The Flight of Crow Girl

Crow Girl #2

by J.B. Trepagnier

Little Bird runs back to her crows

Now that everyone knows the truth about Einin and where she came from, they struggle to help her come to terms with it while she refuses to talk. Einin wants nothing more than to just be normal and she knows she’s not. She’s feeling emotions she didn’t know in the forest, like doubt, regret, and learning what lying is. She’s starting to doubt and think everyone’s life would go back to normal if she just disappeared back where she came from.
While Liam, Ciaran, and Greta try to figure out what is going on with Einin, everything gets set back when her family they didn’t know about shows up out of the blue and wants to take her home with them. This sets Einin back even further and she tries to run away back to the forest. With only a phone with limited battery in the forest, her makeshift family tries to convince her to come home while her real family is pulling strings in the background trying to take her away from the only people she knows.

229 pages, ebook

First published August 17, 2017

About the author

USA Today Bestselling Author JB Trepagnier is secretly 30 feral cats in a trench coat and combat boots writing romance with a shared feral cat hive mind.

Reviews

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again I have to say I love the interaction between Einin and Liam so deep, honest and true. There was a recap of the first book Crow Girl to this sequel that was introduced early on. For a moment I thought I'd read this book before and I was thinking it was the first book Crow Girl I was reading. So I went back and forth between this book and the first book of the sequel I had read previously. So I was a bit confused at first due to the recap of the events from the first book, but shortly after I was able to follow along with what was happening. The recap was not overwhelming and serves its purpose well if you hadn't read the first book before the sequel. Which I have read the first book and now the sequel and I guess that's where my confusion came in. That's all on me as the reader. The sequel was as well written as the first one. The reader is easily able to follow along with the characterization of the characters specifically Liam and Einin. I like seeing how Einin has grown. Author J.B. Trepagnier did a superb job in showing that growth.


I found myself being even more proud of the character Einin who'd been through such a struggle (but has so much potential) and even though she was still struggling in ways she turned out to be the fine young woman she was meant to be. The descriptions of time and setting were beautifully written and placed. It was so easy to get emotionally invested in these characters again. The author kept me engaged throughout. I think we can all take a page from this book from the characters themselves of what it means to be human, what it means to have humanity, what humanity truly is. I commend the author for showing the essence of humanity in all its multifaceted layers. Exceptional! Highly recommended.

[J.P. Willson · Rating 4 out of 5]

After finishing "Crow Girl" a while back I did wonder to myself if there would be a sequel. So when I found out there was a follow up I was in there right away. Ms. Trepagnier did not disappoint. I have to admit I am a fan of the author and have read many of her other works, but "Crow Girl" was the first work of hers I had read. "The Flight of Crow Girl" was just as pleasant a read and although there were no surprises for me- well maybe one or two- this is another well crafted story from a talented author. Now though I have to wonder- will there be a third?

[Davyne DeSye · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely feel-good book. I read Crow Girl, to which this is a sequel, but the important events of Crow Girl are set out well enough in this book that this isn’t necessary (I do recommend Crow Girl though!).

Like the first book, this book has a lyrical fairy-tale voice about it that I very much enjoyed. You can almost imagine that you are sitting quietly, listening as someone tells you a Once-upon-a-time story.

I very much enjoyed traveling with Einin, the Crow Girl, in her journey to learn about life. Discovered at the age of 36 (in the first book), having lived in the woods alone her whole life, she could speak or do anything that even a 5-year-old would know how to do. In this book, Einin has remembered her past trauma and how to talk, but remains so naïve about life, love, family… everything. It was a pleasure to watch Einin, in her desire to be “normal,” learn about these most important things and also wonderful that she could face the world with trust and without the fear she had lived with for so many years.

I love Liam, her father figure, and was very pleased that through the course of the book, Liam learns to love again as well.

The ending is lovely, and perfectly satisfying. Highly recommended.

True rating 4.5 stars.

[Segilola Salami · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Flight of Crow Girl

I decided to wait a bit before writing this review because I needed to let things settle in my mind about how I felt about it. It was not a perfect book for me but it stayed on my brain enough and made me smile enough to recommend it. I felt there was something touching in the genuinely warm relationships between Einin, Liam, Greta and Ciaran. The author displayed so much skill in breathing life into these people that I did wish, however, that they had been handed more to work with, plot-wise. I think book one set up such a great quasi-mystery that all of the literary heavy lifting was already completed. There did seem to be a few attempts at conflict but nothing overtly capable of fomenting change or resilience in a major way.

But yet I think the story worked well on so many other levels. I applaud Trepagnier for not shoe-horning the book into a fiction genre template. I think the book didn't need it to work. The characters were genuine and their connectivity as they all worked to give Einin what she needed was uplifting and inspiring. I hope there's a sequel.

[T.L. Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't read the first book, but I don't think I needed to.

I love the characters of this book. They're a warm, friendly, Irish family. The amount of love is very cosy. Each character has their own personality, and is well developed.

I really liked the Irish setting, but it wasn't clear from the start if they were in the south or north, so their accent in my head was a little off.

However, the story is just one long flow of happy events.
Yes, there are a couple of conflicts, but they are easily overcome. Everything is just a bit 'easy'.
And I wanted something more from the crows; a better explanation. Were they magical?

The book may benefit from one more edit too. Not a major one. Just a few little errors have crept in.

On the whole, a very nice story.

[Erin Bomboy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Families can be made by blood, or they can be made by love, the latter of which is a running theme In The Flight of Crow Girl. Although this is the sequel to Crow Girl, which I have not read, it's easy enough to gather the contents of the first book.

After living for many years in the wild, Einin has rejoined society thanks to the affection and care of Liam, a writer; Greta, a former nurse and current tutor to Einin; and Ciaran, Greta's son who's a rock musician. The four individuals form a nuclear family with Liam and Greta acting as mom and dad. They also pair off into couples with Liam and Greta sorting out later-in-life love and Einin and Ciaran enjoying the flush of first love. The threats facing them are minor—unwelcome relatives, a bout of the chicken pox—but each keeps the characters engaged in the fierce pursuit and thankful celebration of their chosen family.

Einin is mistrustful from time to time, but overall, she seems remarkably well adjusted, save curiosity about sex and booze, all of which are handled in a respectful and appropriate way. While occasionally engaged in other activities, the other three characters spend most of their page time rallying around Einin.

Not having read the first book made it difficult for me to connect to the characters. I didn't know who they were before Einin; thus, I’m unable to appreciate who they are after her. Overall, they seem like a nice bunch, but without much in the way of quirks or defining characteristics beyond physical appearance.

The book is related from all four perspectives, which gives center stage to each character's emotional interior. Sometimes, after I'd stepped away, I struggled to remember whose headspace I was in, due to the proliferation of pronouns as well as the similarity in syntax and vocabulary among the quartet.

The prose reminded me of Alice Hoffman, a straightforward relating of events with occasional wisps of poetry. My preference is for the visceral immediacy of deep point-of-view, which might have also contributed to my detachment. All the filtering made it seem as if I were watching events from a distance, and I couldn’t help but wish for more personalization in character choreography and sensory details.

[Maggie Hasbrouck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flight of the crow girl

Overall. Flight of the Crow Girl is the second book from Trepagnier about a young woman, Einin, who lived alone in the woods for thirty years and is able to communicate with crows. Other than the main character’s ability to talk with crows, this book is set solidly in the real world. It would be a stretch to call it magical realism. It is a happily ever after tale of the crow girl and the three main people in her life. While I was interested enough in the characters to finish the book, I did not find it to be a particularly compelling book—it is not a plot driven story. That being said there is a certain charm to the story that is unique.

Writing: Like the first book, the writing style was difficult for me. It is a bit meandering and includes a great deal of the minutia of Einin’s everyday life. Those details distracted from the story and I found myself skimming over them. I also found the point of view confusing. We go from one character’s point of view to another’s and back again, sometimes all in one paragraph. For the most part, the dialog was well written and helped to flesh out the characters.

Characters: The main characters are all likable and fairly well developed. It was my interest in them that pulled me through the story. The bad guys in the book, the grandparents, were so over the top awful, that I found them completely unbelievable. Their complete lack of any redeeming characteristics made their role in the story much less compelling than it could have been.

Plot: The plot was too predictable for my taste. Things did happen, there was even a bit of conflict, but everything works out so easily and perfectly, it makes it feel as if not much occurs. The author’s style is to tell a story with plenty of detail, but with little emotion. Even the tense moments are lacking because we are never given the opportunity to connect deeply with the characters. That being said, this is a solid happily ever after story.

Recommendation: If you liked the first book, definitely pick this one up.

[Rachael Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a sequel, but it's not necessary to read the first one. I never read the original book and the author did a good job of catching me up in the first chapter. I do think, however, I would have a deeper connection to the characters if I had. I felt it a little hard to connect to their stories, and the book basically follows the stories of four main characters throughout all the chapters.

It starts (I'm assuming) where the last book left off with Liam and Greta taking care of Einin, the crow girl. The author gives a quick overview of how this once wild child came under the care of these characters and then focuses on her progression acclimating to this world. She gets to tries alcohol, sex, and experiences love, resentment, and other emotions she didn't know existed.

There are some ups and downs and a few obstacles for the characters, but overall everyone seems to be pretty happy. There are new careers, blooming relationships, and success, all indicating that this crow girl might have something more to her than meets the eye.

[Chris Angelis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Flight of Crow Girl, by J.B. Trepagnier, is the sequel of Crow Girl, by the same author. Although being acquainted with the events of the first book before reading this one is probably a better option, I felt that a reader starting from this second book should not feel too out of sync with the story. The main parts and characters are outlined adequately in the first few pages, so probably new readers won't have a problem catching up.

The story itself is pretty straightforward: Einin, having survived alone in the forest for decades, gradually learns to adapt to the "civilized" world with the help of Liam, Ciaran, and Greta. The plot basically follows two parallel relationships, both emerging, and both facing various difficulties: that between Liam and Greta, and that between Einin and Ciaran - Greta's son.

It is in this latter relationship that most of the interesting moments can be found, as the premise is pretty intriguing: What happens (the story seems to ask) if you take a 36-year-old woman with absolutely no experience in human relationships and place her next to a man her age - and an aspiring musician, to boot? The entire setup reminds the reader of a coming-of-age story, with interesting inputs from Liam and Greta (playing rather successfully the role of the caring-yet-suspicious guardians).

Overall, the story works well, with enough elements to keep the reader's attention. In terms of language, there are no glaring flaws - though perhaps one would wish for a bit more attractiveness in the narrative, with more poetic language, more beautiful descriptions, more intense dialogue. In fact, most areas of criticism probably have to do with genre expectations. Marketing-wise, it's hard to situate the novel - it doesn't feel deep enough to count as literary fiction (despite the potentiality of the setup), yet it doesn't feature any recognizable genre stereotypes either. As it stands, it probably balances somewhat awkwardly between categories, but one could see this as an advantage, adding to the story's general sense of perplexity (having a 36-year-old woman wondering about sex is bound to appear odd, which is good news). Other areas for improvement can be found in the narrative arc of the story, which moves a bit too linearily, without any real tension or problem to be solved (narratively speaking). The only real clash comes in the form of Einin's grandparents who serve (a bit too directly) the role of the threatening outsider, but this is only a temporary distraction. Near the end of the novel, an old girlfriend of Ciaran's also seems to serve the same role, but again the threat is very mild and transient.

Still, when all is said and done, finishing this book will probably leave most readers satisfied - inevitably some more than others, but that's the case with any book. It boils down to personal preferences, after all.

[C.F. Rabbiosi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Einine, the charming little bird, has remembered her tragic past but must put it behind her to seek out a new life. Because she had been lost from civilization for so many years, she doesn't know anything about technology, society or even sex. I really enjoyed reading about how her relationship with Ciaran, the musician who had originally been talked into spending time with her, turned into something serious. He started teaching her the guitar and how to sing even before she recovered her memory and could speak, and it was then that her magical voice, innocence and beauty bewitched him. She wasn't like other girls he had dated who had only liked him for his music, and were only liked back for superficial reasons. Einine learns about jealousy and insecurity, but always stays true to herself, and her logical, untainted way of thinking. She may be quite young in a lot of ways, but her character is so likeable because she is strong, very intelligent and not a difficult woman, like so many become in the modern world.

And then there's the new experiences to be had with her lover under the covers. It's really sweet, and ultimately interesting because she is very much like a teenager experimenting even though she is actually over thirty. Very tastefully done in this area. "We have the same magic in bed as we do when we play music together." It is a new love for both of them, but they decide to hit the band scene to make a living for themselves anyway. She figures that her new family, Liam and Greta can't really take care of her forever, so why not do something she loves. She goes on to learn about traditions like Christmas and birthdays, but calls the BS as she sees it.

An enchanting story about life and love, I really enjoyed this second in the series. The characters were well developed and believable and there are many laugh out louds along the way. One thing I thought was really special is that the characters have a wonder about their crow girl as their lives have been enhanced so greatly since they found her in the pea patch- What if the crows led her to them to add a touch of magic to their luck in love and money and will suddenly disappear, just as quickly as she had appeared? Something mysterious is afoot...

[Danielle Kozinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story and well written.
With how Goodreads does reviews, it is difficult to give as accurate a star rating as I would like. While I didn't really like it, I didn't just like it. I would give it more around three and a half or so instead of just three, but it needs a bit of tweaking before four stars.
The Flight of Crow Girl is an enjoyable story and the first chapter fills you with all you need to know to read this book on its own. I enjoyed the characters and felt they worked well together and that they truly cared for each other. The "conflict" of the story, not true conflict but just where there are opposing forces, is brought in about a quarter of the way through and is finished with less than halfway through the story. For someone looking for a story about a happy life that has had good luck pretty much since Crow Girl Einin showed up, I would highly recommend this book. If you prefer love making scenes to be based on emotions surrounding the scene and not what actually happened, I would not suggest this book. It is an adult book with adult content, which is fine for some because they either do not mind or like to read that.
I enjoyed the book, with only certain scenes I did not care for and certain aspects characters have I did not care for. Overall it was well written and the ideas put down flowed together nicely. J.B. Trepagnier should be happy with the story she wrote because it is a good story over all.

[Cruikshank · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Einin's character even more this time around and watching her get used to what it is like to live around so many people was fascinating. I enjoyed her relationship with Ciaran the most and thought that they played very well off of each other.

I did think that there were a few really touching moments in this story and it managed to encompass a lot of different parts that helped bring it to life. That being said, it wasn't really what I was expecting and the series was slower than I would have liked. All in all, though, that is a very minor criticism compared to the quality and charm of what the author is trying to create.

I look forward to reading more about Einin's world as she deals with more facets of life that she was removed in and hope we won't have to wait too long for a third entry!

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

She is struggling about her life now everyone knows who she is and where she came from. She will not talk about it all. Things change again when her family appear. How will she deal with this? Will she come to terms with everything? See if she can

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Nadea Croix · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was quite an experience reading this story, action induce scenarios as decisions need to resolve the challenges as the story begin to twist and solutions were rendered.

[J.J. Clown · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading the first book, I obviously had the read the second. I adored this book too. Not sure what else to write here, don't want to spoil the story.

I also adore J.B. Trepagnier too. ;p