Review – GRAVE MERCY

Item: Grave Mercy
Rating: 4.5
Author: Emily

Posted December 8, 2012 by Emily in review / 2 Comments

TITLE: Grave Mercy
AUTHOR: Robin LaFevers
SERIES: His Fair Assassin #1
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RATING: 4.5 Stars

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?

Review:

From the first page, I was at the mercy of the book. It captured me in a way that not many books have. Grave Mercy starts off in a way, that by the first page, there was already a couple of questions swirling around my head. Questions made me want to keep reading. I wasn’t satisfied until I finished the book. By then, I was already looking forward to the next book, Dark Triumph.

From the very beginning it was obvious that Grave Mercy was different from the other YA books I’ve read. First, there was no stupid and unnecessary love triangle. Ismae is not a love sick or helpless damsel in distress who needs a knight in shining armor to save her. No, she is a heroine, and she proves it over and over again in the book. Grave Mercy seamlessly blends the concepts of mythology and historical fiction. Not only is it one or the other, it is both.

In Conclusion…

Grave Mercy is an extremely well written book by Robin LaFevers. Ismae’s journey is one that I enjoyed reading, and even though the book is thick, I will be willing to read it again. I hope you enjoy this book about assassins trained by nuns as much as I do!