Title: Grave Mercy
Author: R.L. LaFevers
Edition: ARC paperbackSeries: His Fair Assassin #1Released Date: April 3rd, 2012 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
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Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?
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?
Recently released from a marriage, Ismae runs off to a convent where she serves under Mortain. Anyone who bears the marque of Mortain is destined to be killed, no matter what. Ismae travels to Brittany, where the core of her assignment is, and she grows close to some of the members there. Betrayals run high and violence is in the mixture, and Ismae may have to kill the one person she thought cared for her the most.
Ismae, the nun-assassin, was a fantastic heroine for this novel! She brought forth a spunk and spice that was expected of a handmaiden of Death, but she brought it in a way that wanted you to get to know her, but never be on her bad side. She was wicked with her mind and with her weapons, and I loved having an insight in her mind. Okay, and maybe I was a little bit jealous of her at times as she got to learn and use all these cool weapons.
The relationship between Ismae is Duval was a typical relationship - but at the same time, it wasn't. I always enjoy reading the novels where the characters despise each other in the beginning, but then grow to love one another. This is the case for Ismae and Duval and I believe that it makes each of them stronger people. As the novel progressed, it was clear to see Ismae's growing love for Duval, but she knew she wasn't supposed to. It was almost a forbidden love type of thing - she was supposed to be working, not falling in love. Nonetheless, I enjoyed seeing their relationship grow.
The medieval essence confused me at times, but otherwise I loved it! I enjoyed the different language and for some reason I found it so intriguing when they would say "mayhap" instead of "maybe!" Also, the weaponry and different plants/potions were very cool! I think this novel would be totally different if it was set in any other time period, so I'm glad R.L. chose this one!
There's so much action in this one - it's crazy! Sometimes it was slow, but it would quickly pick up as you learned of new betrayals, new identities, and with the hinting at violence. These slow parts weren't that long, but for some reason it almost pained me to have to read them. Immediately after I'd get through them though, it would pick right up and I'd be in another round of action!
Medieval setting + nun-assassins + romance + wicked violence + great characters = Grave Mercy. It was a great novel, but the slow parts kind of set me off. I'll definitely be waiting for the sequel to this great novel! Also, I've got some bookmarks from R.L. LaFevers, so if you'd like one, just shoot me a message!
