From the Bookshelf of Mock Printz 2026…

Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin, #1)

Robin LaFevers

Start date: May 1, 2012

Finish date: May 31, 2012

Discussion: Mock Printz 2013

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 38 topics — 319 comments total

Mock Printz 2013

* The Printz Award for 2013
By Kathy · 5 posts · 139 views

last updated Mar 03, 2013 09:09PM

The List by Siobhan Vivian
By Lindsey · 9 posts · 98 views

last updated May 21, 2013 07:27AM

What Members Thought

Jan 06, 2013 Melissapalmer404 rated it really liked it

Book #8 Read in 2013
Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

This is the first book of a three book young adult fantasy series. In this book, the main character, Ismae, is sent to a convent to learn how to become one of Death's hand maidens. She is trained to recognize the Death mark on people and then to kill them. But as she gets caught up with working with Duval at court, she is torn between what her convent orders are and what her heart is telling her to do. Should she listen blindly to the orders from ...more

Like · see review

Aug 17, 2013 Elise rated it liked it

Shelves: new-adult-20-s-30-s, romance-intrigue, young-adult, strong-female-protagonist, historical-fantasy

Actual rating- 3.5. I liked it, but not enough to bump it up to a 4 star rating.

Ismae is sold into a marriage to a vulgar man, but just as she feels that any hope at a good life is over, she's taken from the marriage and put into the convent of St. Mortain- the saint of Death. There she begins her training to become an assassin for Mortain; this includes everything from mixing poisons, killing those who bear "Mortain's marque," to learning how to use her "feminine charms" to bring about Mortain Actual rating- 3.5. I liked it, but not enough to bump it up to a 4 star rating.

Ismae is sold into a marriage to a vulgar man, but just as she feels that any hope at a good life is over, she's taken from the marriage and put into the convent of St. Mortain- the saint of Death. There she begins her training to become an assassin for Mortain; this includes everything from mixing poisons, killing those who bear "Mortain's marque," to learning how to use her "feminine charms" to bring about Mortain's will. As soon as she's sent on her final quest (as each novice must perform 3 duties before they can take their final vows to the convent), she is thrown head-first into the political intrigue of 15th century Brittany and France. The Duchess of Brittany, Anne, who is being forced into a marriage of her own, hopes to secure her country's safety and independence without having to marry the horrible Count d'Albret. Ismae works with Anne's half-brother, Gavriel Duval, to uncover possible traitors to Anne and find a solution to the imminent threat of France's invasion.

In terms of plot, I loved that the author throws you into this very real world of 15th century Europe. Yet at the same time, it had elements of fantasy and the paranormal. I though that the political intrigue, based in history, was great world building and really drew you in. However, I felt that much of the action was placed intermittently between lots of nothing... I am ok with plots that are slow moving and build towards a final crescendo, but I didn't find the ending that "revealing" because I had already guessed who the traitor was around 100 pages in. I did like that Ismae learned that she can serve her God/Saint without having to adhere to the will of the convent, so I felt that the main character was developed and found a resolution.

I also would have liked Ismae's assassin side to show forth more. She mostly ends up using her "feminine charms" to find solutions and move the action along. Warning-Spoilers ahead!! I mean, in the end, when Duval is dying from the poison, instead of finding an antidote with her deep knowledge of poisons and potions, how does she rid him of it? She has sex with him! I was like, really?? The beginning of the book starts out SO strongly with her being whisked away to the convent and then performing her first two kills. It set the scene for a great novel. But by the time she leaves on her final duty, things really slowed down.

I would probably not recommend this book to teens who are not in high school. Some of the content is a little more mature, and I would even argue that this book borders on being classified as "new adult." I will read the sequel though, because I'm interested in hearing more about Sybella and her experience with the convent. ...more

Like · see review

Nov 01, 2013 D rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, historical-fiction, supernatural

Read this book!

Seriously, if you are even a little interested in this title, you will find yourself enjoying it. The characters are alive, and many of them based on real life figures. The romance in this book is fairly subtle, and not as blatantly in your face as it is with other YA titles. Thankfully it is also not the main purpose and this is going into my favorites in terms of its ability to balance out romance with the main plot.

This is a very nice mix between three genres: historical fictio ...more

Like · see review