The Merciful Crow

ever since i read six of crows, everything with crows intrigues me

Wait, I seriously get to rate and review my own book? Rad. So my completely unbiased review is that it made me laugh, cry, and single-handedly put Ben &amp; Jerry's grandchildren through med school. And that was just from writing the dang thing.<br /><br />Anyway, I hope y'all like it! I made it myself!

you know that moment when youre reading and you lose focus, but your eyes still keep ‘reading,’ so you end up having to backtrack and reread everything you just missed when you zoned out? yeah, that happened to me soooo many times whilst reading this that i lost count. at the halfway point, i started skimming because i just did not have the attention span to fully commit to this. <br /><br />i mean, i really wanted to love this, but other than a slightly unique magic system, theres not much going for this book that would have otherwise kept me engaged. and i think its the dense writing and repetitive nature of the narrative that is so off-putting. also, i think anyone who isnt a native english speaker will have a difficult time with this, just because the writing is just so forced and crowded. <br /><br />sure, its a nice effort for a debut, but this really isnt anything i havent read before. definitely an unpopular opinion, i know. but hey, what can you do? guess i could round up my rating, at least. <br /><br /><b>↠ <i>2.5 stars</i></b>

<b>I came for the crows. I stayed because I had already given up a couple of hours of my life and I might as well finish.</b> <br /><br />That said, I wasn’t too invested in the story or the characters and especially not in the romance.<br /><br />It wasn’t at all memorable. It’s now August and I promise you that by the time the year ends I won’t remember a single thing. I probably won’t even remember the main character’s names.<br /><br />This book starts interestingly enough. Fie’s group of Crows is sent to burn the plague-infected corpses of the crown prince and his bodyguard. Things take a turn when it turns out that the prince and his guard aren’t dead at all, and that they faked their deaths to keep the prince from dying at the hands of his evil stepmother as she plots to sit on the throne.<br /><br />With a premise like that you’d think that the story would be full of adventure and fun and fights and being on the run?<br /><br />Well, yes and no.<br /><br />The book does have an adventure, I guess. It’s just so gosh darn repetitive! It isn’t fun or creative. Its actually all pretty gosh darn boring and I wanted to skip through some parts.<br /><br />I also wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style or the world-building. I had so many questions, but I also didn’t really care to know the answers.<br /><br /><b>Then there were the characters.<br /><br />I didn’t like any of them.<br /><br />None of them were memorable, to me. That said, some were better than others.</b><br /><br />Fie, the MC, was interesting enough but she kind of annoyed me after a while. I could only handle so much of her. Jasimir was the single most annoying character in this book. Every time he opened his mouth I wanted to reach my hand into the book and slap him. He was such a brat. He was spoiled and childish and just plain <i>ugh</i>! If you’re going to make a character like this, at least make him interesting. Sadly, Jasimir wasn’t.<br /><br />Then there was Tavin. He was likable enough. He might have been my favorite here…if only he weren’t so generic. I’ve read his exact character profile too many times before.<br /><br />And the romance between Tavin and Fie? Laughable. Cliche. Rushed. Entirely unbelievable. Mostly, it was utterly predictable and extremely boring.<br /><br />All the other characters, from Fie’s group of Crows to the people hunting them, to the evil queen were all so generic and so forgettable. I can’t possibly tell you anything about any of their personalities.<br /><br />I also wasn’t a fan of the caste system. I’ve seen so many caste systems in YA fantasy lately that they honestly have started to bore me, and this one wasn’t even remotely interesting or new, other than the fact that the castes are named after birds. The power system was also confusing and at points made no sense.<br /><br /><b>Also, this is just cause I’m a hater, but why are the people with fire powers always in charge? </b>You’d think the kings and queens would be the ones who have the power to manipulate people’s minds? Or the ones who are immune to the plague that’s killing everyone? Or literally anyone else? But in every single story, the 'firebenders' are always in charge of things! I guess fire is cool.<br /><br />Also, also, this just made no sense to me personally and it’s the fact that everyone wants to kill the Crows. The Crows are the only people keeping everyone alive. If there are no Crows, everyone in the country would die of the plague. Hunting and killing the Crows put the entire world at risk! It really makes no sense to me that everyone would want to hunt them down. You wouldn't go out of your to kill doctors and nurses, why would anyone kill the Crows?!?!?!?!<br /><br />But again, maybe I’m just hating now.<br /><br /><b>The one thing I will say is there are some racial allegories buried deep somewhere in here. Mostly in the fact that the <i>Crows</i> are being hunted and killed by a group of racist ‘vigilantes’ in white robes, that think they are doing the work of the gods by getting rid of the pests of the world.<br /><br />Make of that what you will.</b><br /><br />All that said, I didn’t hate the book. It wasn’t the worst I’ve read this year. I just probably won’t remember a single thing about it come December. I also have absolutely no interest in the sequel. I probably won't even remember I read thi sby the time the sequel even comes around.<br /><br /><b>Lastly, I am 100% here for this cover. It’s so pretty and so interesting! If only the story lived up to it!</b><br /><br /><i>**I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.**</i>

August Fairyloot Unboxing! Click under the pic to see the Goodies! <br><br><img alt=" " src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1566595902i/28041218._SY540_.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br><a href="https://melissa413readsalot.blogspot.com/2019/08/fairyloot-august-unboxing.html" rel="nofollow noopener">GOODIES LINK</a><br><br>Damn it!<br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1516057085ra/24884180.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Mel ????

<a href="http://readasaurus.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1459070464i/18565492.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br><a href="https://www.instagram.com/neniagram/" rel="nofollow noopener">Instagram</a> || <a href="https://twitter.com/NeniaCampbell" rel="nofollow noopener">Twitter</a> || <a href="https://www.facebook.com/aficionenias/" rel="nofollow noopener">Facebook</a> || <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nenia-Campbell/e/B00AWVRKMS" rel="nofollow noopener">Amazon</a> || <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/mightbeamisprin/" rel="nofollow noopener">Pinterest</a><br><br> <br><b>DNF @ 66%</b> <br><br><br><br>So, I guess the new YA trend isn't just to write books that are derivative, but also to title them in derivative ways, as well? If so, good plan, because THE MERCIFUL CROW is a book that feels like dozens of books I've read before. Caste-based fantasy with an assassination plot gone wrong, and a plot to overthrow an evil ruler with a band of crude-talking underdogs. Yep.<br><br><br><br>I'm extra salty because my luck with books has been <i>amazing </i>lately, and I've absolutely loved some of the YA offerings that 2019 has brought me, but THE MERCIFUL CROW just didn't cut it. The heroine, Fie, was <i>so </i>annoying. I just couldn't stand her attitude or her smugness or her personality. She was the worst. I thought naming all the castes after birds was super lame, and didn't really understand what the point of the caste system was or what they even did (and no, the index didn't help).<br><br><br><br>The writing was great, but nice writing doesn't do anything for me if the world-building is a disorganized mess and I hate the main character. I probably could have forced myself to finish this if I'd really tried, but I didn't want to try. Who names their cat Barf? Oh, and guess what, the Crows have a stupid dance called "Money Dance" when they want to be paid. They actually stomp around and everyone acts like it's sooooo scary. LOL, no. Goodbye, book.<br><br><br><br><i>Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!  </i><br><br><br><br>1 star

CROWS AREN'T MERCIFUL!!! THEY ARE <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-43667481" rel="nofollow noopener">EVIL</a><br /><br />| <a href="https://Goodreads.com/tuckeralmengor" rel="noopener">Goodreads</a> | <a href="https://tuckerthereader.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow noopener">Blog</a> | <a href="https://Pinterest.com/tuckeralmengor" rel="nofollow noopener">Pinterest</a> | <a href="https://linkedin.com/in/tuckeralmengor" rel="nofollow noopener">LinkedIn</a> | <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1JLAbHwaeQ5YwayF3UhjWw" rel="nofollow noopener">YouTube</a> | <a href="https://instagram.com/tuckeralmengor" rel="nofollow noopener">Instagram</a>

this is an amazing story full of action and an unique magic system with dark atmosphere , an amazing female lead who is complex , rude and stands up for what she believe for , she is trown in this adventure with an spoiled prince who I hated in the beginning and loved in the end , tavin who is snarky , brave and fun , this is an amazing world and the magic is so intresting , just pick this up if you love quests, high stakes, adventure with a lot of danger and loves crow's , gave this book of coure 5 stars and recommend this for sure to the fantasy lovers out there !

3.5<br /><br />While this book was a bit slow in places, the details of the caste system and the tooth magic interested me enough to keep reading.<br /><br />Fie was a great character. She is a member of the Crow Caste- the lowest caste there is- tasked with travelling the roads to mercifully kill those who are infected with the plague. Interestingly, this plague never effects the Crows and rarely effects the highest class- the Phoenix’s. <br /><br />One day, her and her group- with her Pa as chief- are summoned to the palace and tasked with mercifully killing and taking the bodies of Prince Jasimir and Tavin (Prince Jasimir’s body double) who have been supposedly infected by the plague. Fie discovers that they have faked their deaths and now the Crow’s are more involved with the politics of court than they ever thought they would be, with awful consequences. Tasked with protecting these 2 men, Fie must travel with them and face and fight many obstacles that stand in the groups way from getting to a safe place. <br /><br />This book piqued my interest as the caste system in this book (all based on birds) was wonderfully detailed. The author focused on how Crows, being the lowest caste, were treated so unfairly by those “higher” than them. The author also detailed all of the threats that exist to a Crow’s life- sudden disappearances, brutal killings, not receiving education or proper jobs, threats to their lives and livelihood. Having Fie as a main character, who is part of the Crow caste, solidified the tough and unfair life of being a Crow, and having no freedom due to who you are born to. <br /><br />However we learn that Fie is a rare type of Crow- she is a Crow witch- which allows her to use the teeth from other castes and this gives her a variety of powers. The detail and explanations of what this tooth magic could do and what it was used for captivated my attention. The use of tooth magic reminded me of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor (which I enjoyed) so I was highly intrigued by this book. <br /><br />This book was overall enjoyable, it piqued my interest with the caste system and tooth magic, Fie was headstrong and a realist, and there was some humour throughout the book.

This is—hands down—the best book I’ve read this year! Fie is an amazing protagonist—the kind you don’t want to mess with. The love interest is extra swoony. The magic is deliciously unique, making me wish I’d come up with it myself.