The Unyielding by Shelly Laurenston Narrator: Johanna Parker
Length: 12 hrs 34 mins
Series: Call of Crows #3
Published by Kensington Books on March 28, 2017
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 400
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I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Stieg Engstrom, Angriest Viking Ever, has got big problems. The human Viking Clans of earth are in danger of being obliterated—along with the rest of the world—and the only one who may be able to save them is a super pain-in-the-ass Crow. Most people annoy Stieg, but this is the one woman he really can’t stand…
Erin Amsel loves being a Crow! Why wouldn’t she when the other Viking Clans are so hilariously arrogant and humorless? She’s not about to let all that come to an end! She just didn’t expect to be shoulder to shoulder in battle with Stieg. Then again, he’s so easy to torment—and also kind of cute.
With the future of the world riding on them, Stieg knows he’ll have to put aside his desperate need to kiss the smirk right off Erin’s face. Wait. What? He didn’t mean that—did he? No! They have one goal: To conquer the idiots. Because nothing bugs Stieg more than when idiots win. If only he can keep himself from suddenly acting like one….
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In The Unyielding, we are out to destroy Gullveig who is about to bring on Ragnorak, or the end of the world. After the happenings in The Undoing, we have a War General who has been working along with the other eight clans to find a way to stop her. Unfortunately, there is only one answer, and that answer is Erin Amsel. A special sword is needed to kill Gullveig, and the only one with the fire power to retrieve that sword is Erin. Steig, a Raven sent to watch over Erin to make sure she doesn’t do something stupid before the big trip, starts to get a little attached to the spitfire Erin. Thanks to a little maneuvering from a tricky god, Steig ends up on the big trip with Erin so the two are on the adventure together.
Erin is… I don’t know how you would put it. You could call her mean, but she’s just too damn funny. But then I feel sort of like the friends of the mean, bully girl at school where you laugh at all the mean stuff she does. Erin just can’t stop herself from insulting or hurting other people. For fun. She enjoys every minute of it. All of us that have read the series know what she was like when Kera joined the Crows in The Unleashing. Boy, you do NOT want to be on her bad side. But even on her good side, you need to have thick skin, because she’s not going to be nice. But still, the things she comes up with are so damn funny.
Steig is one of the Ravens and everyone seems to think of him as “poor Steig”. When they find out that Erin has slept with him, everyone is full of sympathy for him. Erin doesn’t understand why, but plays along. Steig is a great character. I think Ravens are supposed to be mean and violent. Kind of like the male equivalent to Crows, but we get to see a side to him that shows that he has a softer side. How he is with his pet Hilda for example nearly made me die of laughter. It was just the picture in my head.
Erin and Steig’s adventure to retrieve the sword is full of surprise obstacles. You don’t really see anymore romance blossoming during the trip than was there before they left. The trip is all about fighting their way to the sword. I was kind of surprised by the dragon. I didn’t think there would be any conversation in that scene, but it turned out there was and it was in perfect Erin style that she communicates with him.
I had a great time with The Unyielding! The action was amazing and the laughs are what I had come to expect from this crowd of Vikings. This book combined all my favorite aspects of a book. The action, adventure, romance and laughs. It was all there to keep me enthralled from start to finish. I don’t know if Call of Crows was meant to be a trilogy or if we are to expect more. The ending here seemed kind of final. Maybe someone knows and will let me know in the comments. I still get confused with all the gods and their roles, so I would like to read some books on Norse mythology to maybe understand them a bit better. However, The Unyielding was still an amazing and fun read and I can’t recommend it, or the Call of Crows series enough!
About Shelly Laurenston
Originally from Long Island, New York, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Shelly Laurenston has resigned herself to West Coast living which involves healthy food, mostly sunny days, and lots of guys not wearing shirts when they really should be. Shelly Laurenston is also The New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author G.A. Aiken, creator of the Dragon Kin series. For more info on G.A.’s dangerously and arrogantly sexy dragons, check out her website at www.gaaiken.com.
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