The Faithless Hawk (The Merciful Crow #2) by Margaret Owen - Starting September 9, 2020

[Jenn]

Kings become outcasts and lovers become foes in the thrilling sequel to Margaret Owen's The Merciful Crow.

As the new chieftain of the Crows, Fie knows better than to expect a royal to keep his word. Still she’s hopeful that Prince Jasimir will fulfill his oath to protect her fellow Crows. But then black smoke fills the sky, signaling the death of King Surimir and the beginning of Queen Rhusana's merciless bid for the throne.

With the witch queen using the deadly plague to unite the nation of Sabor against Crows—and add numbers to her monstrous army—Fie and her band are forced to go into hiding, leaving the country to be ravaged by the plague. However, they’re all running out of time before the Crows starve in exile and Sabor is lost forever.

A desperate Fie calls on old allies to help take Rhusana down from within her own walls. But inside the royal palace, the only difference between a conqueror and a thief is an army. To survive, Fie must unravel not only Rhusana’s plot, but ancient secrets of the Crows—secrets that could save her people, or set the world ablaze.

[Brinley]

Chapter 1
(view spoiler)[ It always surprises me how badly they treat the Crows, considering how many lives they save every time they kill one of the plague victims. Like, they could just leave and let everyone else die, putting themselves in charge. Thinking about that, it doesn't make much sense as to why they just don't threaten the other castes with plague. That girl was a total brat (hide spoiler)]

[Brinley]

Up to Chapter 5
(view spoiler)[ I have to say, I'm happy that he took all of the teeth. She way getting way too reliant on them, and using them in situations in which they weren't necessary, which wouldvebjustbbrought more oleanders onto her group. (hide spoiler)]

[Brinley]

End of part 1
(view spoiler)[ Tavins betrayal is a bit hard to buy. Especially after he's seen and had all the conversations about how the queen and oleanders have tried to kill the crows. (hide spoiler)]

[Brinley]

Up to part three
(view spoiler)[ Ever since we had learned that the crows had lost their birthright, I suspected that they used to be at the top, so not a huge surprise.

The author is going to have to work super hard if she wants to redeem Tavin. I don't care that he wants her back, he was still attempting to get with another girl just to forget her. And he's like, betraying everyone at the moment (hide spoiler)]

[Brinley]

Finished
(view spoiler)[ As I expected, I liked this one a lot better than the first. I think having a plot that was something other than a journey really helped. I still don't completely buy Tavin's act, I think he just went a bit far when he was pretending to support the queen. I kind of wish that Fie wasn't one of the gods chosen, that she was just an ordinary crow who had to fight for her rights, but oh well. I still don't completely understand every caste and their powers, but whatever (hide spoiler)]

[Shreya]

Just finished all my work, starting now

[Shreya]

Brinley wrote: "Chapter 1
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[Yeah they could try and at least be respectful to them because without them many more of them would have died. (hide spoiler)]

[Shreya]

Brinley wrote: "Up to Chapter 5
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[Yeah she was using them when she didn't really need them. Her past seems really interesting and I want to know what the crows powers are. (hide spoiler)]

[Shreya]

Chapter 7
(view spoiler)[Why do they actually hate the crows so much. There is literally no reason for them to actually to be so rude to them when they are the ones saving their lives. (hide spoiler)]

[Brinley]

Shreya wrote: "Chapter 7
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ There really wasn't. I'm more confused as to why the crows didn't just say "screw you, I'm out". There was no point in staying around when they were hunted for fun. They could've just hauled a plague victim with them, and taken over the kingdom if they wanted, but no, they were content to be the lowest caste (hide spoiler)]

[Shreya]

Brinley wrote: "End of part 1
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[Yeah I am pretty sure he is gonna turn out to be a double agent. (hide spoiler)]

[Shreya]

Chapter 14
(view spoiler)[I have a theory that Fei will turn out to have been one of the phoenixes in one of her past lives and she has been trying to fix something for a while now. (hide spoiler)]

[Shreya]

End of part 2
(view spoiler)[Oh I was right about her used to being a phoenix. The details weren't really clear but I think she swore to leave the palace and travel with the crows but didn't keep that promise. (hide spoiler)]

[Shreya]

Brinley wrote: "Up to part three
Ever since we had learned that the crows had lost their birthright, I suspected that they used to be at the top, so not a huge surprise.

The author is going to have to work sup..."

(view spoiler)[It makes sense that the crows would be on top because they are the only ones that can actually stop the plague.

Tavin better really have a good reason for this. He literally has no reason to be taking it this far with someone else if he is just pretending to be on the other side. (hide spoiler)]

[Shreya]

Finished
(view spoiler)[It took me a while but I figured out that Tavin knew who Fie was along because he could sense the cast of people in their blood before it was revealed. I liked the ending and how it was possible for them to save the plague victims and reclaim their blood right. (hide spoiler)]

[Shreya]

Brinley wrote: "Finished
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[Yeah I preferred the plot of hiding in the castle to the journey in the first one. Yeah I get why that would have been nicer but I feel like it would have made the ending harder to pull off because if she wasn't special then she wouldn't have access to past information and there would have been no reason for the curse in the first place. They kept saying there were twelve casts but I only really know that 6 or 7 of them even are and what they do. A lot of the others just weren't really that important to the story. (hide spoiler)]

[Brinley]

Shreya wrote: "Brinley wrote: "Finished
[spoilers removed]"

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Yah, you have a point, I guess I'm just tired of reading about "special" characters. (I've been binging fantasy for over a month now) I'm with you, I can name like six castes confidently, but after that, I'm lost. I'm still kind of confused as to what the crows birthright actually is, mercy didn't do it for me, especially because it's what landed them in their mess anyway. (hide spoiler)]

[Shreya]

Brinley wrote: "Shreya wrote: "Brinley wrote: "Finished
[spoilers removed]"

[spoilers removed]"

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[I think the difference is that their mercy before was just killing the victims but now they can turn anyone into a crow. (hide spoiler)]

[Brinley]

Shreya wrote: "Brinley wrote: "Shreya wrote: "Brinley wrote: "Finished
[spoilers removed]"

[spoilers removed]"

[spoilers removed]"

[spoilers removed]"
Oh yeah, i forgot about that