The Unyielding (Call of Crows, #3)

by Shelly Laurenston

“When it comes to combining offbeat humor and mayhem, it is tough to beat Laurenston.” –RT Book Review

“If you enjoy outrageous scenarios, witty banter, and hilariously over-the-top characters, look no further than Shelly Laurenston’s Call of Crows series.” —SmexyBooks, Best Books of the Year

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…

• ISBN10: 1617735132
• ISBN13: 9781617735134
• Publish Date: 28 March 2017
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Out of Print: 28 April 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Kensington Publishing
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 416
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/isbn/9781617735134

Reviews

[nitzan_schwarz]

Not gonna lie, these books are so much fun to me. They're totally crazy and so dysfunctional and I love every second of it!

I just wish we had focused more on our couple... I felt like for the first 40% of the novel, Erin and Steig were in one scene out of five, and I was really interested in their story. I didn't really care to see scenes about the way planning tbh lol

There are some characters here that desperately need a story of their own, and I wonder about the crossover option between this series and the shifter. We know it's set in the same world, and now there are some shifter characters that are bigger part of this series sooo

[Melanie]

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

4.5 stars

I LOVE this series. There are so many things about it that I love. I love the characters. They are all unique. Some have issues and others, not so much. I love their personalities and how they got where they are. I love this world with the Norse mythologies. I love seeing the gods and goddesses playing their games with the characters in the books. Mostly, I love the humor. I will say that a book that can make me laugh is always a plus and this series has it in spades. To be truthful, I could expand and say that this author has it is spades. I love this series, her Pride series and her Dragon Kin series under the name G.A. Aiken. There is also the Magnus Pack series, which is tied to the Pride series (I don’t remember which is the spin off of what or what order they came in). Anyway, I love this author.

The Crows are not liked by the other Viking groups. They are not Vikings but are created by the Norse goddess Skuld from people from all walks of like that she deems worthy. Originally, the Crows were created from the slaves of the Vikings, so they have a bit of grudge and the others see them as lesser. This story goes into that a lot. Several of the characters refer to them by simply calling them “slave”. Mostly, this is from gods, but hey, that would piss me off too.

Loki is trying to get out and start Ragnarök. There is one Crow who can stop him, Erin Amsel. The problem is that, she is crazy. She makes it her life’s mission to drive people crazy. Every god and goddess has it out for her for one reason or another (my favorite in that she juggled Idun’s golden apples). She also has a tendency to say “(S)he started it.” It doesn’t matter what you accuse her of, someone else started. She usually finishes it.

Stieg Engstrom is a Raven. He’s never been a fan of Erin. She annoys him, but then everyone annoys him (I can relate sometimes). He’s also pretty much always angry. He’s know as “Angriest Viking Ever.” He will go and help Erin to help prevent the end of the world. While her, he finds that she isn’t as bad as he thought.

This is by far my favorite of the Call of the Crows books so far (I’m really hoping there will be more, though I haven’t heard about another yet. *pleads for more books*). While the romance in this series isn’t it’s strongest feature, it doesn’t leave you wanting. There is a lot of action in this series. And the best part is the humor. The interaction between the developing couple, the side characters, the gods/goddesses, they are all great. Shelly Laurenston is a master at hilarious dialogue. (On a side note, if you haven’t tried her Dragon Kin series written as G.A. Aiken, I highly recommend it).

I can’t believe I’m about to walk a goat. Is this my life now? Goat walking?

“Your mother called” Erin froze, her eyes closing.
“She called me here?”
“Yeah. They tried you on your cell of course, but it kept going to voicemail.”
“Any idea how she got this number?”
“I guess one of the Crows gave it to her.”
“Uh-huh.” Erin faced him again. “What did you two talk about?”
“She said her and your father would be visiting in about two weeks. They were going to be staying at a hotel. But I said they could stay here.”
“Here? With you?”
“With us.”
“We’re an ‘us?”
“As far as your mother is concerned, we’re practically married.”
“How many times have you talked to her while I was asleep?”
“Just a few times”
“A few?” Erin let out a breath. “Okay.”
“I like her.”
“I don’t care.”
“She says likes me too. She says I sound like a ‘very nice boy’.”
“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”
“Just a little”
“I shoulda let the world burn.” she muttered.

Narration
I love the narration of this series. I love Johnanna Parker. She’s done a lot of the narration for Shelly Laurenson (not to mention several other series that I love). She is great with male and female voices. I’ve heard her do a lot of different accents and I love them all. She is amazing at brings out the humor in a story (which Shelly Laurenston books have in full). If you haven’t given Johnanna Parker a try, I highly recommend her.

**I like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

[littleread1]

i just really really enjoy these books.