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If you missed my last Kindle Unlimited review on Silent Vows, you can find it here.
Hi guys, it’s been a few but I’m back with another book from KU, Crooked Crows by Elena Lawson. It’s book one in the Boys of Briar Hall series and it’s all over my FYP on TikTok. I am going to have to go check out if I can find book recommendations on IG too. Anyway, Crooked Crows is a spicy, reverse harem, bully romance that has multiple POVs. Why do I like these? I am totally addicted, but I digress. Let’s get into Crooked Crows.
We meet Corvus, Rook, and Grey first. They are cleaning up the murder of one of their prospects. Well, not theirs specifically, but the MC they are a part of. Their adopted father started the MC and while they have the privileges of a patched member, they are not actually patched yet because they are minors, and their dad, Diesel St. Crow, insists they finish high school first. They see Ava Jade at the end of the alley they are hiding in when she escapes the car her aunt is in and decides to hoof it the rest of the way to school. Grey and Rook want to warn her of the possible danger but Corvus stops them. Even though they guys are all the same age, Corvus is the leader of the trio.
Ava just got out of the horrible living situation she was in and she owes that to her aunt whom she despises and is just using as a stepping stone to get a better life. Ava’s father died years ago and her mother is an actively active addict and doesn’t have the capacity to care for Ava. The aunt offered to pay for her education at a prestigious high school and help her get into a good college if she behaved and got good grades. Ava isn’t thrilled but is willing to do whatever it takes to get a better life. Unfortunately, she pissed off Corvus without any awareness that she did anything in the alley the night before and now he is targeting her.
There are a few things that the guys don’t know about Ava. First, they don’t know the lengths she will go to to survive. Her goal is to thrive but to do that you must survive. This takes us to number two, they don’t know what hell she survived to claw her way to this point. If she could survive that, she would make it through. What’s more, she has learned how to do shady stuff from her father and her education continued even after his death just so she could survive. And lastly, someone is stalking and threatening Ava. Someone knows a secret about her and is bent on scaring her but won’t tell Ava who they are.
All three boys want her and decide that whichever of them sleeps with her first gets to keep her, which went out the window the next day even though Grey technically won that prize the next day. Corvus almost seems to hate Ava but he wants her nonetheless. Rook wants Ava’s psycho to come out and play because he finds it so sexy that she is as deadly as him. Grey seems to want to take care of her. Ava also seems to piss off Bri, the self-proclaimed queen of the school, simply by taking school supplies offered to her by Grey. Now, Bri has it out for Ava.
The story is interesting. Ava is a strong FMC. She really doesn’t put up with a bunch of crap and is fiercely independent and isn’t afraid to stand her ground without backing down, which I respect. She has a darkness in her that I am not sure yet if I should be afraid of or if I just relate to it but I do know I am jealous of her skill with blades. I don’t like how Ava blew off her friends from where she left but I can understand blowing off her aunt. That being said, I like Ava and I like that I don’t like everything about her.
Corvus, Grey, and Rook are an interesting unit and individuals. They all had different starts to both life in general and in relation to coming to Diesel and the MC. They have many similarities though. Aside from Diesel adopting them, they each have a darkness that lends them strength for each of their skill sets. They all know their parts in their group and have each other’s backs no matter what. However, their approach to Ava is very different from each other. I do like how they are written, both as an individual and a unit. I think if there was one of them left out, the story would have been off balance.
That being said, most of the other side characters fell away. Bri was neutralized quickly, as was a potential romantic rival for Ava’s affection. Becca was the only exception. She is the quirky, loyal, best friend. I would have liked to see more scenes between Ava and Bri. I will say, I am partial to the names Bri and Jade because they are names I have chosen for my kids, just sucks that this Bri is a bitch.
It’s easy to forget that they are seniors in high school because there is very little adult supervision and the amount of sex. In most books like this, classes seem more like an option as opposed to a requirement, maybe it’s because the internet is the beast it is now. This time it seems closer to a requirement, which is refreshing.
I don’t have any big gripes about this book other than the side characters. I am not saying they all need to be as well fleshed out as the main ones but it would be great if they weren’t so faceless. All I get about Bri is that she is pink. Becca, while not as thought through as Ava, is more than just a flat wallflower.
Needless to say, I have started the second book. I got called away from it for a couple of weeks because I had to move and I was just too worn out at the end of the day to read. Now that we have everything moved and my house is under control, I can finish the book. I currently have a few others in line to read too and now I can get to them.
Have you read Crooked Crows or anything else by Elena Lawson? What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, have fun storming the castle!
