The Merciful Crow

Initial Thoughts:I have a lot of thoughts. This book was amazing and I loved everything about it. I'm so glad I was able to read it early and I really love this world and these characters.

This book was a fantastic debut fantasy novel set in a world that was so rich and imaginative, even the magic system was incredibly unique and I loved learning more about it. This book follows what I like to call our trio of characters, Fie, Tavin, and Jasimir. They meet early on in the book and are thrust together on a crazy journey to save the kingdom. Each one is from a different caste which means they all have different powers and different ranks in society. Fie's caste was fascinating to me, between the teeth magic, the protection from the plague, and the mercy kills I feel like in some ways even though they are believed to be the scum of the empire, they are truly the most powerful, especially when equipped with teeth.

While the book is told from Fie's POV, I still felt that I got to know each character really well. While this book has some standard YA fantasy tropes in it such as the “peasant” fighting for rights within a kingdom, I felt Margaret Owen did a great job of making the story her own and adding her own twists. This book had so many ups and downs with the characters and I truly felt that each character grew and became a better person throughout the story, yes they still have their moments where I want to just bash them over the head at their idiocy. I really cannot wait to see how Margaret Owen wraps up this duology in the Faithless Hawk, and I also think that could be hinting at the sequel being told from Tavin's POV. I would absolutely love that so much. He was such a complex character and I really appreciated how his story unfolded beyond simply being the double for Jasimir. I also appreciated the complexity of Jasimir's character as the crown prince as well as his sexual orientation. I felt this was very natural and was not harped on. It was mentioned multiple times but always for a purpose other than adding diversity to the book. I appreciated how it was woven into his character rather than being a main point of the story.

I focused a lot of this review on the main trio in the book, but even the side characters were unique and I felt like I truly knew them. The entire clan that Fie lives and travels with were hilarious. I loved the banter between the Crows and all the different character's traits and personalities. This book also has a nice ending, even if I still want more! Margaret chose not to follow in the footsteps of many YA authors and there is no cliffhanger in this book. It is a complete part in the two-part series. One final thing I will say is that Barf must be protected (I'm not even a cat person, but I loved the cat in this book).

Thanks to the publisher and edelweiss for a copy of the book