Black Bird of the Gallows by Meg Kassel is one of those books that as soon as I read the summary I was excited to dive right into it. Good versus evil, swoony boy who is not quite human…I’m hooked.

The main character here is Angie Dovage and she is a survivor. Her past isn’t great because of her mother. When Angie’s father finally finds her, it is unclear what Angie really went through but having lived in a van with her drug-addicted mother, she tends to stay out of the limelight and melt into the background as much as she possibly can. Things change a bit when Reece Fernandez moves into the house next door. Angie is drawn to him and from their first meeting it is clear they have a connection.

Reece is the new kid at school and he is immediately taken in by the popular kids but there is something different about him. Crows tend to flock around him and Angie can’t help but be curious. It is because of that curiosity that she attracts the danger that she does and Reece can’t help but do whatever he needs to in order to protect her.

I thought Kassel did a great job of developing the good versus evil story and explaining how the harbingers of death curse works. I also thought the detail put into the transformation of these harbingers, how they follow catastrophe, and the linkage to the beekeepers was interesting. I have to admit, those are the pieces that made this story unique.

The secondary characters are great. Angie’s friends – Deno and Lacey are very supportive of her and while they don’t know everything about what she has gone through, they don’t care. I loved Angie’s father – he wasn’t just in the background the whole time. Reece’s family was interesting and then you have the bad guy – Rafette. All helped to move the story along and played some key roles within the story.

As the story moves forward and Angie learns more about who the harbingers are and why they are in her town, things begin to pick up. There is action, danger, and some swoony bits. I don’t want to give anything away so I can’t say much more here but consider picking this one up when you can. It was a quick read and kept me engaged throughout. I will be watching for more from Kassel in the future based on this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.