Crows

by Grace Harney

Annie Murphy can sometimes tell the future. It’s the past she has trouble with.

When her brother’s witch-girlfriend goes missing days after an invocation ritual, Annie has every reason to suspect him. But he says he didn’t do it, and Annie isn’t about to send another innocent man in her family to jail.

When a confrontation with her brother Johnny turns violent, Annie flees into the worst blizzard to hit the area in years. Led by her Sight, she arrives at a rundown inn where she meets Crow. Another powerful psychic—and a witch that can control her namesake birds—Crow seems to be hated, feared, respected and loved, all at the same time. Soon Annie begins to wonder about things. Like why Crow appears to be connected to every suspicious disappearance over the past fifty years in the small town of Raven City. Why Johnny’s missing girlfriend might be one of them. Why Crow has walked free every single time. And if Annie doesn’t stop her, why she might again.

WARNING: Contains swear words, violence, and dark themes. Recommended for readers 15 and up.

252 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 23, 2017

Reviews

[Kayla Krantz · Rating 5 out of 5]

~I received a free copy for my honest review~

5/5 Stars

When I finished reading the last page of this book, I was actually sad. It’s been a long time since I’ve read such a wonderful urban fantasy book. Crows reminded me of a mix between the Harry Potter and the Covenant of Shadows books. The story begins by showing the conflicts between Annie, our protagonist, and Artemis, who at first appears to be the story’s antagonist.

Then, things twist when it’s revealed that these aren’t ordinary teenagers. They’re Adept at magic and Annie is a Seer. She foresees something terrible happening to Artemis. Desperate to stop it, Annie rushes to her house and is humbled when her vision does not seem to come true. Then, Artemis goes missing and Annie is left to figure out what happened. It seems as if everyone is against her as she seeks shelter at an inn known as the Hooded Crow. From there, she learns the truth of Artemis’ disappearance and in turn, finds her own place in the world.

I not only loved the characters and the worldbuilding in this story but I also loved the fact that I couldn’t guess what would happen next. The vivid scenes of the things that Annie could See added to the mystery and suspense of the story.

I’ll definitely look for more work by this author!

[Icy-Cobwebs-Crossing-SpaceTime · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't sufficiently express how totally absorbing I found CROWS. I completely lost myself in the story, and many times I was unaware of whatever happened around me "in real life." Fortunate I was neither driving nor operating machinery, because my consciousness was "away with the fairies" or in this case, "away with the crows." Wow! This novel has so much going on, is so multi-layered, with never a single dull moment. So much of magic and witchcraft and evil and good and friendship and bullying and parents and children and dysfunction. So thankful this is a series and I cannot wait for the next book!

[Fiona Cooke Hogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beautifully gothic cover drew me in. I was looking forward to a YA paranormal tale but what I got was so much more. Crows is a book about magic. Magic seeps from every page, and everywhere there are crows- both black and white. Annie is a seer, an angry, slightly-out-of-control teenager who seems so much older than her sixteen years. When her brother's girlfriend - the spoilt, wealthy Artemis, goes missing she feels obligated to discover what has happened because the missing girl refused to take her warning seriously. She is quickly pulled into a world where policemen are cursed, old happenings come back to haunt the inhabitants of the town and everything seems to point to an old fortune teller who runs a rundown motel - "The Hooded Crow". Why won't Crow spill her secrets, why does Annie keep seeing snakes and what lies in wait in the basement? A cleverly crafted tale of witchcraft, desire and old magic.

[Joshua Griffith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-woven tale of witchcraft and murder

I love all things supernatural and paranormal so I must say that this story fits the bill perfectly. It centers around Annie, a young snarky girl that Sees things, has a white crow following her, and not so popular among her peers at school as well as being hated by her brother and father. She goes to a party in an attempt to to her "friend" Artemis from performing a ritual because she has a bad feeling that something terrible will happen.
Needless to say, Artemis disappears and believes her brother is involved. Things become complicated as she's forced to run for her life and ends up at the Hooded Crow Inn, where she Seeing becomes more prominent and strange thing keep occurring. There's plenty of mystery, suspense, and intrigue that will keep you turning the pages for more. I highly recommend this one!

[Tabitha Ormiston-Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part fantasy, part detective fiction, this book moves excitingly through a series of incidents so strange, so bizarre that one feels almost as if one were dreaming, rather than reading it. Often in fiction one can predict the outcome, but that certainly wasn't the case for me with this little gem! Strangeness layers upon strangeness, and even at the end, although the story is resolved, one isn't quite sure what has happened. In these days when so many writers explain every tiny little detail, I found the mystery-drenched atmosphere of of Crows quite enchanting.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for the purpose of an honest review.

[Charles Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crows, I assumed when I started reading, was a Young Adult novel, but it turns out that is not actually the case. Yes, it’s teenage characters, but so is Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street, and I don’t consider either of those YA.

For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what was happening in the first few chapters. And as the story progressed, I was super impressed with everything that unfolded before me. There are several twists that were shocking and frightening, keeping me interested with every turn of the page.
If you’re looking for an unexpected story with believable characters, then you need to read Crows.

[Trina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free ARC copy of the Crows in exchange for writing an honest review. This book is fast paced, the action is enjoyable. The characters are difficult to get too connected to as there are so many, all with their own individual backgrounds that are pieces of some large puzzle that the reader has to put together without ever knowing what the puzzle is supposed to be. The rules of the world and the magic that fits in the world can be exciting and also equally confusing. It is possible if you read the rest of the series that it will make more sense, but I wont be trying that hard.

[Ethan Proud · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grace Harney is a master of suspense. My only regret is that I had to put the book down to go to work. The main character Annie is the perfect combination of frustrating and charismatic and Grace really captured the essence of a teenager in her. Each scene is extremely descriptive and the plot flows smoothly, making it extremely easy to get lost in the pages.
I hope to see more from this author soon!

[Teri Stich · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't my usual reading, but needed a horror type read for a Read-A-thon and the cover appealed to me. It is a page turner, it grabs you and doesn't let go. Lots of twists, turns, and What Just Happened! Creepy, atmospheric, that Oh don't go there suspense. Dark arts, White Crows, and that tree in the basement!! Great job bringing the story around from the past.
If you like creepy without without a lot gore you will probably like this one.

[Rob Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm sorry it's taken me a year to get around to reading this book and reviewing it. I'm not a YA reader so I am not the target market. But this but was well written enough and the story crafted so well that it drew me in and I enjoyed the read. I think this is a first novel from this writer - watch out for the next one. Good Luck

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crows is a book about a teenage girl, Annie, who gets sucked into a murder investigation after her brother's girlfriend goes missing under unusual circumstances. But Annie, who sometimes sees things before they happen, is no ordinary girl, and the disappearance seems to involve some kind of scary black magic. In a world where everyone has secrets and the dealer at school is just as likely to be pedaling magical spells as drugs, it's hard to tease out the good guys from the bad.

The characters in this book are full of complex and fascinating backstory, and the settings are ominous (sometimes downright macabre). Read this book and you will never again want to enter a winter woods or dark basement! I loved Annie's stubborn strength, the mystery of Crow and Beatrice, and the surprise resolution.

As the warning states, this is not a good book for younger readers. It contains sibling violence, references to black magic, and other disturbing elements. However, older teens and adults who love creepy stuff will love it.

[Gea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impressive, while reading I could really picture this world and all that happened!
Annie is pretty angry with everyone, she follows her gut feeling or intuition and is not courteous to the ones she just met at all.
The crows are really interesting, they have more depth than just being protective.
Scott seems like a hard worker and nice guy at first, but he is being secretive for a reason.

[Sheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

let me tell you this is an exciting paranormal book with such great characters in it. I had to sit and read the whole thing at 1 sitting it was that good.

I am voluntarily leaving my honest review of this book.

[The Endless Unread · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really enjoyable read. I loved the characters that backed up the storyline beautifully.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a ya fantasy story, bit on the young side for unfortunately!

[Jennifer Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book ended up being so much more than I expected. It had twists and turns that I didn’t expect, and the story kept me very interested.

[Lizel Harvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It kept me wanting to read more. The young heroine has a massive chip on her shoulder and as she holds everyone at arm's length to her own detriment. White owls and psychic things happening....I won't spoil it. I have reviewed this book on Amazon already but I have to reiterate I would have loved to delve more into her mother who had the same/ similar powers and that part remained a mystery. Written as a YA story, it is definitely worth YA reading it.

[Jayda Iris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story! Highly recommended!