The Faithless Hawk

Oh my goodness thank God it didn't become a Greek tragedy. I would've chucked it out the window! 4 solid stars as there were so many schemes and “there's always another secret” theme going on.
The middle part with the betrayal is my least favourite trope so one star less buuuut I knew what was happening all along so one star to me

I really enjoyed the first 2/3 of this book but the romance and convenient resolution of some issues was a let down

Did...did I read the same book y'all did? Did someone hack into the library database and send me a first draft?

I loved the first book. I devoured it in 24 hours. This one? Took me a month. A MONTH.

I really do love the world and lore Owen created! It was original and fascinating! I loved the last 10% of the book where we actually got to learn more about it. I loved Jas and [redacted for spoilers]. (Can I have a novella that's just them? Pretty please?)

Unfortunately, the majority of the book is taken up by Fie being so utterly, completely, totally, incomprehensibly, mind-numbingly STUPID that I could barely make myself care enough to slog through to the end.

~~ SPOILERS AHEAD ~~

The SECOND Tavin did what he did, I knew exactly why. Not even a doubt in my mind. And Fie not only didn't entertain it as even a remote possibility, but she had a WAY TO FUCKING CHECK ON WHAT WAS HAPPENING, and she just..... didn't?Cue a shit ton of angst that was honestly just really fucking annoying. And it made the book draw out for way too long. I get from the title that the whole Tavin story was supposed to be the main focus (for?? Some reason??), but it fell utterly flat for me. If the author wanted it to come across as a horrible, unjustifiable action and then turn it around with a Huge Reveal later, MAYBE she shouldn't have made it super clear that they desperately needed a spy close to the queen RIGHT before giving Tavin a prime opportunity to do so. I just????Anyway. I don't know, y'all. Betrayal or no, I just wish the story had been focused on the things that were interesting about the world. But it wasn't. And the parts that actually did so felt rather clumsy. The whole Little Witness scene felt very jarring and random, like it didn't fit with the rest of the book. Possibly because the rest of the book was The Fie and Tavin Show. And honestly, their reunion didn't move me very much at the beginning, and I didn't give a single fuck about them by the end. Listen. I'm glad almost everyone else enjoyed it. I am. I wish I could have felt that way. But I didn't. So. There you have it. And to the folks scrolling through the sea of 4 and 5 star reviews with baffled stares...I feel you.

WOW I loved this. Possibly my favorite sequel ever? Plus, entirely not related or important to the story but also contains the most entertaining acknowledgments I've ever read so.

Anyway this was incredible and I read like the last 200 pages in a day for a reason.

This was one of my most highly anticipated reads of the year and oh my god I am floored by how much I loved it. I have not devoured a book so quickly in a long time.
No book is perfect, but The Faithless Hawk is damn near it. I haven't been this satisfied with an ending in like, ever. I loved these characters and this world and I just wanna stay here forever. Honestly, this is a cure for reading slumps.