Scythe & Sparrow Quiz
Welcome to the Scythe & Sparrow Quiz
This 20‑question companion covers the full story of Brynne Weaver’s third Ruinous Love novel. Questions are split into Plot/Sequence, Character Motivation, Theme/Symbol, and Synthesis sections. A complete answer key with brief explanations follows the quiz.
Plot & Sequence (8 Questions)
1. What is Rose’s circus act?
- A. Tightrope walking
- B. Globe of Death motorcycle performance
- C. Fire eating
- D. Animal training
2. How does Rose first meet Fionn Kane?
- A. At a fight club
- B. She breaks into his veterinary clinic after being injured
- C. At the Prairie Princess Campground
- D. Through a mutual friend
3. What weapon does Rose buy from the hunting supply store in Weyburn?
- A. A crossbow
- B. A Damascus steel hunting knife
- C. A baseball bat
- D. A handgun
4. How does Eric Donovan die?
- A. He drowns accidentally
- B. Rose stabs him in the neck during a truck ride
- C. Fionn pushes him into a river
- D. He is killed in a fight club brawl
5. What triggers Fionn’s violent outburst at the underground fight club?
- A. A fighter insults his family
- B. Rose is knocked down and her cast leg is struck
- C. He discovers Rose is in danger
- D. The crowd mocks his medical skills
6. Where does the final confrontation with Matthew Cranwell take place?
- A. The Silveria Circus fairgrounds
- B. Fionn’s clinic
- C. The Saugus Frightfair haunted house
- D. A barn in Ellsworth
7. Which tarot card does Fionn leave on Rose’s bedside table before he departs for Croatia?
- A. The Star
- B. The Lovers
- C. The Three of Swords
- D. The Ace of Cups
8. How does the separation between Rose and Fionn end?
- A. Fionn returns to the circus after seven months
- B. Rose meets him at Lookout Rock in Ellsworth, Maine
- C. Lachlan forces them to reconcile
- D. Rose tracks him down in Croatia
Character Motivation (5 Questions)
9. Why does Rose keep Matt Cranwell’s driver’s license after stealing it?
- A. To blackmail him
- B. As evidence to protect Lucy Cranwell and herself
- C. To sell it for money
- D. As a trophy of her vigilante work
10. Why does Fionn help Rose cover up Eric Donovan’s death?
- A. He fears the police
- B. He trusts Rose’s judgment and sees Eric’s abuse of Naomi
- C. He wants to impress her
- D. He believes the body will never be found
11. What is Fionn’s primary reason for agreeing to leave with Leander Mayes?
- A. He wants adventure abroad
- B. Leander threatens Rose’s safety
- C. Lachlan orders him to go
- D. He needs money for a new clinic
12. Why does Rose decide to leave Fionn and rejoin the circus after Matt Cranwell’s death?
- A. She feels betrayed by his coldness and wants to protect him
- B. José insists she return
- C. She no longer loves him
- D. Fionn asks her to leave
13. Why does Rose lace Chad’s churros with amphetamines?
- A. To win a bet
- B. Because he deals drugs to minors and abuses his girlfriend
- C. She accidentally mixes them into his food
- D. To test her own poison recipes
Theme & Symbol (4 Questions)
14. In the story, what does the Star tarot card primarily represent?
- A. Danger
- B. Hope and a guiding light
- C. Revenge
- D. Death
15. What is the symbolic role of crochet in Fionn’s character arc?
- A. A hobby he abandons
- B. A metaphor for control, healing, and meditation
- C. A gift for Rose
- D. A lure for Barbara the raccoon
16. What does the name “The Sparrow” signify for Rose?
- A. Her circus persona only
- B. A vigilante identity that helps women escape abuse
- C. A code name for her motorcycle act
- D. A reference to a childhood pet
17. In chapter 21, cotton candy is used symbolically to represent:
- A. Innocence and childhood
- B. Breaking rules and erotic liberation
- C. Circus nostalgia
- D. Fionn’s profession as a healer
Synthesis (3 Questions)
18. Compare Rose’s vigilante justice with Fionn’s medical ethics. How do these two worldviews initially conflict, and how do they eventually reconcile?
19. In the epilogue “Blade of Rage,” Autumn Bower watches the Kane family and Sloane. What does her perspective reveal about the trilogy’s ongoing theme of survival and identity?
20. The book includes a curated playlist chapter (Chapter 2) with no narrative events. What function does this chapter serve for the reader, and how does it complement the story’s atmosphere and themes?
Answer Key
1. B – Globe of Death motorcycle performance (Chapter 7). Rose tells Fionn she is a motorcycle performer in the Globe of Death.
2. B – She breaks into his clinic after being injured (Chapter 4). Fionn finds Rose unconscious in his clinic with a severe leg fracture.
3. B – A Damascus steel hunting knife (Chapter 9). Rose buys the knife to use against Eric.
4. B – Rose stabs him in the neck during a truck ride (Chapter 10). After Eric discovers her, she kills him.
5. B – Rose is knocked down and her cast leg is struck (Chapter 13). Fionn attacks Ballistic Bill in a blind rage after Rose is hurt.
6. C – The Saugus Frightfair haunted house (Chapter 23). Matt confronts Rose in her tarot tent and she leads him into the haunted house.
7. B – The Lovers (Chapter 27). Fionn leaves the Lovers card as a symbol of his love.
8. B – Rose meets him at Lookout Rock in Ellsworth, Maine (Chapter 28-29). José delivers the final letter with the Star card and an invitation.
9. B – As evidence to protect Lucy Cranwell and herself (Chapter 4). Fionn finds the second license and later Rose admits she stabbed Matt.
10. B – He trusts Rose’s judgment and sees Eric’s abuse of Naomi (Chapter 11). Fionn feels no remorse and understands Rose’s motive.
11. B – Leander threatens Rose’s safety (Chapter 24). Leander warns that strays would put Rose in danger, so Fionn agrees to keep her safe.
12. A – She feels betrayed by his coldness and wants to protect him (Chapter 25). Fionn tells her he has to leave because he killed someone, and Rose decides to spare him more pain.
13. B – Because he deals drugs to minors and abuses his girlfriend (Chapter 20). Rose reveals this to Fionn after Chad’s death.
14. B – Hope (Chapter 5, 28). Rose draws the Star for Naomi and later Fionn calls her his North Star.
15. B – A metaphor for control, healing, and meditation (Chapter 11). Fionn crochets to soothe his mind, and Rose later uses a crochet hook to scratch her cast.
16. B – A vigilante identity that helps women escape abuse (Chapter 20). Rose explains she is “The Sparrow” who aids women in leaving abusive partners.
17. B – Breaking rules and erotic liberation (Chapter 21). Rose uses the cotton candy machine during sex, symbolizing their defiance of established boundaries.
18. Rose operates outside the law, sometimes killing abusers directly, while Fionn as a doctor has sworn to preserve life. Their conflict arises when Fionn must choose between his oath and his loyalty to Rose. They reconcile when Fionn accepts that helping Rose’s vigilante acts can prevent greater harm, and he decides to fully embrace his darker side (Chapter 29).
19. Autumn’s narration shows that survival can mean reclaiming one’s name and story after trauma. Watching Sloane and the Kanes gives her hope that she can become a “reckoning” like Sloane. The epilogue reinforces the trilogy’s theme that survivors can choose their own path and write their own narrative, even if it involves vengeance.
20. The playlist chapter provides a multisensory reading experience, allowing readers to hear songs that match the mood of each chapter. It reinforces the book’s atmospheric style (dark romantic comedy with tension and humor) and foreshadows emotional beats through song titles. Though it doesn’t advance plot, it deepens immersion and shows the author’s intention to evoke specific feelings at key moments.