Stone the Crows

This book isn’t for the faint hearted it’s dystopian to say the least. Descriptors like sour, bloody, cold, greasy, raw and wet are scattered throughout out the story, leaving us readers with a strong sense of what an unpleasant reality the occupants of the story inhabit.
It is the second book in the Wolf Winter series and although it could be read as a standalone as TA brings in enough information about previous events, by reading the first book in the series you’ll get all the back story so you’ll be able to immerse yourself in this story immediately rather than having to catch up.
This was a gripping tale that had me following along with the twists and turns in the story. I liked both the MC’s and their uniqueness made me them a good match for each other, their personalities fit well together. One of the secondary characters, Jimmy a little boy with leukaemia, really tugged at my heart. I hope things turned out okay for him in the end. TA Moore’s books usually have a fantastic plot as well as the emerging relationship between the MC’s and she does it again with this book.

I received a review eArc from the author. This is the second book in the Wolf Winter series (first book is Dog Days) and cannot be read separately. This book is better than Dog Days (I purchased from Amazon) - I had a difficult time reading that book because the world building was sparse and I wasn’t particularly invested in or like the characters. It wasn’t until about 44% into the 2d book book that explanations regarding the origin of the Wolves and more world building that it began to gel together. There really isn’t a romance and children are in peril - which can be a trigger for some. This is a really dark series that builds on some Norse mythology. This entire series could do with a prologue in each book that describes some history of the wolves and a bit of back story - then with that context it would flow better. Frankly - I don’t know if I will read the third book but might just to see how it ends. 2.5 stars.

It was with breathless anticipation that I began this follow-up to ‘Dog Days’, a book that overwhelmed me with its mythology, lore, prophets, the Wild, and a reckoning between two brothers born twelve minutes apart. The author captured the visceral horror of everything I could imagine that ever went bump in the night and had me stunned when I finished it. It came as no surprise that I leaped at the opportunity to read ‘Stone the Crows’. I wanted to see more of Jack and Danny, but I really wanted to get a much better understanding of Gregor, Jack’s brother, and get even more background about the prophets and their betrayal. I do strongly recommend these books be read in order as I honestly don’t believe they could be understood without all the background and history that layers upon itself.

“No one liked the prophets—to become a mouthpiece of the hated gods was a punishment handed out only to the worst among their packs—but it had never occurred to Gregor that they’d betray the Wolves. Until now.”

On their way north back to the Numitor and the pack, Jack, Danny, and Gregor run afoul of three prophets and a multitude of the creatures they have created from humans, magic, and perhaps even some of the Wild. Gregor is found almost dead by Nick, a pathologist drafted to help living patients to be evacuated and now left abandoned with a small contingent of colleagues. Even worse than waking up with humans as nursemaids is when Gregor realizes the prophets, with their knives, did something to his wolf – carved it out of his skin, his soul – and they still have his brother.

I got a much better perspective in terms of the Wild in this book. It’s almost like an alternate reality where in days gone by the shifters, goblins, and all manner of other monsters lived and still do. The Wild is the home of the gods and it infuses the wolves with their... I’m not even sure I can explain it very well. But it’s a living, breathing part of the world of the wolves going all the way back to when they were banished across Hadrian’s Wall. Some humans, like Nick and his Scottish gran, can see the Wild as an overlay of the present world (even walk in it), and it was Nick’s gran who told him the stories and that the monsters were real. He has suppressed that part of himself most of his life not wanting to be “crazy” like his gran was but he can’t dispute that the wolf winter is on top of them now.

“The prophets’ catechism says that we—the wolves—were just human once, until a she-wolf begged the moon god to give fur to the humans she suckled. Selene gave them fur and fangs, and they gave you Rome. We served Rome until we were banished here, sent over the Wall like curs, and now we serve the Numitor. No Wolf would follow a prophet, so they have to make their own. But they’re not gods. They’re barely wolves. So their get are twisted things.”

What happens when Gregor and Nick go to find and rescue Jack and Danny defied all my imaginings and had me huddled under the blankets and sleeping with a nightlight. The descriptive writing is so fantastic there was no way I couldn’t “see” the happenings in my mind’s eye. I love horror and monsters as much as the next person and what transpired had me turning pages and almost afraid to sleep. My heart was lodged in my throat and I shed more than a few tears before the end.

Saying I loved this book is a mild compliment. I was amazed, astounded, shocked, horrified, mute with fear, and sobbing with relief. The fact that the journey isn’t over pleases me because I know there’ll be at least one more book and I truly hope the author is hurrying to get it done. I need to know if Gregor will ever get his wolf back, whether Nick will always have Muninn – Odin’s raven – within him, and whether these men will be able to win against a prophet who has spent decades planning her revenge.

NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews

I have now found my barometer for scary. I’m a wuss, so I probably have a low bar (The ‘Burbs movie scares me), but this is where I would say, any scarier, and I won’t read. But I did enjoy reading this, which did include a secondary read of a much lighter book at the same time, I mean, I need to sleep at night. Definitely a day time read for me!
I love the descriptions TA Moore has in the book, they really are quite real. I hadn’t read the first book, so I might have missed some fine points (like how come and how much the twin brothers hate each other). I watched Silence of the Lambs on my porch through the curtain, and so I am proud to say I read this without any barrier. Phew.
There was definitely a romance, but it was couched between a lot of gore, I mean literally. If you are a horror movie/book reader, then this is for you.
Thank you, Ms. Moore for changing my scariest story from Sleep Away Camp 3 movie to Stone the Crows book, I have had no nightmares and I have several people I will be recommending this book to. And although they aren’t called zombies, I can say I finally enjoyed a book with zombies.

“The wolf winter, when the world would freeze, and the wolves would come down over the Wall from Scotland to eat all the little boys in their beds.”
This is not a stand-alone, and you will definitely better understand the story arc if you first read the previous book, “Dog Days.” This epic revolves around twins, Jack and Gregor, who happen to be wolf shifters. Add to that the weather (return of the Ice Age), the Prophets (truly loathsome characters, one in particular), and, did I mention the weather?
The story is gritty and scary, but in the end the two MCs (Gregor and Nicholas) get their HFN. I highly recommended this series.