Grave Mercy
Aug. 22nd, 2019 03:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearNext in the Novel Predictions list is Grave Mercy by Robin Lafevers. Based on the premise, it sounds pretty terrible. Set in the 1480s, it's about a convent that takes in young girls believed to be sired by Death himself, and trains them to be assassins. The protagonist, Ismae, accepts her third assignment to pose as mistress to Lord Duval in the court of Brittany, working with him to protect the young duchess, whose reign is threatened both from without and from within. Things get complicated when Ismae's instructions from the convent start to go against her own conscience and heart.
Ridiculous? Yes. But it's very well written and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a bit concerning that a 17-year-old female protagonist enjoys killing quite so much as she does, though she claims it's in service to her saint rather than bloodthirstiness for it's own sake, but still... Anyway, there's lots of political intrigue, a classic romance plot and some great interactions between the various female characters. Ismae discovers an utterly ridiculous power she didn't know she had towards the end, which made me cringe a bit, but otherwise I found this book very immersive and richly described, with appealing characters and an interesting plot. I'll definitely be reading more by this author.
Ridiculous? Yes. But it's very well written and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a bit concerning that a 17-year-old female protagonist enjoys killing quite so much as she does, though she claims it's in service to her saint rather than bloodthirstiness for it's own sake, but still... Anyway, there's lots of political intrigue, a classic romance plot and some great interactions between the various female characters. Ismae discovers an utterly ridiculous power she didn't know she had towards the end, which made me cringe a bit, but otherwise I found this book very immersive and richly described, with appealing characters and an interesting plot. I'll definitely be reading more by this author.
