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In the magical world of “The Merciful Crow,” by Margaret Owen, there are kingdoms, drama and killers. Fie is the daughter of the chief crow. She has one goal in life, to take her father's place when he is ready.
Fie only knows the way of a crow and it’s not an easy one. Crows are constantly looked down upon due to their mercy killings and are hunted day and night by the thrones’ assassins. However, all this changes when the crows are charged with getting rid of some royal dead.
The young prince and his trusty bodyguard are dead. This is a significant opportunity for the crows with a huge payout. Fie takes the deal without hesitation.
What she is not expecting is that Prince Jasimir and his crafty guard Tavin faked their deaths. Now Fie has to make a deadly deal with the young prince and guard to save her own people.
Together these three will have to put their differences aside to fight the ever wicked throne and outrun the queen’s persistent mercenaries. As Rhusana and her deadly fighter loom closer, the unlikely trio must decide what they’ll sacrifice to save their own.
What happens when a feisty chef girl, a bumbling prince and an over-cunning bodyguard get together? The story of a lifetime that's what. This book was definitely unique. It felt so different from the recent books I've read, was a beautiful refresher. The world the characters inhibit is set up like a monarchy of “birds.” The phenoxies are at the top and the crows are at the bottom. The story showed life through the crows’ eyes and how hard it is for them, but how strong and independent they become.
It was also cool to see the family relationships the crows enjoyed, especially between Fie and her father. There's also an amazing love interest that I can’t spoil, and the ending was really good too, but left a lot unresolved.
Though I wasn’t hanging off the cliff at the conclusion of “The Merciful Crow,” I still anxiously await its follow up fantasy, “The Faithless Hawk,” due to publish in mid-August.