Grave Mercy

This book has everything I love in a novel: Historical fantasy, playing with expectations of gender roles, awesome ladies, political intrigue, and subtle touches of feminism.

So I'm disappointed to say that while I liked it, I didn't outright love it like I wanted to. I'm not sure what it is about the novel, but I just didn't respond to it as much as I thought I would.

The world building was good and layered, though I wish we'd spent more time at the convent. Especially because later Duval is poking so many holes in how they teach things there, and Ismae begins to doubt everything there, but it didn't really have a lot of impact on me because we honestly hadn't spent much time there.

While the political intrigue was, well, intriguing, I figured out who the traitor was way before the book wanted me to. The entire time I wanted to jump into the book and point at the person and yell at Ismae, "RIGHT THERE!! USE YOUR BRAIN!"

Speaking of Ismae, I honestly wasn't taken with her as a character. Possibly because she showed a lot of disdain for things generally coded as "feminine"; pretty dresses, knowing how to curtsey and act like a noble lady, etc. It gets so grating to read about after a while, and granted she does eventually drop it, but by then the damage had been done. The worst part is she doesn't really get into trouble at the court once she's there, despite never really paying attention to the classes that would have taught her how to properly behave. Things are incredibly easy for her when they shouldn't be, and I felt it cheapened her story by a lot.

I also wasn't into her and Duval as a romantic couple. Bickering couples aren't my thing, and Duval especially lost any of my interest when he basically pins Ismae to the chair on their second meeting and tries to physically intimidate her. I had rather hoped she would kick him in the groin then, but alas, no.

Still, I wasn't bored while I was reading it and the pacing didn't bother me (I thought it was quite even, actually, if a slower kind of pace). I'll still look into Dark Triumph, but I'm going to hope it's improved from Grave Mercy.

Review excerpt: "The biggest reason I picked up Grave Mercy originally was because of the assassin nuns. Because come on, how awesome does “assassin nuns” sound? ... LaFevers uses language so well that I sank immediately into her style without the 5-10 pages of struggle that normally accompanies reading present tense.

Here, she's created a fantastic medieval world of gods, saints, political intrigue, and romance that swept me away completely. And yes, the assassin nuns were pretty much as great as they sounded."

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/rita-reader-challenge-grave-mercy-by-robin-lefevers/

I'm torn on this book. I don't read romances as a rule and this definitely fell into the "historical romance" genre. So I'll say that I really enjoyed this book but I don't feel it necessary to read anything else in the series following other convent classmates of our heroine, Ismae.

What I loved: while this is fantasy to some extent (Ismae can see some sort of mark, or as she would say "marque" on those she is sent to kill), it is mostly a history, covering the court of Anne of Brittany at the end of the 15th century. Even more than the And I Darken series with Istanbul, Grave Mercy</i> taught me a huge amount about the duchy of Brittany--that I hadn't even known existed before this book!

Ismae is a poor villager who is sent off to live in a convent that worships St. Mortain, the saint of death, as a god. Trained to kill, it is the sisters' job to remove those who would work against the Duchess--and there are many. One of Ismae's first jobs is to infiltrate the court and decide if her court patron, Gavriel Duval, the Duchess' half-brother, is a traitor. While I felt that her indecision regarding his innocence was overblown, it was perhaps one of the only missteps in this novel full of intrigue, and murder of course.

The mystery of who was the key traitor was well-crafted and the romance didn't overpower the story. Indeed, it would be difficult to overcome the many levels of machinations that were taking place. If you enjoy historical fiction or mysteries, you'll likely enjoy this novel.

Very fascinating book, had fun reading it the whole way through. The first book that I enjoyed all the through. Was a little slow in the beginning but that is to always be expected. First book to read in a whole week.

In 15th century Brittany, Ismae is a 17-year-old trained assassin, chosen as a handmaiden to the god of Death. Eager to prove herself and fulfill her sworn duty, she is thrust headlong into a world full of danger, deception and political intrigue and from the first few paragraphs, I was easily pulled into the struggles of young Ismae. Despite her lethal training, she is a vulnerable, damaged girl who is easy to root for as she makes her way in a world where she is clearly the outsider and the story itself, complete with romance and adventure, is a real page-turner and very hard to put down. For fans of Tamora Pierce and other like minded authors, this is a must-read. (submitted by QP)

Great YA historical fiction. The story of an assassin takes place in medieval Brittany, France and it takes you from a convent to the intrigues of the castles. Based on historical facts with a good dose of mystery, this is a great read! The best part is that it's the first installment in a trilogy.

4 Stars - I recommend if you enjoy novels of political intrigue, court life, and a bit of magic.

Ismae was to be expelled from her mother's womb, but survived. She bears a deep red scar, and is said to be the god of death, Mortain's own child. When she is married to an abusive farmer, she is rescued by the herb witch and priest in her city and sent to a convent of Mortain's handmaidens. There she will learn the arts of death, and how to kill those Mortain wills it upon. However, when her assassinations get in the way of Lord Gavriel Duval's plans to cull information from his Duchess's court, Ismae must pose as his mistress and go to court herself. Will they be able to stop traitors to the crown before it is too late?

I really really enjoyed this book. The premise is so neat: nun assassins. I wasn't sure what sort of vibe this book would take: nun boarding school, super fantasy-based, mostly political intrigue, etc. It ended up being mostly political intrigue, which I loved. It would have been cool to have a few more chapters when they were young at the convent, but I loved the part at court, and as Ismae learns about her abilities on her way to court. I loved Gavriel and Beast as well. I think I read all but a few chapters of this in one day. I definitely recommend if it sounds like your kind of thing.

I read this for the "an adventure/espionage novel" part of my 2018 reading challenge. Interesting concept, but it was a little bit predictable and it didn't quite suck me in.

Really like the writing style, female assassins theme, character development and pace of the book. Am happy to have just discovered this talented author.

Fantastic historical fiction book with supernatural elements. Nods to historical figures, old gods, and mythos.