As a book, "The Faithless Hawk" was Ok. This is the second and final book in the Merciful Crow series which began with the firecracker "The Merciful Crow" and introduced us to the bird-centric tribal/caste world of Fie who, as a member of the lowly and poorly treated Crow caste, is destined to change the world around her. Faithless gives us that change.
At times the story moves quickly, at other times it slogs through. I guess I wasn't much for this story as (for me) there was no real suspense. Everything was way too convenient for the protagonists, and I felt not enough "work" was done to obtain the "change" that Fie and the Crows needed. It just felt shallow. I understand that writing is incredibly difficult, but this felt almost felt like this was completed as a convenience, as I read the story I repeatedly stated "well that's convenient." and did it too many times to make this no better than average. But there is something that saved this... A strength of Ms. Owen was/is her characters and Faithless didn't disappoint here as her characters are fully formed, fun and witty. Great characters can make a story go from poor to good, and from a good book to a great one. While I don't think this is great in any sense of the word, I think that this is a good read and combined with the first volume and (I only just) recommend series to jump into. A three star book. ( )

As I said in my review a few seconds ago about [bc:The Merciful Crow|36483378|The Merciful Crow (The Merciful Crow, #1)|Margaret Owen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541789805l/36483378._SX50_.jpg|58194201], I rarely have the energy these days to sit down and write a review. I wish I could, but sometimes a book comes along so freaking good that it punches you in the face and the heart and your mind and you love it so much that you can't put it down.

I purchased The Faithless Hawk last night and began reading it roughly at midnight and I finished this book by 7 AM today. I did not sleep a wink. I devoured page after page. I cried. I mourned. I punched the air in victory (carefully, so I wouldn't wake my spouse), I got up and paced sometimes during the tense moments and then I cried happily when it ended. Because I didn't want it to end. But I was also glad for the ending.

P.S. SPOILER FREE: The cat is fine in this book.

Recommend?
Yes. YES. YES. ( )

WOW! It has been over a year since I read the first book, but I was not expecting to love this book so much! The plot got so much deeper in this book, and the additional development of Fie's character was so great. I wish we saw a got a bit of an epilogue, but otherwise a great read! ( )

Fantasy at its best!

Compassionate, unsure (until angry and then watch out), gifted, amusing, self deprecating--all words to describe the now new Crow leader, Fie.
Crows--in a world peopled by twelve castes, the Crows are the untouchables, the lowliest of the low. Only they can cleanse villages and cities from the Sinner's Plague. The Crows are immune. They give mercy to the victims, burning away the ravages incurred. This is their duty. They cannot go against the Covenant and ignore the summoning beacon's black plumes of smoke. But is that what the Crows were originally intended to be when the gods created the castes? Fie's god given mission is to reclaim the Crow's lost birthright. Whatever that might be.
What stands in her way? Only a ruthless queen who's enslaved and seduced the realm's King and the powerful into supporting her claim to the throne, buoyed by her terrifying witchcraft abilities. A queen who hates the crows and allows other castes to harass and even kill them. In The Merciful Crow, Fie had challenged the Queen's payment in Fie's role as chief of her Crow band.
When the fires are lit to signal King Surimir's death Fie and her Crows supported by their Hawk escort head for the palace along with Prince Jasimir and Tavin. As the story unfolds many things Fie's taken on faith begin to unravel. Her quest is on the verge of floundering, betrayal a hare's breath away.
I am still working through the magic of the teeth as determined by the Covenant as payment to the Crows. How they then become a powerful artifact is fascinating. When the Queen begins to spread doubt about the very existence of the plague as deadly, her attempts to nullify the role of the Crows brings about unforeseen and grisly results.
A story of greed and power, offset by Fie's determination and doggedness. A fabulous read that ratchets up the tension so fantastically that I was gripped from the get go.
I love this world Owen has created, rich and nuanced that deserves a reread to grapple with the various tenets and social organization depicted.
A great ending to the quest that began with The Merciful Crow!

A Macmillan Children's Group ARC via NetGalley ( )

The Faithless Hawk picks up shortly after the events of The Merciful Crow which was one of my favorite books last year. I am very happy to say that the sequel has lived up to the first one. Fie and her band now have the protection of the Hawks, Jasimir is on his way back to the capital with his aunt’s protection and everything is going as it should. Until the queen announces that the king has died of the sinner’s plague and she successfully handled it without the help of the Crows. Now villages are turning away Crows instead of calling them for aid, plague is spreading and Fie is told her oath is yet unfulfilled. She will have to go back to the palace and help Jasimir without being found out by Rhusana.

I loved this book. Fie is one of my favorite heroines and both her inner strength and bone magic powers grow in this book. My favorite book cat, Barf, gets to play a bigger role in this story as well. We also get to meet some new characters as well as get to see more of some minor characters from the first book. The world building really expands and I loved finding out more about the history of Sobor. Without spoiling anything, I also loved looking back at the way different details added up at the end of the story. I highly recommend this duology! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC ( )