading Simone's story, Rook's Time.
The book does end in a bit of a mystery, so I'm looking forward to reading Simone's story, Rook's Time.
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