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?
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143 of 148 people found the following review helpful.
Just one phrase: Killer. Nuns.
By Gretchen @ My Life is a Notebook
Upon finishing this book, the critical reviewer in me had a bad moment. It raised its hackles and started stalking back through the book for something to comment on, something that annoyed me, something that stuck out. It took me a really long moment to realize that I had just simply enjoyed this book. Then the reviewer in me freaked out, because I hate throwing around 5 stars. But so the rating stays.Why, you ask? Well that's what I'm here to tell you.This book started in the exact right place. You get an insight into what makes Ismae who she is-a poignant one-that doesn't last for more than a few pages before you get to what you know you really want to read about, the killing nuns. However, those few pages are important, done well, and really allow the rest of the book to be accessible. The book is in the first person, and at first glance Ismae isn't exactly a narrator like Sophie from the Hex Hall books. However, because you know where she's coming from, her matter-of-fact way of speaking makes sense and connects the reader rather than repels them. And makes her dry sense of humor that much more awesome.Speaking of characters, few books have such a solid cast of background characters such as this book. Even the characters that you didn't see that often were well written and not stereotypes. From the younger duchess to Duval's second-in-commands, I was in love with every single one of them-even the villains! (In fact, in places, especially the villains.)I'll admit, after reading Illuminate by Aimee Agresti Grave Mercy scared me because of its length. It's 549 pages long. However, every single one of those pages was well used. Plenty of assassin stuff goes on, as well as plenty of intrigue and plotting. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized I actually couldn't guess what was coming-and I certainly didn't guess the ending! (Well, in part. It's a romance; some things are a given.)And the romance. Color me SO HAPPY. Sure, it's the typical line where they start off disliking each other and then realize they love each other, but it worked. The reasons they were so untrusting of each other were REAL. The worries they had were REAL. The progression of their relationship was REAL. They came to trust each other before they came to love each other, which is how it should be. Hallelujah.Lastly, Grave Mercy made me realize just how much modern day/modernish day plus a few years into the future where everything is a wreck books I'd be reading. I love historical fiction, and Grave Mercy made me miss it ridiculously. I didn't realize it until Ismae legitimately used the word "poleaxed" in a sentence and I started giggling, because how many modern teens use that? All around, this book was a refreshing change from the other books I'd been reading that was filled with great characters, a fantastical historical world, great mythology and a real romance. If you like historical romance headlines by killer females (yes, pun intended, deal with it) then I certainly recommend Grave Mercy. Even if you don't do much historical fiction, I still recommend it. The history and it's figures were done so well I absolutely forgot it WAS historical fiction. It's one of my favorites so far this year!
67 of 71 people found the following review helpful.Blown Away!
By Jessica McKelden Cave
Where should I start with this book? I really adored this book. I read it in a few short days. I was extremely interested in just about everything that was going on and my expectations were exceeded.The heroine, Ismae, was really great. She is kick-ass in a rather subtle way. She's not overly so, but her cleverness lends a hand, making her a force to be reckoned with. She's very strong, despite a very troubled and painful past. She acts very much according to how she's been taught and I found it very realistic. Her internal struggle is fascinating. I loved watching her question what was right or wrong, as well as who she could trust. Her "abilities" and skills were very interesting and added to a very rich storyline. This is what makes the story loosely fantasy, but definitely not enough for me to actually label this story paranormal.Ismae's hero, Gavriel Duval, was an awesome character. He was loyal, strong, true, and just a pleasure to read about. He deals with an internal struggle nearly as much as Ismae does, but his deals with several outside conflicts. He is very family-oriented - every bit of politics in this book goes back to his family. His romantic side is very sweet and I loved seeing him with Ismae. He is the first man to every really treat her respectfully and not in a completely horrible, hateful way. It's easy to see why she is drawn to him and their romance is very believable.The supporting characters are extremely rich and well-written. Duval's friends are fun to read and quickly make you want to be their friends, as well. Duval's family and the rest of the political characters are fleshed out and each has a very distinct personality that is really fun to read.The plot is where this book truly shines, however. This novel is full of mystery and high-intrigue. There's a lot more going on than initially believed and Ismae finds her self right in the middle of it all. I noticed that another reviewer posted that she didn't like the amount of politics that this book contained. This concern is valid - there's a huge amount of politics. In fact, the majority of the main plot is full of political intrigue. However, as someone that absolutely loathes politics, I really enjoyed it. I think when you got to know the characters involved and the motives behind their actions, you become emotionally invested in them. Their lives simply revolve around politics, which is very realistic for the roles that they play.The setting is rich and beautiful. I've never before read a book that took place in medieval Brittany and I was very happy with this foray into such. The court is full of interesting characters and everything is described in such a vivid way that it's like you're actually there.Also, to make a note, this is not a typical Young Adult novel. While Ismae is 17, this is medieval Brittany, meaning she is considered an adult - indeed, quite past marrying age. I definitely wouldn't let middle-grade YA readers get their hands on this. There are many topics that firmly aim it toward older-age YA readers: murder/assassination, sex (though definitely not graphic), abuse, etc. Adult readers will be just as happy with this book as older YA readers.All in all, this was a truly fabulous book. I couldn't be happier with the story. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book, due in spring of 2013. This was an excellent story that I'm very glad to have read.
29 of 29 people found the following review helpful.Now I get to ask myself why I waited so long to read this amazing book. I know one of the biggest drawbacks ...
By Nicole @ Paperback Princess
Holy Cow. Hooooooolly Cow. I’m just floored by how much I adored this book, and now I’m wondering what took me so long to get to it? I mean, I do know, I got it from Arcycle a few months ago, but I was trying to read all of my upcoming releases first, and now that I have finished all 2013 releases, now I get to dive into all these other books that have been calling my name for way too long. Now? Now I get to ask myself why I waited so long to read this amazing book. I know one of the biggest drawbacks is the size, but man was it worth reading.For starters, I loved how this was like a historical fiction with some magic wrapped into it. There is nothing like taking the past and adding something to make it lively because, as a historian, the past can be boring and so can historical fictions that just don’t understand how the past really happened. I think I would actually liken this to a sort of Game of Thrones lite. Sure there are no dragons or things like that, but there is that element that this could have been the past if not for the crazy mysticism.I adored the characters almost right away. Of course there was some getting used to what the hell was going on and adjusting to who all these people were. Its hard to deny that when you have such a complicated plot and so many different character. That was my biggest problem I think that there were a few characters that I couldn't keep straight, namely the high lords that were all kinds of wrapped up in the plot.I adored Ismae and her strength in the face of everything that could go wrong that did. I really enjoyed her getting to know Duval and how even though she was sort of told not to trust men, she clearly trusted her gut which was much more important. The ending of this book was the icing on the cake and left me wanting to return to this world. Finding out that we were going to get another book left me delighted abet, slightly disappointed that it was not about Ismae.I am excited to see what the next book is going to bring and to see exactly how many more installments of this book we are going to get. I have admitted on several occasions that I am not a huge fantasy fan, I am really enraptured by this book and this series.
