Scythe and Sparrow by Brynne Weaver
- alwayswandering
- Feb 21
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 27
Here is a summary with spoilers of Scythe and Sparrow
Twenty-six-year-old Rose Evans has been on tour with the Silveria Circus since she fled her volatile home at 15, begging the show’s operator, José Silveria, for work. Now a seasoned performer, she dazzles audiences by riding a motorcycle in a metal cage and reading tarot cards in a private booth.
While the circus performs in Hartford, Nebraska, Rose gives a tarot reading to Lucy Cranwell and quickly notices her bruises and fearful demeanor. Suspecting that Lucy’s husband, Matt Cranwell, is abusing her, Rose takes matters into her own hands. Under the alias "Sparrow," she has made it her mission to avenge abused women—a cause deeply personal to her, given her own father’s history of violence against her and her mother. Determined to make Matt pay, she tracks down his address and attacks him. However, Matt fights back, shattering her leg with a baseball bat. Injured and desperate, Rose flees and ends up at the clinic of local doctor and town heartthrob Fionn Kane. He calls for an ambulance and insists on accompanying her to the hospital.
When Fionn uncovers Rose’s connection to Matt, he persuades her to stay at his home while she recovers. José, worried she won’t heal properly on the road, agrees. Given Fionn’s past experiences treating Matt and witnessing his violent tendencies, he understands the danger Rose is in. As the days pass, an undeniable attraction simmers between them, though neither speaks of it.
One night, Rose—still in her vigilante persona—kills her hospital nurse Naomi’s abusive husband, Eric Donovan. Unable to dispose of the body due to her broken leg, she calls Fionn for help. He is horrified but doesn’t hesitate to assist her.
As the story unfolds, Fionn’s own dark past comes to light. He grew up under the rule of his abusive, alcoholic father, Callum Kane. One night, after witnessing Callum violently attacking his older brothers, Rowan and Lachlan, Fionn snapped and killed him. This act has haunted him ever since. (Rowan and Lachlan, both killers themselves.) Fionn has spent years trying to leave his past behind, dedicating himself to medicine and isolating himself to avoid further violence. But helping Rose dispose of Eric’s body stirs something in him—something he fears. He worries that getting closer to her will awaken the side of himself he’s worked so hard to suppress.
Despite Fionn’s hesitations and Rose’s impending departure from Hartford, they begin a no-strings-attached relationship, avoiding labels and emotional entanglements. But as the weeks pass, their physical connection deepens into something neither of them can ignore. When Rose’s cast comes off, she leaves for Boston, yet they continue to meet up over the next year, reigniting their affair each time.
During one of these reunions, Matt resurfaces and tries to kill Rose. Before he can succeed, Fionn intervenes and stabs him to death. In the aftermath, he and Rose seek solace in each other, but afterward, Fionn is gripped by fear—fear that violence is pulling him back in. Wanting to protect Rose from the darkness inside him, he pushes her away. To deal with Matt’s body, he calls his brothers’ criminal boss, Leander Mayes, who agrees to help—but at a price. Fionn must take on a seven-month contract-killing job in Croatia. Worse still, he is forbidden from telling anyone, including Rose or his brothers, where he is going or what he is doing.
Without warning or explanation, Fionn vanishes, leaving Rose heartbroken. Unsure of what else to do, she returns to the circus, trying to move on. Just when she has given up on him, she begins receiving love letters from him. Nearly a year later, Fionn reaches out, asking her to meet him in Ellsworth, Maine, if she’s willing to give them another chance. Torn but hopeful, Rose confides in José, who urges her to follow her heart.
In Ellsworth, Rose and Fionn spend three intense weeks together—talking, laughing, fighting, and ultimately finding their way back to each other. By the end of their time there, they make amends and officially commit to their relationship. From there, they travel to a secluded cabin in the woods, where they reunite with Lachlan and his partner, Lark, as well as Rowan and his partner, Sloane. It is here that Fionn proposes to Rose. She says yes.
Thanks Super Summer
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