Absolutely LOVED the cast of The Merciful Crow! I fell in love with the courageous main character and her band of crows! The pacing was spot-on and the story held my attention the entire way through. I currently have it as my staff recommendation at work, and have hand-sold a ton of copies since it’s release. Gearing up for the sequel, my customers are really looking forward to finding out what happens next and I’m right there with them! Highly recommend this book for anyone who loved Bardugo’s Six of Crows, or just looking for a fantasy novel that FEELS different from everything else out there right now.

I liked this book, but didn’t love it. The ideas and world were engrossing and well written. I had a hard time connecting to any of the characters. There was also quite a bit of the plot that left me bored at times. I liked it enough to read the next book, but I hope I can connect more with the characters.

4,5 stars.
It took me a little while to get into this, but it’s a book that quite richly rewards patience.

Author Owen has created a complex and rigid caste system, its different levels named for different species of birds, in which those deemed to be at the bottom — the Crows — are really kicked when they’re down. They are responsible for cleaning up the plague dead of the other castes (as they themselves are the only ones immune), but rather than given the respect they are due for performing such an important and necessary service, they are severely abused and harassed, and seen as less than human.

The world building works, at first, on atmosphere and language, evoking an almost Old West kind of vibe before any of the real High Fantasy stuff is even introduced. Teenage Crow chief-in-training Fie and her people “reckon” and “ken” their way across a largely desert landscape, living on the roads as they are called from town to town. They travel at the behest of a largely unexplained Covenant that sets the terms of the caste system and the place of each caste in it. Each caste is defined by a Birthright — a particular power or affinity. The Crows are the only caste without a Birthright of their own. Instead, their chiefs are able to “steal” the abilities of other castes by using their teeth. Fie can, if she has a Phoenix tooth, control fire; or if she has a Sparrow tooth, cloak herself in a kind of invisibility in order the escape an enemy. While a lot of this is never completely explained, it doesn’t always need to be. It is usually adequate for one’s enjoyment and understanding. Readers’ intelligence is assumed.

The plot here hinges on Fie’s band of Crows being pressed into service to escort a Phoenix prince to safety, after he and his Hawk bodyguard fake their deaths to get away from a usurper queen. The queen has allied herself with a KKK-inspired group of apparently multi-caste Crow haters who go out of their way to hunt and kill Crow bands. The prince has promised that he will defend Crows and promote tolerance if they help him to the throne. And, while parallels to real life are sometimes clear, they don’t rely entirely on race or sexuality, as the majority of the characters, across multiple castes, are POC, and a good many of them are also LGBTQ. So, yay for all of that. This author is clearly interested in social justice and equity, but not in facile answers. (Note: I assume this is not an #ownvoices book in regards to race, at least, but I don’t know anything about the author’s background.)

This would almost be a 5-star read for me, but for the pacing being a bit slow and for some of the overly-glaring holes in the world-building (there’s a difference between assuming readers’ intelligence and having some stuff just not make sense in context, like the ‘Sinner’ stuff in the broad absence of religion beyond the ambiguous Covenant). I also wish that some of Fie’s relationships with other Crows were better drawn before she found herself spun off from them for most of the book, because after that it was all “I must protect my people” where it could have been more personal stakes. Only a few members of the smallish Crow band get names, for instance. There is a similar lack-of-info problem with the bad queen, about whose motives I suspect more will be revealed in Book 2.

But overall this book was surprisingly good, complex, and challenging (given its YA bracketing) and I look forward to reading the next installment. I have grown incredibly fond of Fie, Prince Jasimir, and the Hawk Tavin!

Oh my geez, this was such a cool book! The magic system was dark and unique and the hierarchy of the world was fascinating. While it might have taken me longer to get into the story, once I was in I never wanted to put it down. I loved Fie and her determination and resolve, she was outmatched and scared but she never even thought about quitting. The Crows in general were an awesome creation, needed for a higher calling yet hated for what they provided. Oh, and did I mention the epic romance here too?
Yep, this was just about the perfect fantasy for me, I am not even sure I would call this YA since it had a lot of adult subject matter, so we will just stick with calling it Fantasy.
I know there will be at least one more book set in this dangerous, magical world and I can't wait to escape back to Fie's side.

If you like Six of Crows andAll the Stars and Teeth then you will love Merciful Crow. This was a fun adventure read full of magic and danger.

Unfortunately this book was a DNF for me, I tried to get into it but for some reason it wasn’t grasping my attention. It was really slow and the writing was not my favorite. I hope to maybe try-read some day and actually enjoy it.

The first book in a duology, The Merciful Crow is the story of Fie, a teen girl meant to be a chief in the Crows, in a generally medieval-style kingdom that has castes, the Crows being the lowest of them. The Crows give mercy to those affected by the plague, constantly travelling, with no real home and nothing but scorn from the members of the other castes. When one of their missions reveals that Fie's Pa, the current chief, has helped a royal prince and his lookalike bodyguard escape the palace, they all get caught up in a tangle of palace intrigue that will send them running all over the country trying to get the boys to the safety of their allies. Owen hits all of the expected marks in a fantasy like this: a lot of action, a bit of romance, but I found the world - building to be over complicated, or maybe I just didn't pick up all of the details at the beginning, making it confusing for me later. Review from galley.

Great story with fascinating characters that really pull you in. I loved it and I think students will love it too.

I really wanted to love this one but sadly it just wasn't one for me. I felt like the story was way to bogged down with descriptions that we really didn't need. It made the story feel very wordy and flowery when it was supposed to be serious. The characters were kind of meh and I just really didn't care about them at all. The story itself felt confusing in places from the start and I just didn't care what happened. I wished that this one would have hit it out of the park with me but it just wasn't one that I could get into.

I had such a hard time with this book. I really wanted to love it. I mean look at that amazing over. I found myself being really disappointed.

An intriguing young adult novel set in a fantastical world built around social castes and powerful magic. Each caste wields it's own type of magical power and the Crows have the hardest job of giving mercy to those who have contracted the plague. Always on the road, always at the beck and call of communities that shun them for their work, Fie, a future chieftan, gets the chance to change the way the world looks at Crows. Little does she know, that chance will put her to the test, body and soul, and may redefine what she holds most dear.

REVIEW: The Merciful Crow - Margaret Owen

“Pa was taking too long to cut the boys’ throats.”

With this opening line we are immediately thrust into the world of The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen. Going in to this novel I was afraid that it would be another case of a premise too good to deliver.

I have very rarely been so happy to be wrong!

The first thing I think any review of this book will have to touch on is the world building. From the very first page, the dynamic land of Sabor feels complex and real. A society created around a caste system which is based on a magic system which stems from a religious origin story? Yes please! The true mastery of the world building is that none of these elements overshadowed the other or stepped on each others toes. I’m a huge sucker for unique magic systems so I was pretty much in love from the beginning.

“And at that moment, Fie found what her Chief voice sounded like.”

While this novel can be described as a journey plot, I feel that the true driving force of the story is our main character Fie coming into her own as a young woman and a leader in a world that despises her. Born in the lowest caste, the Crow caste, but with the touch of magic that marks her as a future Chief, Fie has a lot to contend with. And that’s before she rashly makes a wager with a runaway prince for the future of her people.

Yikes.

Fie’s journey to find herself and find her strength was real and engaging and I found myself rooting for her page after page.

The romance is light and didn’t annoy me like a lot of romance in fantasy does. I enjoyed the dynamics between the characters and the tension added to the story rather than pulled focus from the primary storyline.

“Madcap wheezed so hard they, they had to lean on the cart.”

I was also super impressed with the representation. There were queer characters and gender neutral characters and it felt so natural, not like the Token Gays. Owen gave these characters space on the page without belaboring the point or trying to write a queer narrative where it wasn’t needed. I loved that these characters were able to exist in the story without explanation or excuse.

I could ramble for pages and pages about how much I loved this book, which was one of the reasons it took me so long to write this review. I cannot wait for the sequel and am convinced that I will read anything Margaret Owen writes!

One of my favorite things about this book is the incredible world building! The world is sorted by a Caste system that are named after different types of birds - Swan, Crane, Hawk, etc. and each one has a special gift that's sort of their group's specialization. Throughout the story we follow Fie, who is part of the Crow caste and a Chief-in-training. The Crows are the only ones immune to this mysterious plague - the origins of which was not explained but I'm counting on being revealed in the future books - afflicting their world, so they were given the life mission of dealing mercy killings for those infected and on the brink of death, then disposing of the bodies before the disease spread. For being such an important part of their society, the Crows constantly face prejudice and oppression from the other castes and are considered to be the lowest class among all them. Oh, and they also have the ability to utilize a variation of the other castes specializations through their teeth! Honestly, at first I thought the concept was weird but then as I learned more about it throughout the story, it became one of the coolest forms of magic I'd ever seen in a book.

I adore Fie. Period. She's so unapologetically herself, hilariously sassy, fiercely loyal to her family and loved ones, but also has doubts and dreams, is incredibly stubborn, and she just felt so human. I loved seeing her grow and change, and transform into a leader that I could not help but feel proud of at the end. Tavin was another favorite of mine but it took me a while longer to like Jasimir, which didn't really surprise me because it took a long time for he and Fie to get along and I adored her from the start. Haha I did thoroughly enjoy their banter and back-and-forth with Fie, and how their team-up helped with all their character developments. Through Fie, Tavin and Jasimir learned about the plight of the Crows and slowly came to realize that they're people too and don't deserve the abuse and prejudice that's become the norm for them. While Fie learned that, although it wasn't going to be easy (because nothing ever came easy for a Crow) it was possible to change people's beliefs about the Crows and that there was hope for a better future for her people.

There were so many twists and turns; the whole book was pretty much a wild ride right from the beginning and I enjoyed every minute of it. Most of the book was a cat-and-mouse chase between the heroes and the villains, with plenty of close-calls and almost-victories. Although there were some parts that I absolutely was able to predict beforehand, it didn't deter from my enjoyment of the story. In fact, I cheered or fretted every time I was able to correctly guess an upcoming plot twist, often times very audibly.

And, yes, there is romance in this book! And I LIVED FOR IT. I didn't see it coming at first and it took some patience in the first third of the story, but it was so wonderfully done. It's definitely a slow-burn type of romance but it felt so natural and definitely had me squee-ing halfway through. I won't say which characters are involved, but I'll just say that I love their dynamic and that they fit so well together. I can't wait to see how things progress with them in the next book!

Although I eventually really enjoyed the writing style of this book, it was really difficult for me to understand in the beginning. I know there's always that adjustment period in the start of every fantasy book I read, especially if it's a really unique one like The Merciful Crow is. But there were just too many moments where I had to reread sentences - and sometimes whole paragraphs - just to fully understand what was being said or what was happening. Needing to do that so often in the first third of the book took away from my immersion and thus my full enjoyment of the story which is why I couldn't give it a full 5 stars. Good thing I've seen Outlander though because I definitely think that helped with my comprehension of some parts of the dialogue.

I was taken by surprise by how much I ended up loving The Merciful Crow. The world and characters are so rich and well developed, I'm already highly anticipating the sequel - which I NEED ASAP! Definitely, absolutely, 100% recommend this book especially if you're looking for a fantasy with a richly unique world filled with interesting characters, fast-paced action with plenty of twists and turns, and one of the coolest magic systems that I've ever seen.

I absolutely loved the main character, Fie, she made such a great protagonist. Each turn of this story led to greater troubles for the characters, with decisions between what they believed about one another and what they were discovering for themselves. I absolutely love the caste system utilizing types of birds to describe social placement and stereotypes. Love this book as a stand-alone, but would definitely read a sequel!

"Pa was taking too long to cut the boys’ throats."

From the first line of the novel, Margaret Owen plunges readers into a complex world with a unique culture, history and myths, and magic system. Depending on the caste into which they are born, individuals are born into (or without) wealth, class status, and the caste’s gift, if one is a witch. Each caste has its unique culture and workings from the Royal Phoenixes to the Warrior Hawks to the Merciful Crows. While this book highlights the lives of the Crows, it is apparent from the Crows’ interactions with various castes that each caste posses its unique culture.

Through Fie’s third-person point of view, readers track the lives of the Crows, the members of lowest caste, whose job is to deal with those fallen to the Sinners’ Plague. (Which raises the question of how does one determine an individual is a sinner? Food for thought.) The Crows live a colorful life filled with slang and idioms unique to them, an endless journey across the kingdom in search of plague beacons, and a tight-knit familial bond formed through shared hardships on the road. For society despises Crows, despite the pivotal role they play, and Crows are hunted by Oleanders, society’s equivalent of the KKK.

The characters are, for the most part, likable. Fie is a protagonist who uses her head and takes care of her own. She acts much the part of the future chieftain. I love the “family” focus that’s presented through her band and that her father is a reliable figure in her life. That said, there are a couple of instances where her character slips and makes questionable decisions, such as View Spoiler ». Other characters grew on me over the course of the novel as I learned more about them, and they learned more about the world. A few were not compelling, such as a particular member of the band View Spoiler » and the major villain, who we’re told is dangerous but felt bland and is defeated anticlimactically.

The plot is character driven and moves forward while continuously making things more difficult for the protagonists. While there is an apparent romance, it doesn’t overtake the plot, and the way things conclude makes sense. While this first book wraps up its major plot, room is left for further development. I look forward to seeing what Margaret Owen brings us in the next book The Faithless Hawk.

The Merciful Crow is a high-tension read that explores the influence of prejudiced beliefs on the politics and social workings of the world. The world and characters are complex and believable, and the themes of discrimination and the reluctance of those in power to push for real change are relevant to society today.

YES. The world building, the magic system, the dark atmosphere are all so perfect. I adore a good book revolving around castes but this brings the extra poof to the table when it has birds play parts in the caste system. Crows are some of my favorite birds so to see them as lowest on the caste was interesting. The main character is angry(rightfully) and FIERCE. Also, teeth are super creepy to me so adding teeth magic was just AHH but in a totally good and creepy way.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. First, I really wanted to like it. The description sounded like my kind of thing, and I was truly excited. Of course, when I started reading, something just didn't click. Sometimes that happens with books, and that doesn't mean they're bad. Usually I'll keep reading, because even if a book is not your favorite thing ever, doesn't mean you have to hate it, right?

This is where The Merciful Crow got me.

Sometimes I wish my only complaint was that it was slow - and I thought it was, took forever to get to a point where I was actually semi-interested, and it had so muuuuch backstory - but no, there were times where I actively disliked this book.

And then there were times when I really, really liked it.

I know, strange. As it stands, I don 't feel like I'll ever want to re-read this book, but I would absolutely read a sequel. I'm not even sure what that means, or if I've gone insane, but that's where I stand. Maybe I just need more (Yes, I did use that word) to decide, or maybe this book just put a spell of sorts on me. Either way, I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it, and though that probably helps you in no way, shape or form, I still had to say it.

I’m honestly kicking myself over how long it took for me to finally start this book, but I’m SO glad I got around to it! I adore stories in which the characters are thoughtfully developed and multidimensional. Margaret Owen brings a breath of fresh air into the genre, and you can really feel the great care with which this book was written. Can’t wait for the next one.

HOLY CANNOLI! Alright, so, let’s start with this quote right here which made my jaw drop but immediately hooked me into the novel.

“… taking too long to cut the boys’ throats.”

It took all of FIVE seconds to be sucked into this book with this line. And I am sure once I am able to get it into the library it is going to be a popular book with my students. It is invoking, it is raw, it is hardship, it is everything that these students want to see in a book. It is action packed and phenomenal. I cannot believe that it took me this long to get to this book over the summer—to be honest, I got puppies, I know why it took me so long BUT BOY AM I MAD! I wish I had gotten to it much, much sooner.

Owen writes an amazing tale that immediately made me want more. I was salivating as I was running through the first few pages to see what would happen. It was different, it was new, and it was gorgeous. I was thrown into a world filled with chaos and fire which kind of reminds me of the Hunger Games (which I also enjoyed). Coming with a perspective that this would be for grades 7-9, I find it amazing for them. For me? Yes, I still think amazing. But for teachers who do not enjoy YA? Not so much.

However, I still believe this book and the future ones to come after have so much promise. They will take these students from A to Z the minute they open the book and begin reading. The students absolutely love the drama that is present in this type of book and I am sure that it would be a book that doesn’t come back until the end of the year.

I believe that this novel would be a great addition within our library.

** I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and it did not influence my review in any way**

Damn this book was good! Legitimately refreshing and enjoyable to read. It's something I've never read before and I would recommend it to anyone else looking for a breath of fresh air in YA.