Book Review: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Pages: 549

Genre: YA Historical Fiction

Pub. Date: April 3, 2012

Source: Personal Copy

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Goodreads says, "Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others. Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?"

It's 15th century Brittany and Ismae is in a bad situation.  Her father, a scoundrel, marries her off for money to a pig farmer and once he sees Ismae's scars, he practically kills her and throws her in a cellar.  Apparently Ismae's scar indicates that her mother tried to abort her and the fact that Ismae survived means that she is a descendant of the god of death, Mortain.  Because of this, she is rescued and sent to the convent of St. Mortain where the nuns aren't your typical nuns: they are trained killers.  They subscribe to the philosophy that they don't decide who to kill or when to kill; they take orders from St. Mortain as he marks his victims.  Ismae's first assignment is at Brittany's high court where she must figure out who is committing treason against the duchess, Anne.  Robin LaFevers' Grave Mercy is an imaginative read where history collides with fiction effortlessly.

How could you not love Ismae in Grave Mercy? I always love a heroine that is an underdog and overcomes her upsetting past.  It doesn't hurt that she is a trained assassin and kicks guys' butts. I love her determination and fire.  And did I mention that she was trained by assassin nuns? Why didn't I think of this?!

While at court, Ismae has to go undercover and finds herself spying on many occasions in Grave Mercy.  These parts of the story flew by and had me flipping the pages to find out who exactly is committing treason.  The convent suspects Anne's half-brother, Duval.  He is Anne's biggest supporter, but nonetheless, Ismae must figure out where his true loyalties lie even if she starts to have feelings for him.  Plus, Brittany is trying to secure its independence from France, so they are always on the precipice of war.  Possible suitors for the duchess are lurking at every corner and Ismae must help the high court navigate through this treacherous time filled with political intrigue.  Needless to say, there's a lot of drama and action in Grave Mercy.

I didn't fall in love with Grave Mercy for two reasons. One: it's so darn long. Seriously. It's almost 550 pages and unless I am reading a high fantasy by Tolkien, I fear it's too long for young adults.  On the other hand, the parts that were action packed flew by.  Also, the romance is a reallllly slow burn.  I sometimes like this, but it's really slow going in Grave Mercy....just a word of warning for fellow readers who like their romance to be a bit stronger.

LaFevers does an awesome job bringing the 15th century to life and the historical details were fantastic.  I loved living in Ismae's dark world where nothing is predictable. So, in sum, for me the best thing about Grave Mercy is the fact that Ismae is such a strong female. I love that!  I plan on checking out book two in the His Fair Assassin series, Dark Triumph, which already came out this past April and focuses on Sybella, a secondary character in Grave Mercy.