Dark, adventurous fantasy, with a gender-swapped re-telling of Beowulf. This was everything I wanted when I first heard of it, plus so much more! I will never not recommend this to anyone!

Review of an ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher.

At first I was leery about reading this book because I thought the plot description of Medieval, female assassins sounded a lot like another YA series that I read.  Boy, was I wrong!  Instead, to my surprise, this is a female retelling of Beowulf!  And it works!  I say retelling, but it's not really that.  The plot and characters are very different.  Just enough of the original story is there for readers to recognize it.

The characters in this book are nothing like the characters in the other series that I read.  They are not elegant assassins trained to blend in with royalty.  In fact, they are not really assassins at all.  They do not kill for profit, but to ease suffering.  Mercies are impoverished and looked down upon by most of societies.  They are made up of orphaned girls and widows whose only choice for survival is to either become prostitutes or take up the death trade.  Dressed in black cloaks, they travel from village to village, scrounging for food and taking small payments to "release" those who are dying from illnesses or old age.

The book follows a small group of Mercies who have decided to find a way to give up the death trade.  And when they learn about a distant kingdom being terrorized by a vicious monster, they decide that this might be their chance to use their skills to get enough reward money to start new lives.

Content wise - this is a dark story with a lot of blood and death (I mean, look at their profession).  There are gory and violent fight scenes.  Don't come into the book expecting a YA romance.  There isn't much of that at all (thank goodness).

Overall, I've got to say that, despite its dark tone, I really enjoyed the book.  A very nice surprise.

Who doesn't love kickass female leads with backbones and agendas?

A retelling of Beowulf, The Boneless Mercies tells the tale of Frey, Ovie, Juniper, and Runa -- four female assassins sick of killing out of duty and crave some serious glory. Their precious sisterhood, however, becomes ruthless in its quest -- and their journey becomes one of Bloodlust and unwavering bones. 

I do like the graphic nature of the story. It's probably my favorite aspect of the book. It's beautiful and violent and real at the same time, which adds layers to the story.

I would recommend.

Rating: 2/2.5 The premise of this story intrigued me. Badass females on a mission for glory sign me up. But I found this book to be....boring. Nothing really happens for most of the book. There is just a LOT of wandering the forest. The action scenes seemed too quick and tidy and were a letdown. Overall, I just wasn't that entertained and started to skim which is never a good sign. 

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

With a fierce feminist edge and plenty of gore, April Genevieve Tucholke retells the tale of Beowulf any woman tired of living under the oppressive rule of the patriarchy.

Frey, Ovie, Juniper, and Runa are Boneless Mercies, girls hired to kill the sick, aging or otherwise unwell with silence and mercy. But the girls are sick and tired of the death trade and its nomadic nature. Raised on heroic sagas that mimic our own viking tales, the girls are ready to seek some glory. Soon enough, they hear tell of an unstoppable monster destroying a nearby kingdom and decide that this is their chance to give up being Mercies and begin being heroes. If they die, no one will miss them, but they might go down in history.

What follows is a story of bloodlust, unwavering sisterhood, and an unapologetic quest for glory. Tucholke weaves an elegant tale, full of gorgeous, simmering writing and beautifully written girls who will stop at nothing --- nor apologize for who they are. The fight, they love, they kill --- all with the same quiet beauty and grace. This story is not for the faint of heart, but it is definitely for the fierce. 

I adored Tucholke's Mercies for their sisterhood, but what drew me in was the graphic descriptions of death. Where other authors might hold back and fade to black, Tucholke draws strength from her characters and races head-on into gore, violence and unapologetic terror. She is a master of darkness and her spin on Beowulf is fresh, harrowing and outright stunning.

My one complaint about THE BONELESS MERCIES is that the story seemed to wrap up quite quickly and I feel as though a few ends were left untied. It is suggested that war is eminent, but there is no update about how or when --- I don't dare hope for a sequel, but if one comes, I will be as ready as one of Tucholke's Mercies.

This was rounded up from 3.5 - some of the world building is weak, ditto the character development.

As an idea, the Mercies (a group of women paid to help people die, usually in vengence) is interesting. Not quite assassins, not quite mercy killers, something inbetween. Tired of all that, the four (Frey, Ovie, Runa and Juniper) decide to try for fame and fortune by killing a beast and along the way they meet Trigve (who joins their merry band, but is never quite a full member) while also living among the Sea Witches, spending time with the Cut Queen and journeying to their ultimate goal: slaying the Grendel-like beast. Sadly, more time was needed to flesh out - for example - the Sea Witches and their world/mythology than was taken, so often the reader will find wonderful moments rushed. Perhaps fewer adventures would have helped?

eARC provided by publisher

I loved this book.  Simple as that.  The writing was atmospheric and enchanting and beautiful.  The characters were strong and fierce and lovey.  And the world in which it was set was like out of a dream.  I loved the relationship between the main characters.  They were so familiar and comfortable with each other, they loved each other and would do anything one another, the bonds they had were sweet and true.  It was pretty easy to love them all.  Their adventure was thrilling, but it was also gruesome at times and heartbreaking.  You wanted them to succeed.  You wanted them to find a place where they belonged.  You wanted to give them the world.  They only thing I wish this book had was a map!  I would have loved to been able to track their journey with them!

Four stars: A fantasy adventure that focuses on strong female friendships. 

Frey, Ovie, Juniper and Runa are shadows. The four girls travel from village to village to aid those who are in need of a merciful death. They quickly, quietly and mercifully kill the sick and dying. Their lives are lonely and sad, but the are far better off then the lives they led before they became the Boneless Mercies. After one particularly hard mercy kill, the girls decide the want something more in life. They want adventure and glory. The foursome decide they will try to kill the Beast that has been ravaging and killing in a nearby town. Killing the beast would bring them fame and fortune, and a chance at a new life. Do the Boneless Mercies have what it takes to slay the monster?
What I Liked:
*The Boneless Mercies ended up being a pleasant surprise. I will admit it took me a bit to get into this one as I wasn’t too keen on the mercy killings. However, I gave it a chance and once this book took off, it was a fantastic read. I loved that this one focused on girl power and strong female friendships. I also enjoyed the world building and the story. This is an interesting and unique tale, give it a chance. 
*The four main characters: Ovie, Juniper, Frey and Runa are four lonely, damaged girls, who travel the country providing merciful deaths in exchange for coins. It is a hard, lonely life, but the four get by because they believe in each other and the bonds they forged that hold them together like family. For me, the highlight of the story was the connections and the friendships between the girls. They have each other’s backs through thick and thin, and they care for one another immensely. Loved the girl power!
*I also liked that each girl had her own secrets and damaging past. During the journey, each girl shares her own troubling story. None of them had it easy. I loved each of these fierce girls, and learning their truths made them more admirable. Loved these fierce, courageous and formidable girls. 
*Surprisingly, there isn’t a romance in this one, which I liked. Yes, there are some hints of romance here and there, but there is not a romance, which I think, made the story more powerful as the focus is all about friendship bonds. 
*The world building is strong. I liked that this took place in a fantasy type world. There is witch magic, beasts and more. Life in this world is tough and hard. I thought the author did a great job with the world. 
*The story is filled with all different kinds of danger. There are dangerous witches, terrifying beasts and vicious overlords. With each and every battle, the girls grew stronger and closer. There is rarely a dull moment in this one. 
*The story builds with a terrific climax and terrifying battle against a horrific foe. I was surprised by the way it all played out, and I thought it was a fitting ending. The book ends with all the major story lines tied off, and it seems to conclude, but then the final line opens it up to the possibility of a sequel.
And The Not So Much:
*This book took a little time and patience to get into. I admit, I was a bit put off by the subject matter, reading about the merciful deaths was a little disturbing and depressing. If you are faint of heart and you don’t like blood, this one is not for you. 
*The whole story line with the Cut Queen felt like it wasn’t completed. I was expecting a big confrontation and conflict and it ended up being a fizzle. I was disappointed. 
*Frey and Trigve’s relationship was strange. I wish that it was better developed. I kept thinking that it was going to evolve, but it doesn’t. I want more.

The Boneless Mercies was a book that took a little time to immerse into, but I am glad I stuck with it. In the end, I got a unique story, and I thoroughly enjoyed the strong focus on friendship and girl power. If you want a fantasy adventure with four strong female characters, this is one to check out. 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review. 
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

This is a dark standalone YA fantasy about a band of mercenary girls in search of female glory.
Frey, Ovie, Juniper, and Runa are the Boneless Mercies—girls hired to kill quickly, quietly, and mercifully. But Frey is weary of the death trade and, having been raised on the heroic sagas of her people, dreams of a bigger life.

Viking type women and their friendships. I personally like a more romance, but that is just me!

Title:   The Boneless Mercies
Author:   April Genevieve Tucholke
Genre:   Fantasy, young adult
Rating:   5 out of 5 

Frey, Ovie, Juniper, and Runa are the Boneless Mercies. They have no homes, and no families but each other. They travel around dispensing death quickly, quietly, and mercifully when they are hired to. The sick wife with a lingering illness. The elderly man who feels he’s a burden on his children. The father with a child who is suffering and will never recover. The Mercies take care of them all and ease their way from this life.

But Frey and the others are tired of the death trade. When they hear of a ferocious monster rampaging a nearby region and killing everyone it meets, Frey decides it’s their one chance to make enough money to leave their old lives behind. The fame they will earn as well will give them a fresh start. But that monster isn’t the only obstacle they’ll face and ending up in the middle of a witches’ war might be the last thing they’ll do.

I loved this book! The concept was beyond unique, and the setting and mythology—reminiscent of the Norse—was compelling and detailed. There are layers in this story:  layers of mythology, history, and culture that make it feel so vibrant and alive. l loved the characters as well. Their cohesiveness is wonderful, but their individuality really shines. Go read this!

April Genevieve Tucholke lives and writes in Oregon. The Boneless Mercies is her newest novel.
(Galley provided by Macmillan Children's Publishing Group/Farrar, Straus and Giroux in exchange for an honest review.)

Wow - what a ride!  I thoroughly enjoyed this book!  When I first started, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  It morphed into an epic tale of witches, beasts, and most importantly, friendship.  Such well-developed characters that encounter many exciting adventures that all take place on their quest to slay the Blue Vee Beast.  I also loved all of the Norse-inspired mythology throughout the book.

I would definitely recommend this book and look forward to more adventures with Frey!

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC of this book!

If you're a fan of viking like cultures, mercenaries, witches, grave robbing, magic, cults, monsters, and badass female characters then Boneless Mercies is the book for you! Our main characters are four Boneless Mercies --typically orphaned or otherwise unattached women who wander a portion of the countryside offering quick, merciful deaths to those who are suffering--and one young man. They're tired of killing the sick and infirm, and long to go on a real adventure. Enter the Blu Vee Beast: a mysterious monster ravaging the countryside and killing anyone it can get it's claws on. The Mercies decide to quit the euthanasia business and try their hands at monster slaying, hoping to earn some glory along the way.

Over all this book was really good! The world building was well done and I enjoyed getting to know all the characters. All the girls have interesting backstories, and they had a terrific friendship dynamic. They all genuinely liked each other and had strong bonds with each other which is something you don't see often enough. There was also a lack of romance/romantic jealousy in the group. Sure Frey and Tourvin are close, but it never felt like a romantic relationship and none of the girls competed for his attention. Again SO REFRESHING! The world Tucholke has created was also really interesting. I really enjoyed reading about other Boneless Mercies, Witches, and characters in various sagas mentioned throughout the book. 

Despite all the good points I did struggle with the pacing of the book. I just felt that everything moved too quickly and I didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked to with all the people, places, and concepts that were introduced. The Cut Queen is probably the best example of this. A 12 year old girl leading a violent cult of witches deep in a haunted swamp? SIGN ME UP! The Mercies have to infiltrate said cult, gain the trust of its leader, and kill the Cut Queen? HERE FOR IT! All that has to happen in 2 days of book time? Huh? I was soooo intrigued by this character! She was so freaky and complex and interesting and we spend around 2 chapters with her which was NOT enough time. I need to know more! I want to see more! YA authors: if I'm reading your book, I'm totally down for extensive world building/plotting. As long as it's done well I will stick around. I promise. You don't need to rush through everything to get to the end! I'm hoping this gets a sequel because I want to see where this is all going. There were too many hints at future developments to leave me hanging.

Like the epic poem it is inspired from, Boneless Mercies deserves ever accolade. I've always dreamed of a movie- or book- about female warriors, Frey, Ovie, Juniper and Runa are Boneless Mercies I've been waiting for! I want to travel with my best friends- sisters in arms- and save the world too.

I don't want to rate this because I DNFed it. The characters had similar voices and there was too much mythology crammed in to enjoy the world. I am forced to rate it.

ERMAHGAWD I needed this book sooner than what i got it! The sheer writing was brilliant! The food descriptions were mouth watering......*drools* A group of women mercy killers is such a fantastic idea! (side note this author already had my love for wink poppy midnight). I loved this norse inspired book! The characters had me glued... ps Juniper is totes adorable! I really can not get over how good this book is! I highly highly recommend it.

Frey, Ovie, Juniper, and Runa are Boneless Mercies who decide to quit doing mercy killings. To fulfill their lives they decide to seek glory by killing the monster that is terrorizing one of the local town. While the Mercies want to leave the death trade behind, they find that it isn’t so easy to escape death. In this retelling Beowulf, everything is told from a female point of view. While the motivation of the former Mercies is to seek out glory and being remembered for their deeds they are constantly reminded that there is nothing glorious about death. Expect lots of blood considering the book is called "Boneless Mercies," but it doesn't revel in its violence, in fact it examines the impact of various forms on violence on the victims and their communities. This book tackles mature themes and is recommended for older teens. While the characters are distinctive they really don't feel like teens. If the readers weren't reminded of the characters' youth this would feel like a non-YA fantasy novel as the way they relate to each other and others feel more adult than adolescent. That doesn't get in the way of one's enjoyment of this novel but it is something to keep in mind.

The Good
This is a genderbent Beowulf retelling, and though I don’t know much about Beowulf beyond the major plot points, I was still excited, largely because I’m here for any genderbent retelling you want to do. I loved the focus on female characters throughout this book, not only on the main characters but also on many, many secondary characters. While we see the problems that women face in this world, we also see their strength and the communities they make for themselves.

I also really liked the portrayal of close friendships. I find that young adult books often get caught up in romance plots, to the detriment of developing friendships. Here, the reverse is true. Tucholke develops the friendships between the girls and their traveling companion, Trigve, showing their closeness, the way they understand each other, and the way they disagree. This was probably my favorite part of the whole book.

The Bad
Unfortunately, I had a really hard time connecting emotionally to any of the characters or the things they go through. This is a violent book, and while I occasionally found myself bothered by the deaths of characters we had never met, overall I did not find myself worrying for the safety of the main characters. Because of this emotional distance, I also found it hard to understand any of the romantic relationships. While I did say that I believed the main characters had deep friendships and I enjoyed reading about their closeness, I also found it hard to understand their emotions and to understand how they interacted with new people. The main character, Frey, ends up having a fairly minor romance plot that I just didn’t buy. I liked the idea of it, but I felt no emotional connection to it at all. And that was how the whole book was for me: I really liked the idea. I liked all the ideas. I didn’t connect with any of it.

I also had a problem with how the major plot points did not tie together. I suppose this is partially to do with the original source material, but it felt like two different books and this book might have been better split in two, with more time for the reader to connect with the characters and for the characters to develop. I also felt like this book (which is marketed as a standalone) left several very intriguing plot threads hanging, which is a little frustrating, since I was excited to read a solid standalone.

The Verdict
The dark setting and close female friendships make for a good read, even though I had trouble connecting with the story as a whole.

I got this book through NetGalley to review (thank you to NetGalley and the publisher).  This is a stand alone novel and was an amazing read.  It reminds of a classic Viking hero story but has so much more heart and soul to it.  I absolutely loved it and it was one of the best books I have read this year.  I could not put this book down and was sad when it ended.

It’s so strange when you read two of your favorite books of the year back to back like this.  I just finished Caraval which I adored and then go right into this book which was amazing.  I think my family thinks they have lost me into books permanently!

This book follows four girls who journey as Boneless Mercies; they are basically hired by villagers to kill loved ones who are suffering in a way that is quick and quiet.   However, this style of life weighs on them all...they are shunned and never have a true home.  When Frey and crew hear about an epic monster that needs slaying they decide to take their chances with the monster and try to make new lives for themselves with the prize offered to whomever slays it.

This book was an absolutely amazing blend of classic Viking-style epic and adventure fantasy.  I loved the adventure these girls fight through.  In addition to all of this it’s a heart-warming tale of friendship, survival, and coming of age.  The writing style is beautiful and just perfect.  This is one of those rare books you come across that just does everything right.

Overall this was the best book I have read so far this year.  I always struggle to explain why I love the books I love so fiercely like this one.  This book was a perfect blend of adventure, beautiful writing, amazing characters, coming of age, action, and world-building.  Highly recommended to everyone; I think this is a journey everyone should go on.

"Frey, Ovie, Juniper, and Runa are the Boneless Mercies - girls hired to kill quickly, quietly, and mercifully. But Frey is weary of the death trade and, having been raised on the heroic sagas of her people, dreams of a bigger life.

When she hears of an unstoppable monster ravaging a nearby town, Frey decides this is the Mercies' one chance out. The fame and fortune of bringing down such a beast would ensure a new future for all the Mercies. In fact, her actions may change the story arc of women everywhere.

Full of fierce girls, bloodlust, tenuous alliances, and unapologetic quests for glory, this elegantly spun tale challenges the power of storytelling - and who gets to be the storyteller. Perfect for fans of Maggie Stiefvater, V.E. Schwab, and Heidi Heilig."

Girl power!

This book was darker than I expected it to be, but that's not a complaint at all! I think the tone was perfect, and the story was a compelling adventure tale, complete with strong, distinct characters. An all-women group of paid killers? Hell yes. Coolness factor aside, the author did a great job of developing her characters and making them memorable. And this is sort of a genderbent Beowulf retelling, which is awesome. (I say "sort of" because I feel that there are some unique elements to this book that the label of "retelling" might discount.) Overall, this was an enjoyable read!