Welcome back to The Bibliophagist! I am so excited to be a part of the blog tour hosted by Fantastic Flying Book Club. Yes, this is late, I had a lot going on in my personal life so needless to say…for the first time ever, I missed a post. I have been looking forward to reading this book for a while now. After my husband braved the line for this at Bookcon and told me about the fights to get it, I knew that it was supposed to be good but how good…I didn’t know.
Don’t forget to check out all the other great posts for the tour here.
The Merciful Crow (The Merciful Crow #1) 
Author: Margaret Owen
Published: July 30th, 2019
Publisher: Henry Holt
Book Length: 384 Pages
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
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Buy the book: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository (Use my referral ID: TheBibliophagist)
Disclaimer: I received a NetGalley copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion and review.
Fie abides by one rule: look after your own. Her Crow caste of undertakers and mercy-killers takes more abuse than coin, but when they’re called to collect royal dead, she’s hoping they’ll find the payout of a lifetime.
A fugitive prince
When Crown Prince Jasimir turns out to have faked his death, Fie’s ready to cut her losses—and perhaps his throat. But he offers a wager that she can’t refuse: protect him from a ruthless queen, and he’ll protect the Crows when he reigns.
A too-cunning bodyguard
Hawk warrior Tavin has always put Jas’s life before his, magically assuming the prince’s appearance and shadowing his every step. But what happens when Tavin begins to want something to call his own?
This cover is beautifully detailed! I love the colors being on the white background, it really makes them stick out and catch your eye as you walk by it. Afterall, the cover is what initially grabs our attention…right?
About the Author
She now spends her days wrestling disgruntled characters onto the page and negotiating a long-term hostage situation with her two monstrous cats. (There is surprisingly little difference between the two.)
Review
Sometimes a super hyped book is actually a flop when I begin reading it, meaning I just can’t really get into it at all. Thankfully, this was not the case here! This book grabbed my attention from the start and boy oh boy, it did not want to let go of me.
I think the most fascinating thing about this book was the caste system. Each caste is centered around a different bird…birds, whoever thought of such a unique thing…Margaret did! Crows are the lowest caste (mistakenly because crows are highly intelligent but I see how most people see them as lowly birds) and phoenixes are the highest. This book shows us the crow’s perspective, through the eyes of the mercy killers. They are the only caste immune to the Sinner’s Plague. If one contracted this plague, it was a death sentence but at least the crows could help them die mercifully. As soon as I heard this, I thought of the old plague doctors!
If the bird castes weren’t enough…the crow caste is able to drain power from teeth…yep you read that right! This author continues to throw unique twists our way and I’m not sure about you but I love it!
The author created the perfect YA book, talking about periods and even consent with sex. They were not afraid to bring us a character so real that I wished she was truly my friend. I was in awe that this was a debut novel, it checks all the boxes for must-haves in a YA fantasy novel.
Fie: Talk about a brave female lead character!! Fie is everything I could ask for. I loved her, even more, because she constantly doubts herself but always stands her ground and remains strong. She pushes herself time and time again, over and over…sacrificing herself for those who need her but who never cared about her or her caste until they were needed. Rather than shoving their disrespect in their faces, she stands up and does the right thing.
I’d talk about more but Fie was the one that really stuch with me, makes sense because she is the main character.
I devoured this book. The world-building is some of the best I have seen in a new release this year. It is diverse and brings so much to the table. The author uses details to bring is right alongside the characters as we see disasters and betrayal thrown at then time and time again. The only thing I felt could have been improved was a little on the back story. I want to know more about this plague…when did it begin and why is it still around?
The Merciful Crow brings to us an amazing story that will suck you in from the start. One with realistic characters who struggle with problems many young adults will as they age. This is the reason this is the ideal YA fantasy book. Characters are faced with betrayal and strength but show nothing but bravery and strength. This is a book that I feel perfectly represents the YA fantasy genre and I really am in awe that this is the author’s debut novel. It truly is unique and it is bound to be unforgettable in the eyes of many readers.
Get your copy now!!
What do you think? Is this book something you’d enjoy to read? Have you read it, what did you think?
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