Title: The Faithless Hawk
Author: Margaret Owen
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
Publication date: August 18, 2020
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Summary
Fie has taken her place as the new chief of the Crows, hoping that Prince Jasimir will keep his word and protect the Crows. But when the black smoke billows for the King’s death, Fie and her friends have to scramble to keep Queen Rhusana from the crown. After all, if she gets the crown, it likely means the end of the Crows forever.
Using the plague to unite Sabor against the Crows, Fie and her crew scramble into hiding. However, their hiding place will only last so long before they run out of supplies. In order to finally be accepted into Sabor, Fie and her allies have to figure out how to overthrow the queen before it’s too late. Both the future of their caste and their country lies in the hands of Fie.
Review: The Faithless Hawk
Thanks to Henry Holt & Co for the advanced copy of this book to review! I’m today’s stop on the promotional blog tour for the book’s release this week. I read The Merciful Crow last summer thanks to an ARC that I got at BookCon. So, I was so happy to get a copy of this one! I am also happy to say that it definitely didn’t disappoint.
However, I will say that I wish I had re-read The Merciful Crow before jumping into this one. It picks up right where the last book left off and I had to shake the cobwebs out to figure out what was going on. This meant that the beginning was a bit slow going for me, re-orienting myself to this world and these characters.
After that, though, it was not! Probably about a third of the way into the book, I couldn’t put it down. Owen expands on the magic system she’d created in the first book, and in a good way. Fie learns more about her magic, and we learn more about magic in the history of Sabor. Plus, the stakes are risen and there are a lot of mentions of cats. Jasimir is a cat-master at one point and it is fantastic. I loved it.
Unfortunately, I felt the plot twist included was slightly predictable. Maybe it’s just because I read a lot of fantasy, but I could kind of tell what was coming. This didn’t make the book less enjoyable, though. I didn’t predict exactly how it would unfold, meaning I was still engaged in the story. I love Fie and her band of friends and I would definitely read more about them!
Overall, those who loved The Merciful Crow will surely enjoy this next installment in Fie’s story.
4/5 stars
[…] a new release this week, and I got to be a part of the blog tour for it! Check out my full review here. This second installment in the Merciful Crow duology adequately ties up all loose ends and gives […]