A richly textured story of rage, romance, and rebellion.
Plague and power struggles continue to ravage a kingdom in this sequel to 2019’s The Merciful Crow.
Unlike the 11 other bird-named castes of Sabor, only the Crows can handle the Sinner’s Plague victims, dispatching fatal “mercy,” handling corpses, and taking teeth as payment, yet they are reviled. Fierce young Fie, now a chieftain, and her Crows already delivered Prince Jasimir to safety once, but their promised protection—from daily abuse and nighttime Oleander Gentry raids—is threatened again by Queen Rhusana’s ruthless rise to power. When Rhusana interrupts Fie’s too-brief reunion with Jasimir and Tavin (his half brother, a royal bastard, and Fie’s love interest) via gruesome zombielike skin-ghasts and new mind-control magic, Fie goes solo. Familiar with death, decay, and discrimination, Fie is a refreshingly earthy and grimly determined protagonist with borrowed powers but innate pugnaciousness; romance clashes with her self-reliance. In a world where the dead gods may be reincarnated and every caste has witches and Birthrights, inequality and prejudices nevertheless fester, albeit along caste and class lines (rather than explicitly racial ones). If the first installment was a hair-raising road-trip/hardscrabble survival tale, this one is a proper court intrigue laced with looming social revolution, cryptic religious prophecies, and a fair amount of gore. Owen also raises the stakes, forcing self-reliant Fie to save all Sabor in order to protect all Crows, not just her band, while sustaining the suspense and adventure.
A richly textured story of rage, romance, and rebellion. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-19194-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
A charming cozy fantasy about defying expectations and finding love.
The lives of two Los Angeles girls inhabiting different universes intersect, proving that love knows no bounds.
Brenda Nguyen has a 19-step plan to save the world. Kat Woo is haunted by her legacy as the chosen one, a role she has no interest in. Brenda, working on an environmental science college scholarship application, stumbles into Sammy’s Coffee and Pick-Me-Ups, which Kat’s family owns. As the girls get to know each other, Brenda at last finds someone who’ll listen to her detailed plans, while Kat discovers she has something to look forward to. The girls, who alternate narrating the story, must defy the odds as their worlds begin to collide. As well as being a love story, this is an exploration of familial expectations: Kat is trying to outrun them, while Brenda is driven to fulfill hers. The girls, who are of Chinese and Vietnamese descent, respectively, complement each other: Brenda learns to live in the present, and Kat begins to look to the future. While there are pixie swarms and mana surges, the action takes a back seat to characterization. Lee’s fully developed parallel worlds are alike in many ways, although in Kat’s, you can buy teleportation spells at Target. The cast is rounded out by solid portrayals of the girls’ friends and family, who are important to the plot.
A charming cozy fantasy about defying expectations and finding love. (author’s note, recommended reading) (Fantasy romance. 14-18)Pub Date: June 10, 2025
ISBN: 9781250778024
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
