Review: Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop

Murder of Crows
(The Others #2)
by Anne Bishop
Publisher: Roc
Publication date: March 4, 2014
Genre: Fantasy
Rating:

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 murder 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 if their blood prophet dreamed of a past attack or 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.

 

 


Murder of Crows picked up right where Written in Red left off. I liked the way the story flowed into this book. I have read some series where the author is introducing characters -again- and explaining what’s going on even though we’re several books in. For me, I find that to be very annoying.

Ever since the attack at the Lakeside Courtyard, Simon has protected Meg like one of his own. From having someone always with her, to sleeping next to her at night.

This book starts with Simon in Wolf form getting kicked out of bed, literally, by Meg who is having a nightmare. When he climbs back into bed, naked and human, Meg fears what it means. To help her sort her feelings, some of the Human Pack living at the courtyard have a girl-talk intervention. During which it’s brought up that Simon sleeps with Meg all the time, “Yes, but as a wolf-shaped wolf,” Meg said. “A furry Wolf is warm and cuddly. A people-shaped wolf is…a man.” Once Meg realizes the choice is hers whether their friendship went further, she relaxed and didn’t worry about Simon expecting sex. On the other side of the courtyard, Simon admits he didn’t want sex that morning and how he’s confused. “Where Meg is concerned, you’ve been confused since you met her.”, Henry said.

I know I went on about the start of the book and about their feelings but I found it very amusing to see this tiny, fragile girl kick a wolf out of her bed. Where their feelings are concerned, will it blossom into something more or is it the Twilight Fan in me hoping it does?

As the book continues, human stores are refusing to serve the Others and people who live in the Courtyard, an action that before Megs arrival might have ended life as the humans knew it. Just as the drug induced violence between humans and the Others would have been dealt with in a much different way. Because of the violence and Megs dream about black feathers in the snow, members of the Terra Indigene from other regions gathered in the Lakeside Courtyard to talk about what’s happened and what’s going to be done about it. Even though the Lakeside police are working with the Courtyard they know, “As far as they were concerned, humans were another kind of meat, and the only difference between people and deer was that people invented and manufactured products that at least some of the Others enjoyed having. But people were still meat the moment they did something the Terra Indigene didn’t like.”

This book was gruesomely awesome and I can’t wait to see what Vision In Silver has to bring.

 

Favorite Part…

After the pet store refuses to sell Meg more “wolf cookies”, Eamer’s Bakery on Great Island offered to try and make them. “The cow-shaped cookies have a beef flavoring, the turkey-shaped cookies have a poultry flavoring, and…” Jane held up one of the cookies (people-shaped), “human-flavored?” “No, those have chamomile.”
 

 


Another home run for this series! I have to be honest, I usually love the first book in a series and start to lose focus in the second book and don’t even bother to pick up a third in a series. I just tend to get bored of the same thing happening over and over again. Which is why I primarily stick to paranormal romance and the rotating characters in those genres. However, Murder of Crows held my attention just as much as the first book! In this installment there are drugs going around that make humans and animals go nuts or comatose. Those drugs are making their way into the garbage and being left out for the crows and Crows (the Crowgard shifters) with the means to kill them. There’s a war brewing between the Others and the humans and it’s all because of these drugs and the attacks taking place. Not only are the Others being targeted but Meg is still in danger from the Controller and his minions who still try to kidnap her and take her back to their compound. So much takes place in this book that there’s really no way I could be bored. This book held my attention the entire time.

I like that Meg is doing a lot better in this book. It’s only been a few months but she’s starting to take control of her life and she’s not quite as dependent as she was. However, she has the whole Courtyard looking after her and I think that helps her out a lot. One thing that happens in this book is that we get the POV of Jean, Meg’s friend who is also a blood prophet but was unable to escape with Meg at the time. We see just how bad life for Meg would have been if she hadn’t escaped. We see how far she’s come in her learning in the short span she’s been at the Courtyard. The fact that these girls can’t even go 100 feet outside the compound without sensory overload shutting their brains down, and yet Meg made it miles on the run with no life experience to help her get to safety. When see where she came from and the girls that we left behind, to how she is now, it’s mind boggling to think she not only escaped, but survived the journey at all.

While the Others are definitely not a species to trifle with, the Wolves turn into puppy dogs when “Wolf” (dog) cookies are involved. There’s a scene where Meg gets an order of specially made “Wolf” cookies and they all go nuts. Nathan starts howling, a group of Wolves show up at Meg’s front door begging for a cookie, and when they finally get one they trot off, happily crunching on their new snack. The whole thing is absolutely ridiculous. Especially when they are looking over the flavors and shapes of the cookies and Simon comes across one that is human-shaped and gets excited at the prospect of having a human-flavored cookie. Turns out it wasn’t human flavored at all, but the fact that you have these Wolves who are so ferocious and blood thirsty getting so amped up and excited over dog… ehem, I mean Wolf cookies was just hilarious.

“Meg stifled a sigh. That would be the first thing on her feedback list: don’t make people-shaped cookies. The Wolves were way too interested and all of the leaped to a logical, if disturbing, expectation about the taste.”

I know this isn’t going to sound bad but is it weird that I just love the savagery in this series? I love that no matter what happens, you are never led to believe that the Others are anything but the creatures they are. I mean, you have sweet moments between Simon and Meg, and pretty much anyone with Meg. It seems that Meg brings out the protectiveness and softer side in the Others. However, they can go from wolfish grins with their tongues hanging out, to tearing those fangs into a human’s stomach and feasting on their innards within a matter of seconds. Their ferocity and lack of morals over killing humans fascinate me. I mean, this isn’t your usual urban fantasy where the shifters act more human than animal. In this series, it’s the complete opposite and I love that the author doesn’t gloss over the more gruesome scenes.

“They’re never human, Lieutenant. They just mimic us to get what they want.”

Okay. I could go on and on about these books. I almost managed to read this in a day. That’s how insanely amazing these books are. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to start reading them but then again, I don’t have to wait for new books to come out since the series is finished. So, I suppose it all works out in the end. I just hope my number gets called for the last book I put on hold. I’m not sure how I’ll manage if I have to wait to see how it all ends for Meg. And the fact that I just finished the second book and I’m already worried I won’t have the fifth book waiting in my hands when I finish the fourth book is proof enough of how awesome this series is. Seriously, if you love shifters then you have to give this series a shot. There’s all sorts of shifters in this series and unlike other books, they’re not pussycats. Okay, I’m done writing this. I’m jonesing to start reading Vision in Silver.

 

Favorite part…

There’s a part in the book where Simon shows up to Megs door in Wolf form holding a dog rope in his mouth. Apparently this is a game to them. They go for a walk, Simon will pass the rope to her as if he needs her to take it from him for a minute, and then it’s “TAG! You’re it!” Meg wants no part in this game because it always means she’s being chased around the Courtyard by Simon. So instead, she goes for a walk with him, gets him all irritated because she refuses to take the rope from him, and then when he least expects it she tugs on the rope causing his instinct reaction to be to chomp down harder and pull back on the rope. Thus, allowing Meg to drop the rope and call him out as “it”. Simon lets out an exclamation in surprise at the change of events and pretty soon it’s not just Meg chasing Simon but practically the whole Courtyard is in on the action of chasing Simon. I loved the playfulness of this scene and had a good chuckle at Simon’s expense.

 

Previous reviews from The Others
Written in Red

 

 

 

8 Thoughts on “Review: Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop

  1. Parts of this sound fun, and the way you write your reviews is pretty awesome! Still, this wouldn’t be a good fit on the pile, however, I can sort of seeing this type of story turned into a movie or mini-series, and I would definitely check it out. Hugs…and Happy Monday!

  2. I do plan on reading this series pretty soon, just haven’t been in the UF mood lately. But once I am I will try out book one and see if I like it.

  3. I really love this series 🙂

  4. That really sounds good. I haven’t read the first book but it sounds like I should.

  5. I loved this one too. I have to continue the series and just need some time to devour more of the series. Brilly reviews. Loved seeing the 2 reviews side by side!

  6. I loved this one. The rest of the series was just meh for me but I always adore being around these characters.

    For What It’s Worth

  7. I haven’t read any of these except I’ve had the first book on my wish list since it basically was released – I need to get on it! I’m glad the second was as interesting as the first.

  8. Loving that cover!

    I loved your favorite part. That sounds so cute and funny. I’ll have to pick this series up. Great review.

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