Review: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Book One of the His Fair Assasin Trilogy

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Publication Date: April 3, 2012

Rating: 5 stars
Source: Sent from the author

(Old review; originally posted HERE on May 5, 2012)

Summary (from Goodreads):

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?

What I Liked:

First? The little catch-phrase on the cover. "Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?" drew me in from the start. I saw that and immediately thought, there is going to be some high action. And there was.

I loved the assassin aspect of the 15th century to this book. I love historical fiction, but what's even better is the addition of a strong-willed, kick-butt heroine. Ismae's choices aren't just for herself. She thinks of Mortain, the convent, the duchess, and Duval, the man placed with her in Brittany.

Second? I loved the style of this book. The flow of the story and the words is beautiful. Ms. LaFevers create a world of mystery and beauty with her rich words and articulate setting. Everything is so well placed!

Third? The characters. Not just Ismae. I love Duval, for his high sense of duty, of love, or honesty. I love Beast and De Lornay for their humor and wit. The political figures of the book were enjoyable to read, even if I didn't like some of them.

Ms. LaFevers had me guessing up until the last chapter, when everything finally wrapped up. I like how this book is a standalone, even though there are two other books about other characters. This takes out part of the agonizing wait for more. And there is so much more that I loved about this book, but I don't want to bore anyone and gush too much :)

What I Did Not Like:

I am not sure if there was anything that I really did not like. Everything was so well put-together. This is exactly the type of book that I would read, and it met any and every standard that I had. A note, however: this book is about 560 pages. While this didn't bother me, it might be bothersome to someone. But if you start getting into the story, you won't notice the length.

Would I Recommend It:

Oh my gosh YES! I can't think of a better young adult, historical romance-ish book right now that is this good. A good range of readers is probably 14 and up. The romance is straightforward. Scenes of any sort of intimacy are very, very clean.

Rating:

Five, ten, a thousand stars. I finished this book in a couple of hours straight. It was that good.

I anxiously await the next book by Ms. LaFevers!

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