This was an awesome read! I absolutely loved both the worldbuilding of the caste system and main theming and conflicts of the story. The way the Crows are discriminated against, especially when they're so vital to the kingdom that they could just choose to let everyone die out but them and they could live in peace is incredible storytelling. The Crows are supposed to be poorest and most cursed caste but they have the most compassion and mercy in them, more than anyone other caste combined, and witnessing how they keep moving and helping people after all that they've been through is so humbling.

I loved Fie as a main character. Points for her name, which is a bit silly but still fitting her character overall, but just her as a person I love so much. She's hardened and spiteful and not afraid to stand up for herself or her people but also calculating; she's lived a life that's carved painful lessons into her and makes sure she won't forget them. I feel like this book has done an animal-focused caste system better than any other book I've read (specifically I can only think of The Raven Scholar but I'm sure there are others that utilize it the same). I also really appreciate Tav and Jas as characters as well. It's always fun to see naive nobles raised in a cushy life be faced with the harsh reality of the world. As someone who has also faced hard times as a minority or just someone who's been poor in general, there was a bit of satisfaction to be gained there, even if the situations are wildly different.

This was a fantastic start to a series. I can't wait to continue!!

(4.75 stars) Oh this was delightful. The writing style in this book is EXACTLY how I want my regency romances to be written: older diction with modern attitudes. It was such a beautiful read even just by the writing style; I felt like I was reading a love letter. This book really does all it can to sweep you up into the drama and romance of it. The settings were also described beautifully and pulled you into the atmosphere effortlessly.

The themes in this book hit so hard. Viola's struggle with the decision she made to live as herself and everything she sacrificed to have the life she needed to have was just heartbreaking. I also really appreciate that her struggles didn't just stop now that she gets to live as her true self; she still had issues with self-image and acceptance and this book showed that it's a long process to deal with things like that that can't just be magically fixed by being able to present as who she is on the inside.

Justin's struggles were really well represented as well. Not being able to feel at home in his body after his injury and struggling to handle the fact that he's forever changed was so heartbreaking, and handled well in my opinion. The scene where he drops his cane and Viola picks it up for him is such a good example of that. The depiction of his PTSD was also handled very respectfully as well. It's been two years since the war but it hasn't left him and, like Viola struggling with her body, it's a process that will take years and years to overcome.

The ending felt just the slightest bit rushed to me, though, which is about the only reason I'm not giving this 5 stars. I remember when I reached around 70% of the way through it still felt like the middle of the book instead of the end and I didn't think they'd be able to wrap things up as smoothly as the story deserved, and I was right. That was the only thing I didn't enjoy about this book though; everything else was fantastic!

This is my first foray into true crime nonfiction and I have to say I'm very impressed. Most true crime in the form of podcasts or sensationalized TV shows leave a bad taste in my mouth, but I think this book was approached with all the gravity and respect it required towards the victim's memories. Maybe that's because it was written quite a while ago, before true crime became what it was today, but you could just feel the effort and thought that was put into this retelling.

The writing itself was very suited to the subject matter. It was blunt and factual; it didn't try to romanticize or sensationalize anything, only telling you the story as it happened, and what a story it was. The author did a fantastic job of immersing you to the point that you almost mourn these poor people that lived and died before you were even born. Such a senseless tragedy that, even though the criminals were brought to some sort of justice, never really had a satisfying ending. It felt almost worse that they killed them for no real reason. They were robbing the house and one of them decided to not leave any witnesses, and just like that four lives were lost. All for money.

My only complaint is that I feel like there's some unnecessary bloat in the last part of the book, detailing Hickock and Smith's time in prison. We spend too much time focusing on the other prisoners in death row and hearing their entire stories of how they ended up there and I just feel like it was unnecessary and boring and not very relevant to the story. I think it would've been better if the author had summed up their stories and focused on what was important about them to the central story rather than doing a deep dive on their crimes.

Overall, this was a good read. Very dark subject matter, but well-crafted.