Review: The Faithless Hawk by Margaret Owen
Originally published on Ideally Inspired Reviews.
Book Info & Summary
I have A LOT of feelings about The Faithless Hawk by Margaret Owen. About 72 of them are just me senselessly screaming “AHHHHH” but let me try to organize some of my more coherent ones for you.
I LOVED the Merciful Crow when I read it last year and was desperately waiting for the sequel, so when it landed in my mailbox I started it right away. As a recap for where we last left our heroes: Newly minted Crow Chief Fie is traveling around Sabor with a company of Hawks to protect her band while they deliver justice to plague victims, Crown Prince Jasimir is marching with Draga, Master-General of the Hawks (aka his aunt), to reclaim his stolen crown, and Tavin, Jasimir’s half-brother and fire of Fie’s lady loins, is working to unseat the evil Queen Rhusana before she kills all the Crows and dooms the people of Sabor to die of the plague. And Barf the cat is still out there living her best life, tricking people into rubbing her belly and then biting them.
So ya know, a typical day in Sabor.
While I’m on the subject of Barf can I just say the cat content in this series is A+. If you like cats there is a whole plot line that involves a group of cats in little vests.
One thing I loved about the Faithless Hawk is all the traveling we do in less than 400 pages. We visit far-flung coasts, military encampments in sweeping fields, serene magnolia groves, farm towns and palaces all seen through the lens of Fie’s signature snark.
Fie’s snark is is full force in this sequel because girlfriend has had it up to HERE with prejudiced jerks and unfaithful friends. She has the full weight of responsibility for her band and her people on her shoulders in this book and all her safety nets are slowly but surely being stripped away. If you thought (like I did) that she was fierce, ferocious and inspiring in the Merciful Crow then wait until you see her now. To see reluctant Fie open up and begin to rely on others, to be seen and known by those around her is a beautiful thing, which makes it all the worse for us as readers when we see her pay for it.
The magic system continues to amaze, each new power coming as slowly to Fie as pulling teeth (get it?). Her discovery of what she can do and smashing through the limitations she has been putting on herself because other people say it can’t be done is astounding.
I also loved how apathy became a central evil in this sequel. We see such evil deeds done by the villains but the biggest problem over and over is the people who see evil deeds being done and say and do nothing about it. It’s such a great lesson to be learned not only for the people of Sabor but for all of us as well.
The Faithless Hawk is chock full of betrayal, love, loyalty, allegiance, family, power and so much more. The end left me crying with a mix of sadness and joy and was a great culmination of all the threads Owen wove throughout this whole duology. I would recommend this series to everyone, especially as it is a great analogy for our current social and political climate. I would be remiss not to take this opportunity to absolutely drag Queen Rhusana. She's a stone-cold gaslighter who continues to whine about how hard her life has been while simultaneously dripping in jewels and getting everything she wants. Does she have motivations that another one of our fave characters shares? Absolutely. Does that other character go around murdering people and organizing a genocidal coup? NOPE.
I keep wanting to gush but don’t want to spoil anything BUT I’ll just say that while I think The Merciful Crow was about the journies, The Faithless Hawk is about the relationships. Fie’s relationships with her band, her world, her friends/lovers and herself. Just go buy/borrow the book okay? It’s well worth your time and money.
And remember: one way or another, we always feed the Crows.
Favorite Quotes
"Only a fool waits for lighting to tell them to find shelter"
"Fie was taking too long to cut the girl's throat." (We love a reference back to book one).
"Never before had a sinner watched Fie so, like she was a wolf strolling too near a pasture."
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