From the Bookshelf of Mock Printz 2026…
Find A Copy At
Group Discussions About This Book
What Members Thought
Pulls you into the story on page one and keeps the action going throughout, without too much time spent on description or character development. I enjoyed this story of a girl "sired by Death", who is trained in a convent to become an assassin, doing Death's work in Brittany, fighting to keep their independence from France.
...more
Grave Mercy is like the Mists of Avalon had a baby with Kristen Cashore's Fire (Both books I love, love love.) Sired by Death, and rejected and brutalized by her "father", Ismae escapes a terrible life by becoming an member of a convent of death's handmaidens, where she is trained as as assassin and in the art of seduction. Thing is, though, that Ismae preferred spending her time learning about poisons rather than attend seduction classes, so when her next assignment is to pretend to be the hono
...more
Interesting blend of fantasy and historical fiction, with the unusual premise of nuns trained as assassins for the god Mortain (basically, Death). A little long, but I enjoyed it all. 3 1/2 stars.
My Thoughts:
Where do I begin with this review? Let me tell you first, that I remember seeing this book all over the place on other blogs (back before I started to actively blog). I added to my TBR list and bought it recently for my library’s collection. It was just one of those books I was uncertain about but I thought I would give it a shot. Boy am I ever glad I did—this book was FANTASTIC!!
Ms. LaFevers writing instantly hooked me into the story. From the first page, I was drawn into the sett ...more
Where do I begin with this review? Let me tell you first, that I remember seeing this book all over the place on other blogs (back before I started to actively blog). I added to my TBR list and bought it recently for my library’s collection. It was just one of those books I was uncertain about but I thought I would give it a shot. Boy am I ever glad I did—this book was FANTASTIC!!
Ms. LaFevers writing instantly hooked me into the story. From the first page, I was drawn into the sett ...more
I would recommend this book to Graceling readers since it follows similar themss of a girl assassin and political intrigue. There is also a mystery element and an historical aspect with the struggle for power between France, Brittany, The Holy Roman Empire and England. I loved the idea of having nuns train the assassins uaing interesting poisons and weapons. Historical romance fans will relate to the romance between Ismac and Duval.
Not as much of a fan as I was hoping based on the reviews. It's definitely my genre - supernatural romance, intrigue, with a strong female heroine, but the premise of a convent of virginal assassins given their kill orders by bird was just a little far fetched for me. That along with the just ok writing, the somehow less than convincing love story, and the bloated page count (549) made this only a 3 out of 5 star read.
...more
...more
Diverting, and with the outlines of quite interesting ideas around Death and how a handmaiden might work for His purported ends; but in the end it read more like a defanged adult romance novel than like the trained-assassin-gal-kicks-butt adventure it set itself up to be. Also, if anybody seized my elbows that often in an iron grip, I would not be the only one administering an ice pack to sore parts.
I received this audiobook for free from Audio Book Sync. I am not usually a huge audiobook fan because I find them to move slowly. This book was incredible. I would recommend it to anyone who is trying to get into audiobooks. It reminded me a bit of Kristin Cashore's Graceling. 17-year-old Ismae is blessed with gifts from the god of Death, St. Mortain. After she escapes an arranged marriage, she is taken in by a convent, who trains her to become an undercover assassin. I was hooked from the begi
...more
Student Bookgroup pick.
I was really disappointed by this book, probably because I was looking forward to the Brittany setting -- and that was just not the point of the story.
I was really disappointed by this book, probably because I was looking forward to the Brittany setting -- and that was just not the point of the story.
At Reading Rants: http://bit.ly/INyAXH
...more
Good read, I'm looking forward to the next one, but not so amazing that I'm going to crow about it. Political intrigue, historical information that I found interesting, and a good hero.
...more
Good storytelling! There really wasn't a dull moment in the book.
...more
May 16, 2012
Amanda
marked it as to-read
May 17, 2012
Ann
marked it as to-read
