Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen

15 reviews

sinoclock's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I really liked the magic system and the way the relationships developed in this book. I'm not totally sure I want to read the next one, though. 
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yourdelulureader's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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aformeracceleratedreader's review

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

4.0

I thoroughly enjoyed this and will be reading the sequel right after. I thought the characters were interesting, the magic is interesting, and the love storyline wasn't terrible.
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sleeping_roses's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The perfect combination of plot- and charachter-driven development! I love this the way I love Six of Crows.
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marys_books's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Good book but sometimes the choice of words was a little odd, like betwixt instead of between
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zimmerlemon's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

3.75

Really got going from part 2 onwards. The world building took a sec for me to get a hang of but it was genuinely pretty unique which was a nice change of pace lol. I appreciate the setup for a sequel without a devastating cliffhanger. Characters won me over well enough to keep going but mostly for the tropes more so than the actual characters. Some of the oppression/racism metaphor(? Not sure what to call it) was a little heavy handed but I can’t be mad about it when it’s well intentioned and correct. Definitely curious to see what the sequel will have to offer!
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amylynnknitsreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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onemamareads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Read my full review here: https://onemamassummer.weebly.com/book-reviews/the-merciful-crow
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bookcaptivated's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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egurgens's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A wonderful mix of magic, political plots, a persecuted community, LGBTQ+ characters, a runaway prince, and so much more. This story definitely follows the 'enemies-to-lovers' trope, but less severe. More of a 'dislike-to-lovers'. We follow Fie, a Crow chief-in-training, as her troupe of crows collect and dispose of dead plague victims. However, Fie gets the scare of a lifetime when the corpses sit up, the royal prince and his body-double having faked their deaths to escape from the queen who wants them dead. The crows agree to make sure they reach their allies safely, as long as the prince agrees to make sure future crows are protected from persecution in the future. 

When thinking of the crows and how they are treated, I think of pre-Civil Rights America. The crows are openly disliked and mistreated by villagers, the Hawks (think police) attack and treat them roughly for existing, and there is a band of citizens that attack Crow troupes at night, similar to how I imagine the KKK did. Disclaimer:  I'm just using it as an analogy to describe the conditions the Crows faced, not comparing the two situations in any way. 

When the Crows and the two lordlings are betrayed, only Fie and the two lordlings manage to escape capture by the Queen's people. Fie takes up responsibility to get Prince Jasimer to the Commander of their army, his Aunt. What follows is a journey across the continent, chased by magical trackers and mystery monsters. The lordlings get to know the trials that the Crow people face, and Fie gets to know the boys and how they bear their responsibilities. There's a little romancing, some feelings, very nice. 

All in all, I loved this book, and I'm excited to read the sequel. 
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