[Review] The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen

The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen

Series: The Merciful Crow #1

Rating: 3 stars

July 30th 2019

Goodreads Synopsis:

A future chieftain.
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 book was so hyped up on my TL, but then it ended up being rather disappointing.

Fie is part of the Crow caste, which has the ability to steal magic from other castes. It's the teeth of the dead that allow them to use such magic. The Crows are sent to collect the bodies of Crown Prince Jasimir and his bodyguard Tavin, but they may have gotten more than what they bargained for...


This was one of those books that had so much detail and description without providing any substance to the worldbuilding. I barely understand how the magic system works. Each caste has a different type of magic, and the Crows can steal this magic through teeth. But it doesn't work for long/has a certain kind of duration/limitation.

And even with the characters, I couldn't bring myself to care about them. I was struggling to remember who is who because there are a lot of characters and so much is happening. Beyond Fie, the Prince, and Tavin, everyone else just blurred and meddled together in my mind.

In terms of a plot - what plot? Yes, Fie is leading Tavin and the Prince to some fort, but to what end? There were so many ends that didn't seem to be reached or tied up. There was a lot of wandering, and it dragged on and on.

I was just reading for the sake of finishing this book. I wish I could have liked this better.