The Merciful Crow (The Merciful Crow, #1)

by Margaret Owen

With clever magic, a star-crossed romance, and lethal stakes, The Merciful Crow is a YA fantasy debut perfect for fans of Sabaa Tahir, Leigh Bardugo, and Kendare Blake.

As a future chieftain of the Crow caste, sixteen-year-old Fie abides by one rule: Look after your own. Her clan of undertakers and mercy-killers takes more abuse than coin, but when her family is called to collect royal dead, she’s hoping they’ll find the payout of a lifetime. Instead, they find a still-living crown prince, his cunning bodyguard, and a common foe: a ruthless usurper queen who wants them all dead.

Fie agrees to smuggle the prince across the nation in exchange for her people's safety. But with the queen’s brutal hunters on their tail, she's forced to make the sacrifices that define a true leader.

• ISBN10: 1250250943
• ISBN13: 9781250250940
• Publish Date: 1 August 2020 (first published 30 July 2019)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 5 April 2024
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Square Fish
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[thepunktheory]

Full review on my blog!

Although I quite enjoyed the novel and the idea behind it, I have a few things to criticize. So, let's start with those.
First of all, the language. I get that Owen used a certain choice of words to support the world-building and the vibe of the book but she ended up repeating the same words and phrases so often I got more and more annoyed by the page. I kept thinking if she writes "betwixt" or "you ken me" one more time, I will scream.

Furthermore, why does there always have to be a romance angle? Just once I would like to read a young adult book that can get by without one. By the way, it's not important for the story and I didn't feel like it furthered the plot in any way, so why? Why???
While I liked the world building that going on and the caste system introduced, I found myself a little bored at times. There was more to be explored about the different castes but instead the book featured several repetitive moments without answering many of the questions I had.
This all sounds pretty negative so far, but the book wasn't that bad. The idea behind the book is interesting but somehow the novel failed to hold my interest after initially sparking it. I was curious how this would all end but at the same time kept putting the book down.

[Laurie]

This has been one of my most anticipated books of the year, but unfortunately I have been very disappointed. Despite the fact that it’s not bad and that the entire magical system and fantasy setting is unique, it was just not for me. I couldn’t get sucked into the story or bond with any of the characters. For me it felt a little dragging and boring because they have been traveling like 95% of the book. I have a feeling that nothing much happened and that everything will be epic in the next book which I am not going to read because I didn’t enjoy this one. Again, it’s not bad, but just not for me.

[lauriesbookshelf]

This has been one of my most anticipated books of the year, but unfortunately I have been very disappointed. Despite the fact that it’s not bad and that the entire magical system and fantasy setting is unique, it was just not for me. I couldn’t get sucked into the story or bond with any of the characters. For me it felt a little dragging and boring because they have been traveling like 95% of the book. I have a feeling that nothing much happened and that everything will be epic in the next book which I am not going to read because I didn’t enjoy this one. Again, it’s not bad, but just not for me.

[kalventure]

Narrative style: third person | Perspective(s): Single (Fie)

I devoured this debut fantasy novel in almost one sitting. I adored the world Owen crafted, the unique magic system, and the characters so much that I pre-ordered a finished copy when I was only 20% into my eARC! If you are a fan of rich fantasy worlds with complex politics, an adorable cat with a fantastic name, and an unlikely group bound together to maybe forge something better, The Merciful Crow is for you.

"Crows had one rule. Look after your own."

The world-building is vast and intricate, sucking you in right away into the narrative. You are dropped right into the action with the Crows answering a Plague beacon at the palace, which I love. The exposition is doled out slowly to situate the reader in the world and it never felt like an info-dump to me. As I've mentioned before, I have the memory of a goldfish and never re-read a synopsis before reading, which makes for some fun surprises while reading the beginning! Surprise! These lordlings aren't dead! But had I read the synopsis I would have known this lolol

Crows are of the lowest caste in Sabor. They are hated but also needed as the only ones immune to the Sinner's Plague, giving merciful deaths to plague victims in exchange for payment. Their duty is to roam the land and go where they are needed, answering to Plague Beacons and steering clear of the Oleander Gentry who hunt them in the night.

"By every dead damned god, Fie was sick of bartering for her right to exist."

Hereditary magic systems have inherent classist undertones, and I appreciated that the structure of society in Sabor and their belief system reinforced and explored that concept. Power is kept within certain lines, and religion keeps the less fortunate as have-nots.

"It was said that every crow had fouled up something grand in their past lives, bad enough for the Covenant to strike them down with plague and boot them directly to a life of atonement in containing the disease."

The world of Sabor is a complex system of castes, dead gods, Birthrights and witches. You will learn the most about the Crow caste because the story is told in Fie's POV, but there is a caste legend at the beginning of the book which will definitely help you keep all of the abilities straight while you read. The one thing I am a little confused about is the witch component to magic; Crow witches make sense because Crows do not have a Birthright but rather can use the magic of others through bones and teeth. But does that mean that only witches in the castes have magic? If so, what is the point of the caste system? Like Jas legit was useless but he is of the Phoenix caste. Is the fact that he can't be harmed by fire his birthright? Like are all Pigeons a little lucky, but witches more so?

The Merciful Crow is plotted incredibly well with excellent pacing, this first book reading much like the first act of a play. You can tell that Owen has thought about the overall storyline and tightly built the narrative so that it flows well. This is a book where I was equally invested in the plot and characters. I found it hard to put the book down, and only stopped because my eyes failed me!

I love our Chiefling, Hawk, and Prince so much. I really enjoy adventure stories with unlikely alliances, so it is as if this trio was written for me. Fie is strong and wants to protect her band at all costs, thinking not of herself but the good of her people. But she isn't perfect either, she is stubborn and prone to firey acts of problem-solving. I adored spending this book inside of her head, learning about her hopes and fears, and how she interacts within a world that looks down on her. Fie is a solid main character, but she doesn't steal the show - each of the other characters are just as fleshed out and three-dimensional as she is.

"Jasimir flinched. 'She's got a point.'
'She usually does,' Tavin said under his breath.
'She's right here,' Fie snaped."

I honestly loved Tavin from his first line, I definitely have a type and that type is a sarcastic bodyguard. Jas is a character that I struggled with at first because he felt bland to me, and then a selfish prince, but he opens up through the story and comes to life. I enjoyed his character growth the most and by the end, I not only warmed up to him but was rooting for him. Each of the characters have their own hopes and dreams, and I want to protect each of them.

For fans of slow burn romance, you will be quite pleased with the romance in this one! I loved it all. The tension. The banter. The will-they-won't-they? It felt like a natural progression to me and not at all forced, and I really appreciated that. (Even though I have a few KISS THEM notes in my eARC.) Even though this romance hit the spot, it also doesn't take over the whole narrative.

"Saborian law allows everyone to bear steel."
"And that's well and fine, but the law doesn't weep much for Crows."

Through their journey with the Crows, Jas and Tavin experience the reality of life outside of the palace walls, that what is promised does not apply to the lowest groups. I liked watching them struggle to reconcile reality with their idealism and the growth they had when confronted with the truth.

I am impressed the book has a lot of casual representation that I want to see more often in fantasy. The world is casually gay, the romance features consent, and the book addresses the reality of being a person with ovaries. Fie asks for some laceroot seed to make the long journey more bearable by stopping her period. "'I've no time for bleeding' [...] enough to keep this moon's bleeding at bay a few weeks."

"The gods weep for every breath we allow a crow to take! And there will be no peace, no purity, until this blight is purged from our land!"

At its root, this is a book about inequality. I love that it is two, upper-caste men with privilege who are being taught the truth of the world by a woman. They slowly see the world through the eyes of the less fortunate. The oath was created out of mutual need, but will the prince hold his end of the bargain? Does he even care beyond the ramifications of breaking the oath?

Overall, I really enjoyed The Merciful Crow and cannot wait for the next book! I loved that while we didn't end on a cliffhanger, I am still very invested in the journey for these characters and what happens next. The book handles issues of inequality while also depicting how insidious and intertwined into society it often is. There isn't an easy fix but that doesn't snuff out hope for something better. I highly recommend this book to people who love fantasy which explores inequality, hope, and sacrifice as well as vast new worlds.

CONTENT WARNINGS: animals in danger - see spoiler for page breakdown but no animal death (there is a scene pgs 85 - 87 where a cat is trapped in a fire, but is rescued), blood, caste system, death, violence
REPRESENTATION: LGBTQIAP+ (gay, pansexual, nonbinary characters), periods

Many thanks to Henry Holt for providing me with an eARC via Edelweiss for my honest review. Quotations are taken from an uncorrected proof and are subject to change in final publication.

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11/9/18: Cover reveal and excerpt have me hyped like WHAAAT

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight .
2.5*

Sometimes I read bird books and think "Shannon, you are so silly for avoiding birds!" but this is not that book. Fine, look, in fairness, I think it might be a case of "it's not you, it's me"? Because I liked the characters quite a lot, and in theory, I even liked the world. But I was just so lost and overwhelmed by all the different types of powers, and the hierarchy of the society, and who was using whose teeth for what reason.

Yeah, that's a real thing here! Teeth! Of the dead, that help... Idk, create better magic? I wasn't lying when I said I was kind of confused, okay? And while I did genuinely care about what happened to the characters, it was a real slog getting there. Which isn't to say the writing was bad; it wasn't. Nor was the world, just... it was a lot. And sometimes I don't want to work that hard while reading. So I might have skimmed in the middle. A lot.

I honestly might try this one again, if I hear good things about the sequel. Because I wanted to love it, and there were parts of it I enjoyed. But as it stands, I was kind of bored and definitely frustrated, so here we are.

Also, birds. So many birds.

Bottom Line: Definitely a unique world with a great cast of characters, I struggled to become immersed in the world and plot.