Review: Murder of Crows

MURDER OF CROWS
The Others #2
Anne Bishop
Urban Fantasy
369 pages
ROC
Available Now
Source: Bought

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
After winning the trust of the terra indigene residing in the Lakeside Courtyard, Meg Corbyn has had trouble figuring out what it means to live among them. As a human, Meg should be barely tolerated prey, but her abilities as a cassandra sangue make her something more.

The appearance of two addictive drugs has sparked violence between the humans and the Others, resulting in the murders of both species in nearby cities. So when Meg has a dream about blood and black feathers in the snow, Simon Wolfgard—Lakeside's shape-shifting leader—wonders whether their blood prophet dreamed of a past attack or of a future threat.

As the urge to speak prophecies strikes Meg more frequently, trouble finds its way inside the Courtyard. Now the Others and the handful of humans residing there must work together to stop the man bent on reclaiming their blood prophet—and stop the danger that threatens to destroy them all.

MY THOUGHTS
I'm going to keep in the more casual vein for the reviews of this series because I'm having so much fun reading them that it's hard for me to write in the more structured way I usually do. I'm taking a short break after this book though, so I'll return to my more formal reviews next week before I gush over book three.

I dove straight into this book the minute I finished Written in Red, and it was everything I'd hoped it would be aside from one small drawback. A quick confession: I tend to obsess over certain characters when I read, especially characters between whom there is the potential for romance. Once my fixation is jump-started, it becomes all-consuming and I can hardly deal with any kind of interruption–in the real world or the fictional one–that tries to rob me of the my quality obsession time. This second book was the tiniest bit guilty of denying me a little extra Meg and Simon time, expanding the boundaries of the world outside the Courtyard's walls and into other towns where tensions between humans and the Others are rapidly rising. While logically I know this entire series couldn't be written within the confines of the Lakeside Courtyard, getting bounced around to a few new characters instead of staying tucked in a little closer to home with Simon and Meg did make me ever-so slightly twitchy.

That is an extremely specific and very minor complaint though, I just can't help but want all the Meg and Simon time possible. Their friendship progresses delightfully in this second book, though I know we're still a long way from developing any kind of physical relationship. The slow, slow, slow burn between them is a highlight for me, and all the small, casual touches and the confusion on both sides about certain aspects of their friendship brings a smile to my face every time they're together.

Some of my favorite Others – Tess, Sam, and the Elementals and their ponies – were sadly absent for most of this book as the focus shifted to the blood prophets still in captivity, but fantastic new characters were introduced (Skippy! Jean!) which kept me from missing them too much. Overall, this second installment further cemented my love for this series, and I will be continuing on my binge read with nothing short of the kind of fangirl joy that comes from discovering a series destined for a top spot on the shelf of favorites.

Rating: 4.5/5

Find Anne:

Website • Goodreads • Amazon