Review – The Battle of Medicine Rocks (The Crystal Calamity, Book 2) by Rachel Aaron (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Length: 466 pages
Publisher: Aaron/Bach
Release Date: February 1, 2023
ASIN: B0BQ8L6C2M
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in The Crystal Calamity series
Source: Borrowed eBook from Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 5/5 stars
“When Mary Good Crow came out of the crystal into the arms of her sister, the last thing she wanted was another fight. But war is coming to the Great Plains. With crystal on their side, the Lakota are poised to annihilate the town of Medicine Rocks, forcing Mary to choose between the friends she’s finally found and the family she’s always longed for.
When Rel Reiner accepted her father’s dark bargain to save Josie and the others, the last thing she expected was to survive. But there’s more to the Reiner’s magic than ghosts and bones. Magic Rel will have to embrace if she ever wants to walk in her own skin again.
When Josie Price left the crystal mines one step ahead of death, the last thing she intended to do was quit. But the wolves in town are circling, and with the crystal going crazy and the cavalry riding to war, just finding a way to protect her people might cost her everything she came to Montana to build.
Three women divided by a war none of them wants. But Josie, Mary, and Rel have always been strongest together, and with the world’s magical future on the line, “together” might be the only way anyone survives.”
Series Info/Source: This is the second book in The Crystal Calamity trilogy. I borrowed this on ebook through Kindle Unlimited to read.
Thoughts: This book does an excellent job of continuing the story started in the first book. We continue to follow Mary Good Crow, Josie, and Rel as they struggle to make a living and survive the events unfolding in Medicine Rocks.
I continue to really enjoy the three women whose viewpoint we read from. They are all very different but also very determined to both make a living and survive the events of Medicine Rocks. In this book Mary Good Crow finds out a lot about both her past and her magic. Rel is forced to deal with her necromancer father. Josie is trying her best to save both Medicine Rock and realize her ambitions to make her uncle’s mining company successful again. All of the characters are complex and undergo quite a bit of character development and growth throughout the story.
There is a lot of intriguing world-building and magic around the crystals in the area and around what the crystals’ Songs mean. I found some of the crystal induced mutations and magic fascinating. There is quite a bit of action as well and the story moves at a good pace. There are definitely some politics in here too around the Natives and the settlers.
The book is easy to read and engaging and I really enjoyed it a lot.
My Summary (5/5): Overall I really loved this continuation of the Crystal Calamity series. I continued to enjoy the characters but also loved that we get more detail and world-building around the crystals and their magic. I would recommend to those who are intrigued by western fantasies and enjoy complex characters with some fun magical cave adventures.
