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Grave Mercy

(His Fair Assassin #1)

Robin LaFevers

3.88 · Rating details · 103,812 ratings · 8,941 reviews

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 tr ...more

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Hardcover, 549 pages

Published April 3rd 2012 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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Nov 08, 2013 Rick Riordan rated it really liked it

hooked me with a great premise: medieval nun assassins who serve Saint Mortain, the god of death. The novel is set in an alternate realm of Brittany, where the local gods have been subsumed by Christianity and renamed saints. The old ways live on, however, especially among the daughters of Saint Mortain, who serve as the realm's assassins, killing those who need to be killed.

Our lethal heroine, Ismae, escapes a life of poverty and abuse by joining the convent. Soon she is plunged into a game of ...more

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Mar 13, 2012 Emily May rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy, historical, young-adult, 2012, coverly-love

2.5
This book is like small dashes of awesomeness randomly sprinkled throughout long stretches of boredom. Perhaps I would have been far less bored if I cared more for fantasy/historical fiction that focuses most of its energy on the romance story. Perhaps I would have been less bored if the romance had been the kind to creep up on you, so that you're inwardly pleading that the characters will get together long before they even acknowledge their attraction for one another. Perhaps.

However, the romance was the main player in this book and it was the kind that sprang up immediately and left our heroine instantly breathless every time she saw Mr Duval after their first meeting. I prefer a book that is about more than a bit of romancing, but I'm not immune to a well-told love story either and I can easily be persuaded to award a book at least three stars if I'd been sold on it. Unfortunately, I wasn't. It all happened too soon, too predictably, too obviously. The heroine - Ismae - is a trained assassin that has some serious man issues (with understandable reason), so why can she do nothing but ogle Duval's sexy body in armour when they are in life-threatening situations?

The beginning, in my opinion, was the best part of the whole book. A young woman has been scarred since her mother attempted to abort her pregnancy but she survived, and the marque she bears is that of Death's servants. She is rescued away from the beginning of an abusive marriage to be taken to a convent... but these are no ordinary nuns. She is trained as an assassin, taught how to fight, how to create complicated poisons to kill instantly or drag out a death for days. She is the ultimate weapon and she uses her abilities to serve the convent and Death.

I cannot deny that this is a wonderful, kickass idea. The problem was that this part at the beginning is the most action-packed of the entire novel. After this, Ismae doesn't use her abilities that much beyond flashing her "womanly charms" at the men of court in order to find out information about who Brittany can really trust in these dangerous times when France is out for everything she can get. This book needed a serious injection of badassery.

The politics surrounding the issues of Brittany and France in the 1400s could have been much more interesting than it was, except for the fact that it was used as a platform for Ismae and Duval's budding romance. There was too much talking and eaves-dropping on conversations that didn't matter, too much family drama with characters I couldn't give a damn about, too much of all the wrong stuff. Not enough conspiracies, plotting, assassinations (she is an assassin, for pity's sake, was it too much to expect a little more of it?).

As much as I like this idea and part of me would like to know how this series progresses, I cannot imagine wanting to put myself through another 500 pages of boredom to find out. And one last thing, I'm sure some of the phrases used in this book weren't around one hundred years ago, never mind six hundred years ago... can't say for sure, I'm no language expert, but it sounded very 20th/21st century for me.
...more

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Oct 02, 2011 Wendy Darling rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2012-favorites, crush-worthy-boys, april, young-adult, historical-fiction, 2012-publication, action-packed, made-my-heart-hurt, paranormal-general, read-2012

4.5 stars Absolutely spectacular, and everything you'd expect a historical YA novel about assassin nuns to be. Love love love!
...more

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Nov 15, 2011 Catie rated it really liked it

Recommended to Catie by: Jo

Shelves: fantasy, series, read-in-2011, for-review, romance

3 1/2 stars

I may have a few mixed feelings about this book, but I know exactly who to recommend this to. Do you love historical mysteries? Court intrigue? Romance? Very light fantasy? Do you love Juliet Marillier? Sherwood Smith? Do you wish that The Queen’s Thief series read a lot more like a romance novel? Then this book is absolutely for you.

Ismae is a young teenager when she’s sold in marriage to a much older man. Her father is happy to be rid of her, but her new husband doesn’t know that sh ...more

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Mar 19, 2012 Steph Sinclair rated it liked it

Recommends it for: Those who enjoy YA Historic Romance with a twist

Shelves: ebook, fantasy, young-adult, it-wasn-t-all-that-but-enjoyable, 2012-reads, could-have-been-better, i-totally-saw-that-coming, what-kind-of-ending-was-that, netgalley, 2012-release

Actual rating 2.5 stars

Grave Mercy started out very strong for me with its historical roots. I instantly loved Ismae and could empathize with her bleak outlook on life. The novel had strong characters, a good plot, and political intrigue. I mean, c'mon! An assassin nun?! A badass premise like that is just begging to be read and loved. So what in heaven's name went wrong for me? Why am I only giving this book 2.5 stars?

Well, I'll start with what I actually liked first. I did like all the charact ...more

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Nov 19, 2018 may ❀ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 500-pgs, aaaaaaaaaa, binged, fantasy, i-am-trash, kickass-heroine, perfection, my-heart, trilogy, ded

i finished this book in less than a day bc it was so bloody good and im offended that it doesn't get the recognition and hype it deserves (yes im well aware that it was published in 2012 BUT STILL)

- i dont even know where to begin, this book was a ride
- it starts off with a young girl about to be sold by her father into a marriage with this gross monster of a man, but nah this girl ain't having it
- anyways she manages to get saved from that hell of a future and begins her life at a convent where ...more

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Aug 30, 2011 Jo rated it really liked it

“When one consorts with assassins, one must expect to dance along the edge of a knife once or twice.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Well, I thought I was going to hate that... quite the opposite.

High Points.
Ismae. Breton courts. Nuns. The coolest convent EVER. Saints. The genre (my first historical/fantastical adventure… very exciting). Death’s handmaidens. 13th century gadgets. Poison. Saints. Horsies. Beast. Anne. Secret passage ways. Traitors. Secrets. Corruption. A kiss can be deadlier if y ...more

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Feb 27, 2012 Anzu The Great Destroyer rated it did not like it

Recommends it for: blind people

Recommended to Anzu by: NetGalley - fuuu

Shelves: lots-of-mushy-stuff, big-fucking-nope, is-it-just-me-goddammit, nope, fat-kitty-judges-you, the-hate-it-burns, i-am-disappoint, zzzzzzz, well-arent-you-mister-popularity, buddy-or-group-read

Ugh I couldn’t finish this. I tried and tried so far but eventually the inevitable happened.

I may be harsh (I don’t consider myself harsh), I may be an asshole (I don’t consider myself an asshole), I may be a hater (I’m totally a hater) but I DNF’d the bitch! And it felt so damn good!

I was fair though. I gave it a 100-page trial, stuck to it like the good little girl I am and couldn’t even handle it. And to think page 100 was like 35% or something inside the book. 35%!!! Imagine how much left un ...more

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Feb 20, 2015 Maggie ☘ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: kick-ass-heroines, historical-fiction, great-ships, book-boyfriends, amazing-reads, assassins, beautiful-writing, charismatic-characters, favourites, intriguing-world-building

*4,75/5 stars*

“When one consorts with assassins, one must expect to dance along the edge of a knife once or twice.”

Grave Mercy was such a lovely surprise! It is surely one of the most memorable Historical Fiction YA books with fantasy elements there is. I cannot recommend this series highly enough!

description

Ismae is not your typical young adult heroine. She lived her whole live under care of her brutal father, and if not for the convent of St. Mortain, she would live the rest of her life with abusive hus ...more

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Feb 02, 2012 Kat Kennedy rated it liked it

Shelves: the-great-shelf-of-meh, romance-romance-romance, to-ya-or-not-to-ya, kat-s-book-reviews

Grave Mercy is the improbable tale of an assassin-y murder-nun, Ismae, on a mission to rescue the Duchess of Brittany from a fate worse than death – a really disgusting old, pervert man. She’s joined along the way by a studly lord-type person, Duval, in order to defeat evil (the French), crown the Duchess, and get laid.
So on the positive side there’s court intrigue, crossbows, britches untied and skirts hitching and all those kinds of shenangians. And given those facts, you would be forgiven for Grave Mercy is the improbable tale of an assassin-y murder-nun, Ismae, on a mission to rescue the Duchess of Brittany from a fate worse than death – a really disgusting old, pervert man. She’s joined along the way by a studly lord-type person, Duval, in order to defeat evil (the French), crown the Duchess, and get laid.
So on the positive side there’s court intrigue, crossbows, britches untied and skirts hitching and all those kinds of shenangians. And given those facts, you would be forgiven for thinking that this is your average bodice ripper with all it’s stripped-to-the-shift, sexy occupational hazards of the 16th century, man-rooty goodness (…or badness?)
But this is actually a YA novel, which makes it awkward because it actually reads far more like it should have this cover:

romance cover

Look, you can’t just clean up an historical romance, put it through the wash, cut out all the descriptive sex and relabel it YA. It doesn’t work like that. The result is an Historical Romance without any sex - and you’ve just removed the one reason why I WOULD read a Historical Romance.
They tried to do that with that Pirates porn movie. The director loved it so much he cut out the sex and rereleased it as a feature movie. But YOU STILL HAVE A PORN MOVIE! There’s just no three way pirate sex scenes to off-put the fake books, stilted dialogue, ridiculous non-sensical story-lines… actually, it sounds like I AM describing Pirates of the Carribean – so let’s just move on.

Pirates porn movie poster

The premise was very interesting and I think the idea was most noteworthy. There’s nothing much to complain about with LaFever’s writing and stylistic choices in that regard. But it’s the plot and the pacing that is its biggest let down.

Quite early in this novel we see the plot mostly dry up and the fantasy of a badass killer-nun seems to be unattainable as we’re left with a soggy romance that never feels quite convincing. Certainly, both characters are likable and work well together as a team. But the actual romance is never particularly breathtaking or impassioned. Which would be fine if the movie had more throat-cutting and less awkward moments where the two main characters almost kiss.

The mystery is laughably easy to deduce which, for me, just added to a rather average reading fare.
I recommend this book to those that like the idea of assassin-nuns without dealing with the mess and teenagers who want a gateway book to the historical romance genre.

Check out our joint review of this book on Cuddlebuggery ...more

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Jul 28, 2015 Kelly (and the Book Boar) rated it it was ok

Shelves: everyone-loved-it-but-me, liburrrrrry-book, pretty-on-the-outside, read-in-2015

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

Upon starting Grave Mercy things were going swimmingly . . .

“You would not expect a queen to wash her own clothes or lace her own gown, she has handmaids for that. And so it is with us; we serve as handmaids to Death. When we are guided by His will, killing is a sacrament.”

My inner bunneh was all like . . .

But then the MC was given the assignment that I thought would be the driving force throughout the book, only to find out ...more

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Feb 01, 2012 Sophia rated it really liked it

me halfway into this novel: wait. this isn't a fantasy?

this is historical fiction. mixed with fantasy. and it's pretty dang great. the main character is an actual assassin who actually kills her assignments (shade), but the plot is mainly about political intrigue, complicated alliances, and preserving a nation's independence. there's a really nice romantic lead, too!! ...more

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Jan 15, 2020 Kayla Dawn rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-books

This was a pretty basic but decent YA fantasy story.
Unfortunately a little too romance heavy for me but I liked the characters most of the time and I enjoyed the banter between Duval and Ismae.
I hope I'll get a little more world building in the sequel! ...more

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Feb 27, 2012 Arlene rated it it was amazing

Recommended to Arlene by: Street Corner Bookers - Group Dessert Pick March

Shelves: fantasy, historical-fiction, young-adult, read-2012, arc, ya-fantasy

Five Solid Stars!

When I was reading Grave Mercy, I couldn’t help but reminisce about the life lessons I learned from the nuns I went to Catholic School with. Now keep in mind, they weren’t the skills Ismae was exposed to at Saint Mortmain's convent, so maybe I should start off with a brief comparison.

See, I was taught:
To walk like a bird, not like an elephant.
Keep my ankles and knees together when I sit.
My school tie is not to be used as a napkin.
Keep plenty of room for the Holy Spirit betwee ...more

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Mar 26, 2012 Maja (The Nocturnal Library) rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2012-favorites, all-the-right-choices, totally-saw-that-coming, arc-2012, cover-lust, netgalley, my-flat-army, young-adult, reviewed-in-2012, historical-fiction

What a pleasant surprise this was! Grave Mercy won me over in chapter one and I was unable to put down Ferguson, my Kindle, until I finished it. I always have troubles getting through the middle part of a book, but that was not the case here at all. I stayed up very late to finish it and I didn’t regret it for a second.

After being abused for her entire life by her vicious father and then married off at fourteen to an equally vicious husband, Ismae is saved by a hedge priest on her wedding night What a pleasant surprise this was! Grave Mercy won me over in chapter one and I was unable to put down Ferguson, my Kindle, until I finished it. I always have troubles getting through the middle part of a book, but that was not the case here at all. I stayed up very late to finish it and I didn’t regret it for a second.

After being abused for her entire life by her vicious father and then married off at fourteen to an equally vicious husband, Ismae is saved by a hedge priest on her wedding night and taken to a convent where she is told that she is a daughter of Mortain, the god of death. She is to be trained to carry out Mortain’s will and kill those he has placed his mark upon.
Ismae is reborn in the convent, determined to make the absolute best of the second chance life has given her. She is a good and dedicated student. But when the abbess orders her to go to duchess’ court and do her best to protect her, Ismae is not very comfortable with her orders. At 17, she is highly trained in every skill she might need and she has no trouble killing any traitor the convent tells her to, but the only way to get access to everyone important is by posing as Duval’s mistress, and that is very unsettling. Duval seems to be loyal to the duchess, he is her half-brother after all, but Ismae is under orders to investigate him. It doesn’t matter that she finds him attractive, slightly infuriating, but most of all trustworthy. Mortain’s will always come first.

What can be more fun than nuns who turned You shall not murder into You shall murder only those we order you to and You shall not commit adultery into You shall seduce for information, but not for love? Everyone, including myself, was thrilled by the idea of killer nuns, but that part proved to be just a little bit disappointing because these nuns had very little in common with actual nuns. I expected more conflict between their religion and their actions, but LaFevers chose another direction altogether.

I really admired Ismae. Getting to know her was my favorite part of this book. I liked her spirit and her intelligence, and I felt that her actions were pretty consistent, a sure sign of a well-built character. It didn’t take long for her to abandon the victim mentality and accept that she’s the one with the power, and that she earned that power by working hard for three whole years.

While I had a lot of fun reading it, Grave Mercy was by no means perfect. People with little patience for political intrigue will probably find themselves bored from time to time, especially around the middle. There is also the small issue of predictability: I knew who the traitor was about ten seconds after he showed up and it left me disappointed because I loved everything else so much.
Aside from that, I really wish Duval’s poisoning was handled differently. (I have to be extremely vague here lest I spoil things for some poor, unsuspecting reader, but those of you who have read the book will know exactly what I’m talking about.) I don’t mind what happened at all, I wish there was more of it, but the way it happened, under those circumstances, felt a little like a cop out to me. It’s like the action needed to be justified by a life or death situation, which I thought didn’t fit well with the overall tone of the book.

Grave Mercy was much more fun than I expected it to be. I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel.
...more

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Feb 09, 2013 Robin (Bridge Four) rated it really liked it

Shelves: kick-ass-heroines, 4-5-stars

Sale Alert 13May13 Kindle Deal $1.99

I read this a few years ago and really enjoyed the political intrigue and different heroine. This one is more Political while the next in the series has a lot more action. Still Assassin Nuns are always interesting.

Original Review:
This is an interesting YA novel as it is set in the 1400s so it is somewhat historical but at the same time fantasy. There is royal intrigue, plots, strange customs and dangerous women.

Ismae has been marked since birth. She is a dau Sale Alert 13May13 Kindle Deal $1.99

I read this a few years ago and really enjoyed the political intrigue and different heroine. This one is more Political while the next in the series has a lot more action. Still Assassin Nuns are always interesting.

Original Review:
This is an interesting YA novel as it is set in the 1400s so it is somewhat historical but at the same time fantasy. There is royal intrigue, plots, strange customs and dangerous women.

Ismae has been marked since birth. She is a daughter of death better known as Saint Mortain. Daughters of death it seems are beautiful and have some other worldly qualities to them. Ismae’s special talent is with poison she is immune to it in all forms. She is saved from an arranged marriage and sent to a convent for daughters of Mortain. There she is educated and trained to be a deadly assassin for Mortain’s bidding. After years in the convent the time had finally come be sent on her first assignment. She killed a man that might have repented his past transgressions and was trying to clear his name for Brittany (the country not the girl). To figure out who is plotting against Brittany she must set off to court with Gavriel Duval where she can use her gifts to assess who is plotting against Brittany and the Duchess Anne.

I liked that there were complex characters in this novel. No one was all good or all bad. Even our heroine is sorely misunderstood. She can tell when someone is about to die or sense them after they have died. Even she doesn’t understand the scope of her gifts. But she is feared as death is feared. Gavriel too is complex dutiful to the core but sometimes he goes against the norm for what he thinks is right even if it brands him a traitor to his sworn saint. The romance that eventually grows between them is sweet and takes its time to blossom. He sees Ismae for who and what she truly is and never tries to change her. I felt so bad for Anne, she has to marry to make an alliance to keep her kingdom that is on the brink of war but some of her suitors are treacherous and if wed she will surely die soon after so they can control her kingdom.

The story was so interesting and watching Ismae grow into a bold woman was fascinating. I loved how she came to better understand Mortain and the two sides of him better throughout the book to realize possibly that being an assassin was not all he wanted for his daughters. There were some great nail biting moments and honestly after the first 100 pages I just couldn’t put it down. Incredibly unique heroine. ...more

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Oct 12, 2015 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy-all, favorites, library-book

www.melissa413readsalot.blogspot.com

One Word:

I freaking loved this book and I am buying it for damn sure!

This is a long drawn out book and I wasn't bored not one time...NOT ONE TIME!!!

Ismae's mom tried to rid her in the womb with poison from a herbwitch and all of this did was give her a scar and make her a daughter of St. Mortain..the god of death!

When she is older her dad sells her to a horrible man who was trying to make her do her wifely duties, but once he saw her scar, he was terrified. ...more

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Feb 02, 2012 Tatiana marked it as dnf

Recommends it for: fans of Maria Snyder and Blood Song by Rhiannon Hart

Recommended to Tatiana by: Kirkus

Shelves: 4, why-the-hype, ya, 2018, starred-2012, fantasy, romancelandia, mythopoeic

Update 11/27/18

So, this one is a double DNF I guess. When I saw Kirkus give a starred review to the 4th book in this world and make it sounds so enticing, with all the court intrigue and assassinating, I got super excited and thought maybe this would be the case when I try an old DNF and love it and have a whole new set of fantasy books to gush over and look forward to. But NO, "Grave Mercy" is still too shallow and pedestrian for my taste. Absolutely love the premise, which reminds me a bit of ...more

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Dec 09, 2019 booksNpenguins rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: high-dark-epic-fantasy, period-aus-past, book-heaven, paranormal-and-gothic, supernatural-and-ghosts, swords-and-warriors, royal-binches, shippity-ship-ship, antiheroes-thieves-assassins

“This is what I want to be. An instrument of mercy, not vengeance.”

This book is so beautiful I wanna cry😭😭😭

ACTUAL RATINGS 4,5/5

Professional Reader

...more

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Oct 19, 2014 Alienor ✘ French Frowner ✘ rated it liked it

Shelves: genre-young-adult, genre-fantasy, 2015-reads, genre-historical

➸ Book 2 : Dark Triumph ✮✮✮✮✮

۩ This is the kind of book you eat and forget most of the details just after reaching the last page, because if there's a new event at each chapter, you quit on the feeling that nothing happened. Actually if Grave Mercy is by no means a bad book, I wasn't impressed either. What surprises me the most is how an original concept as Assassin nuns can lead me to feel slightly underwhelmed.

I guess that expectations are everything.

"So," she says, looking back up at me

...more

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Oct 03, 2017 Lea (drumsofautumn) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Definitely 4.5 stars! I WANT TO give this 5 stars but I feel like the sequels are gonna be EVEN BETTER, so I wanna leave some space for that!

“It is this kindness of his that unsettles me most. I can dodge a blow or block a knife. I am impervious to poison and know a dozen ways to escape a chokehold or garrotte wire. But kindness? I do not know how to defend against that.”

Now I absolutely cannot believe that it took me four years to get to this book. As soon as I heard this book exist ...more

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Aug 10, 2014 Hailey (Hailey in Bookland) rated it really liked it

Shelves: owned, fantasy

this was a really fun, and suprisingly quick read! i may (or may not) review it soon!

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Sep 30, 2013 Rachel Reads Ravenously rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya-fantasy, fantasy, paperback, young-adult

“When one consorts with assassins, one must expect to dance along the edge of a knife once or twice.”

Battered and abused for the majority of her life, Ismae is saved right after her wedding ceremony from a disgusting man and sent to a convent of Mortain's, the God of Death. There, she is schooled in the art of being an assassin and dedicated to carry out his work. For 3-4 years she is trained in many different ways to kill a man, and when she becomes 17 she is sent on her first assignment. F “When one consorts with assassins, one must expect to dance along the edge of a knife once or twice.”

Battered and abused for the majority of her life, Ismae is saved right after her wedding ceremony from a disgusting man and sent to a convent of Mortain's, the God of Death. There, she is schooled in the art of being an assassin and dedicated to carry out his work. For 3-4 years she is trained in many different ways to kill a man, and when she becomes 17 she is sent on her first assignment. Fairly soon Ismae is wrapped up in a mission to help the Duchess of Brittany, and forced to work with a man named Duval, who also does not want Ismae's help.

“Why be the sheep when you can be the wolf?”

I've read and heard many mixed reviews on this book since it's publication, so I didn't know what to expect going in. I really liked this book, but it fell short of that something special that would make me love it.

Ismae is a very compelling character, if a bit ill-prepared for the assignment she was given. Duval was interesting as well, but I never really felt as if the reader really got to know him. The relationship between him and Ismae could technically be filed under slow-build, but it felt forced to me. I wish more time had been spent building their relationship because it very much felt like it went from "I can't trust you" to "We will do our best to be together in the future" in a matter of 50 pages or so. The aboutface was too quick for my tastes.

“It is this kindness of his that unsettles me most. I can dodge a blow or block a knife. I am impervious to poison and know a dozen ways to escape a chokehold or garrote wire. But kindness? I do not know how to defend against that.”

I'm also not a giant fan of political plots in my fantasy/science fiction novels and this book was primarily that. It was done very well, but I grew a bit tiresome of it by the end of the book.

^^^Despite all of these issues I listed above, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, I felt it was a very fresh idea in the young adult genre. The book also promoted important aspects such as to think for yourself, second chances, and first impressions are not always correct. All very important themes for a ya novel.

I am very excited to read Sybella's book next, I feel like she would be an incredibly interesting character.

PS: (view spoiler) ...more

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Apr 25, 2015 Natalie Monroe rated it it was ok

Shelves: boooring, great-start-hated-the-rest, girl-squad, not-as-good-as-i-expected, when-sparks-don-t-fly

"I am a handmaiden of Death. I walk in His dark shadow and do His bidding. Serving Him is my only purpose in this life, and I have let my annoyance drive that duty from my mind. I will not let that happen again."

Like Truthwitch, Grave Mercy is a book I should have loved. It's got an interesting historical background and assassin nuns.

Assassin. Nuns. I'll just let that sink in.

Unfortunately, the premise doesn't hold up. The beginning is the best part. We open with Ismae being married agains ...more

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Aug 10, 2011 Michelle, the Bookshelf Stalker Queen of the Undead rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: anyone that loved Poison Study and/or Graceling.

This book was outstanding. You have all the fun elements- a young "kick-ass" female assassin gifted by the God of Death, a potential love interest, court politics, revenge, mistrust, and so on.

In addition, you have a beautiful tale of a girl’s personal growth. Watching Ismae go from a naive young girl, who blindly follows, to a smart thinking young woman, was the best part of the book.

Update-3/11/12

I was going to write more for this review but I am going to just roll with what I wrote originall ...more

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Jan 01, 2016 Norah Una Sumner rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, covergasm, young-adult, fantasy, great-male-characters, great-female-characters, humor, shipshipship, 4-star-read, history

3,5 stars

description

Such an interesting read.I love the story and the main character.Seems like a start to a great trilogy.I enjoyed reading about Ismae's adventures and I love how she developed as a character.There's action,there's a bit of slow-burning romance which I definitely liked,there's a lot of scheming and there are many interesting historical facts.The supporting characters are very interesting - Duval,the Duchess,Sybella etc.Yes,the writing and the world-building aren't perfect but I really con ...more

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Feb 28, 2017 Deborah Obida rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, historical-fiction

Buddy reading with Kelsey My Dec tbr twin

This is really going to be a short review, based on the fact that 3 stars review are just so hard for me to write most times and also I didn't enjoy this book even though it was okay.

As glad as I am that I enjoyed this book, I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed. The book lacks action, in depth depictions of things that happened in the book,some things were just too rushed for my liking.

I love the politics and scheming in the book, even though I ...more

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Jun 28, 2019 Sara Rebotim rated it really liked it

This book was so easy writing and enjoyable to read and I can say I’m not a fan of slow books but I felt a connection with the characters, specially Ismae she’s strong and loyal ! The story was engaging from the beginning till the end
Definitely 4 starts!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Oct 29, 2014 Gail Carriger rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical, ya, coop, fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The series premise: three girls from different backgrounds are deemed daughters of death and taken in to a mysterious convent where they are trained as assassins, called death's handmaidens. Each is then sent from the convent into the politics of late 1400s Brittany where they find self confidence through love, purpose, and place in society.

The writing: rich period color, first person perspective, strong voice, some graphic violence, modest sex scenes, excellent heroic counterparts, complex poli The series premise: three girls from different backgrounds are deemed daughters of death and taken in to a mysterious convent where they are trained as assassins, called death's handmaidens. Each is then sent from the convent into the politics of late 1400s Brittany where they find self confidence through love, purpose, and place in society.

The writing: rich period color, first person perspective, strong voice, some graphic violence, modest sex scenes, excellent heroic counterparts, complex politics. Close accepting friendship between girls and women, betrayal by adult role models.

Grave Mercy is about Ismae, an abused peasant girl, for whom a convent is salvation and her devotion to her god, Death, a redemption and a means to self actualization. Her journey is one of faith ~ learning to define faith for herself, to find faith in others, and to have faith in her own abilities and in love.

Ismae is sent into the high politics of the time to unearth betrayal, learning along the way what she must question and who she must become. She is learning about herself as she learns about her world, and what kind of place and path is open to her.

“Is that what my life has been? A series of trials to be passed?”
“You come to us well tempered, my child, and it is not in my nature to be sorry for it.
It is the well-tempered blade that is the strongest.”

Ismae is a gentle almost sweet character, a fish out of water in the best sense, despite her deadly abilities. The romance that develops between her and the man she is supposed to watch is part of her own journey learning to trust not just men but herself: in her heart, in her abilities, and in her judgement.

I adored this book. So much so that I entirely forgave it some initial world building and historical exposition. This was front loaded, once through the beginning chapters (to Ismae's first kill and the introduction of the hero) the pace picks up considerably. I wanted more of the assassin training, because I like the school aspect of most books (well, duh, I wrote a whole series about this) but I can understand why it wasn't there (or was cut out). I enjoyed the journey and the characters (even though I didn't personally relate to them) but I liked them both much more as they are set into motion, on the road and into the city and politics. I thought some of the romance was a little much ~ salvation through sex has never been a trope I latch on to myself. However, I wonder if, LaFevers is playing parody with that trope in her connubial culmination, as Ismae literally saves Duval with her body.
...more

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Nov 10, 2011 Giselle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: from-publishers, age-young-adult, genre-historical, bought-in-store, 2012, arc-physical, 5-star

An unsolicited Advanced Reader Copy was provided by the publisher for review. Quotes have been pulled from an ARC and may be subject to change.

Intrigue. Murder. Politics. What more could you want?

Ismae gets rescued by a priest from a future with an abusive husband. The two journey to the convent, and is trained by the church to do St. Mortain’s work. But most of all she’s an assassin who is marked by Death himself. She slowly gathers the trust and respect of her fellow mentors and is finally ass ...more

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