The Merciful Crow

I would give 3.5 stars if possible. I admired the world-building, but I didn't enjoy the world. The bird-themed culture is interesting, but the violence between the castes is pronounced. Given the world, it makes some sense, but there's not much in the way of story or character connection to balance it out. The main character spends most of the book being very angry, and while she certainly has reason to be mad, her attitude meant that the romance didn't land for me (felt a bit odd and sudden) and the character who I think was supposed to be genuinely funny came across as overly suspicious.

Overall the book is alright, but bloody for my personal taste. I probably won't read the next one, but I might recommend it to folks who enjoy gritty fantasy.