Grave Mercy is the first in Robin LaFevers' series of female assassins/priestesses of the St Mortain. Ismae escapes a forced marriage at fourteen and lives among the nuns/priestesses and is trained in fighting, poisons, etc. Ismae becomes an active force and a strong political ally of Duval, they work together in court and as fighters. Grave Mercy is full of action, adventure and intrigue!

Set in an sort of alternative medieval France, this book is full of historical details that combined with the idea of a school for female assassins (which is run of all things by nuns) and and swoonworthy romance and danger make it hard to put down.

If I have one quibble, it is with the idea that sex is needed to save someone. The character chooses to engage in sex with someone they love but under the auspices of "or else this person will die,"

I liked and empathized with Ismae at the beginning, but somebody got too much romance in my historical adventure novel! I wasn't buckled in for "bodice-ripper romance", and the lack of subtlety in where the story was going felt like an insult to YA readers. The political intrigue was well done though.

Free copy given in exchange for an honest review.

Yo, this book is awesome. I know that like every other reviewer ever has said that, so I'm just throwing my voice into the mix. I tried reading this last year but couldn't get into it. Apparently, I just didn't give it enough time. The first few chapters are pretty slow, but once Ismae gets older, the story really picks up, especially after she runs into Duval and gets assigned a mission at court.

The mythology in this book is pretty great. Robin LaFevers wrote a really interesting post about how she came up with the Nine Old Gods that appear in the book. I love the throwbacks to traditional folklore.

Also, the characters in this are great. I really enjoyed watching Ismae's character arc. Also, I'm not normally into the strong, silent type of bookish boyfriends, but Duval was pretty swoony. I'm just throwing that out there. I definitely shipped them.

This is a great read for anyone who loves historical fantasy. The worldbuilding is imaginative yet also steeped in history. The characters come alive, and the plot is lusciously dark and twisty. I'm so glad there are two more of these books left for me to read!

Intriguing and engaging! Grave Mercy, by Robin LaFevers, held my attention and kept me guessing throughout. Once I got past the premise that young girls were being trained as assassins (by nuns, no less!), I avidly followed the adventure. LaFevers' writing is beautifully descriptive; she gives a good sense of the middle ages but doesn't get bogged down in it. The romance aspect didn't overpower the story until near the end, but it still fit in well. The characters were drawn in such a way that it really did seem difficult to know who to trust, and Ismae reflected strong character development from beginning to end. I look forward to reading more from this author, especially anything that continues this particular story.

I loved everything about this book! So many plot turns and amazing characters that I just couldn't get enough of it. Can't wait to read more from this author.

DNF - I intended to review this novel but was not able to before access was removed from my account. I apologize for not providing a review as was expected.

I found this novel too violent and disturbing, especially for YA. I quit reading after 100 pages. Since I only blog about books that I like, I didn't post a public review. Although she writes well, this author wasn't a good match for me.

I wasn't able to finish this; it just didn't hold my interest.