The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen Review + Panbread

Spoiler alert ahead! Also keep your eye out at the end for my take on panbread!

"Pa was taking too long to cut the boys' throats...Taking one minute meant the Sinner's Plague had already finished off the boys inside. Taking three meant Pa had a merciful end to deliver. Taking ten was taking too long."

As the most abused caste and the only ones unaffected by the Sinner's Plague, Crows are responsible for mercifully killing those infected with the disease. Normal towns give the bare minimum as payment, so when Fie's band of Crows are called to dispose of the Phoenix Prince, she expects enough money to never be hungry again.

When the Crows discover that the prince and his bodyguard faked their deaths and now expect Fie's crew to bring the boys to their far away allies, she does what Crows do best: protect their own. She cuts an oath with Prince Jasimir that ensures the safety of all Crows when he becomes king, so long as she can deliver him to safety.

But how do you transport a "dead" prince across the country when he's masquerading as a member of the most threatened, harassed, and hated caste? What happens when allies become enemies and the one thing Crows fear most becomes the strongest it's ever been? What happens when Fie falls for someone she could never be with? What happens when the oath must come before everything she cares about?

"It wasn't that she wanted to burn the world down, no. She just wanted the world to know that she could."

REVIEW

I'd be lying if I said it didn't take me a bit to get into this book (but that's more likely to do with my devastation over The Folk of the Air series ending). Before I began, I had read reviews about the world-building in this novel and when I first started reading I had this ridiculous idea of what world-building was. I was waiting for huge chapters full of things I didn't care about-- pages and pages of geographical information and fabricated government documents to make up this incredibly detailed new world. I realized, though, that throughout the novel Owen creates the setting so beautifully from moment to moment that you don't even realize what she's doing until you get to the end and realize the ground beneath your feet is completely solid. She gives you everything you need to know without making it feel like a lecture.

Ironically, as someone who has an unhealthy obsession with fictional characters (as shown in my other posts), I sure keep my guard up when meeting new faces. I'm skeptical of all characters until they show me why they're worth caring for. But, man, if you don't fall a little in love with Tavin the second you meet him, what are you doing? Fie as well, immediately proves herself to be badass, vulnerable and the kind of person I would follow anywhere. Like most YA heroines, she's been through some horrible things but still continues to pull herself up and jump back into the chaos. What's lovely about Fie is that her power and strength come from her love for her crew.

There were a few things I totally saw coming throughout the book; like Fie and Tavin falling for each other, the ambush in Cheparok, and Fie being forced to move on, just her and the two boys (everyone loves a good group of 3). However, Owen threw in a lot that caught me off guard. I really didn't expect Hangdog's death. I was expecting (and hoping I would be wrong) that him and Tav would start a terrible love triangle with Fie that would ensue in the rest of the series. I also didn't expect that Tavin was Jasimir's half brother, although I suppose all of the information was right in front of me. I loved that curve ball though and it makes me really excited to see what else will be thrown at us in the rest of the series.

I would also like to point out that any discussion of sexuality is quite beautifully nonchalant in this novel. That's not quite the right way to write that sentence, but I mean: there's no queer-baiting or huge wild reveal that gasp! ONE character is queer?! I feel like a lot of novels today have one non-straight character solely so that they can claim inclusivity. In this book, that doesn't seem to be the case. Jasimir just happens to prefer the company of other men, and hey Tavin has been with people of all genders, as has MOST of the kingdom! There is also a character that uses they/them pronouns. I just really love and appreciate that Owens created genuine, authentic queer characters and didn't do it just so she could market her book to the LGBTQ+ community. Made me happy to see!

The Merciful Crow was overall an amazing book and I definitely recommend it. It's fast-paced, full of excitement and heartbreak, and opens up a legitimate conversation about class, race, and sexuality that leaves you itching for the sequel.

"Everything has a price, Fie. Especially change. Even Phoenixes need ash to rise from."

PANBREAD

Wow, is she finally gonna talk about food on this blog?? This blog where she said sometimes she'll talk about food?? YES! The day is here!

So for the past few months I've been doing a "Baking with Michelle" instagram story (@picklesandpages) where I make foods from my favorite books! November Cakes from The Scorpio Races, Peeta's Cheese Buns from Catching Fire, Mrs. Weasley's fudge from Harry Potter, etc. I found all those recipes from an incredible blog called Fiction-Food.com. I quickly realized, though, that a lot of her recipes come from books that I've never read, and I'm not as invested in making those. SO, I decided to take foods from the books I'm currently reading and make my best interpretation of them!

"As soon as Fie sat, Pa plucked the puff of panbread from the griddle, dropped it into a clean rag, drizzled it with honey and a pinch of salt, and handed it to her."

As an amateur baker, I couldn't immediately identify what exactly panbread was, so I did some research. The closest I could get to what I pictured in my head was a naan-like bread or even a fried dough. I decided to make both! These are the recipes I used: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/20034/indian-sweet-bread/ (Indian Sweet Bread) and https://food52.com/recipes/12341-homemade-fried-dough (Homemade fried dough). Here is what they looked like!

(Indian Sweet Bread) (Fried Dough)

Again, I won't pretend I'm the world's greatest cook-- and honestly the fried dough didn't turn out exactly how I wanted it to-- but the sweet bread with some goat cheese, honey, and salt on it was so tasty! It was super easy to make a nice treat for a little get together. If you choose to make it, enjoy!

NEXT READ: Call Down The Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater