I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Serpent Called Mercy by Roanne Lau is a third person-POV Malaysian-inspired fantasy. Lythlet and Disel are two impoverished youths who find a way to pay off their debts through becoming conquessors, gladiator-esque fighters who battle monsters in increasingly dangerous battles. But match-master Dothilos has his own agenda and is very interested in Disel’s previous history as a brawler before turning his attention to Lythlet.

Lythlet and Disel have a Queer Platonic-coded relationship. They view each other as soul mates and they are deeply important to each other and are, for all intents and purposes, partners. Lythlet never expresses romantic feelings for anyone and there’s even a scene that implies she is Aspec, possibly AroAce. There is no label stated outright and all of the coding is my own interpretation, but regardless of whether or not someone reads QPR into their relationship, it’s still very cool to see a strong female-male friendship that stays platonic and very tight-knit.

There is a nice variety of monsters and all of the monsters that appear on the cover do appear in the book. Lythlet means more about them from a bestiary that is gifted to her and she retains the information, helping her and Desil win their matches as she hones in on the weaknesses in the most efficient way possible. The two-headed horse was my favorite of all the monsters because the details of the match were very interesting and the twist was a nice surprise. It’s action-packed but requires a lot of wit and strategy on Lythlet and Desil’s part.

A major theme is trauma. Lythlet is triggered by one of the monsters pulling her hair and we go into one of her memories with her of being bullied in a very humiliating way followed by a peer seeing her being bullied and doing nothing. This deeply affects Lythlet in the ring and we learn a lot more about her as a character and her history. Disel and Dothilos also have trauma that is explored later and the trauma of poverty does come up throughout the story.

Content warning for violence and mentions of CSA

I would recommend this to fans of fantasy with strong platonic friendships and readers looking for a monster fighting fantasy with a smaller cast of characters

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

If you are looking for your next thrilling fantasy read with amazing character exploration look no further, you have just found it.

The Serpent Called Mercy follows Lythlet and her best friend Desil while they try to navigate life and their life consuming debt in a incredibly corrupt city. That leads them into joining a crazy fight to the death against fantastical beasts.

I throughly enjoyed these fight scenes and all the development and hindsight that they allowed us to glimpse specially form Lythlet. These characters felt so real in their flaws, desires and the trauma they had dealt with that shaped them into the people they are, I think Roanne Lau's writing really shines in that aspect.

I will literally just complain a little bit over the pacing of the story — I wanted a little bit more of the slower moments between the fights (totally just something I wanted — and the world building, because we focused so much on these trials I felt like the world didn't feel as fleshed out as it could have been, especially because we were just focused on this one city and the political aspect only came into play a lot later in the book.

Overall this was a fantastic debut and I cannot wait to see what this author comes out with in the future.

Lythlet and her only friend Desil are desperate for money, so they sign up as conquessors. Those are combatants who fight sun-cursed beasts in the seedy underworld of the city. While the match master Dothilos initially likes Desil’s brawling, he quickly takes Lythlet under his wing. Lythlet is ambitious, but she isn’t the only one. She will have to decide if sacrificing her honor and only friend is worth a fortune.

This is a Malaysian Chinese-inspired novel. We see the poor in the city, and how unscrupulous usurers are able to keep the citizens in debt. While it drives Lythlet and Desil to the games, it also keeps the different classes starkly separate. The touches of religion and myth behind the city dwelling and the monsters are dismissed by most, but not Lythlet. She's determined to learn more about the monsters and the world her. She relies on herself for the most part, which is partly what gets her drawn into the arena to fight, and also into the deceit under Dothilos. They have similar origins, and she's so starved for recognition that even his will do.

I enjoyed the little world-building details. The lightning bees provide light for the poor, the crafted bulbs for the rich, the city built over the bones of the old one, and the monsters themselves. Lythlet has difficulty with speaking, with crowds, and with dealing with people in general. At the same time, she's clever with numbers and money, reasons things out quickly, and remembers details without effort. She grew up with Desil, and we'd likely classify her as autistic if we had to label her. She has drive, and the early admission that she wants to be happy is at first brushed off as idiotic. But it's what drives people all the time, and the only difference between them is what makes them happy. For someone as poor as Lythlet, of course, she thinks it's coin in the beginning. She thinks she's alone, that she's a burden, and that no one cares for her unless she gives them something to like her for. This doesn't give away the ending, but I grew teary-eyed with the sequence of visits to friends and her parents. Each value and love her for herself, not what she could do for them. I loved that she heard that and saw it was true. We all need that.

The Serpent Called Mercy is a beautifully written story about friendship and the perils of living in poverty. There are so many important messages hidden in plain sight within this story. I really do recommend it to anyone who wants a fantasy read filled with political injustices, and a main character who is fighting against them.

This story gave me huge Hunger Games vibes, as well as really any other sort of dystopian fantasy where our main character is struggling through life, while the rich are prosperous at the expense of the poor. Our main character is forced to journey through a humbling growth in mind, to learn that riches aren’t the fix to all of her problems.

One of my favourite things about this read is that we have 2 very unique features revolving around the main character: 1) She is “ugly”, as quoted several times in the book. I loved this because we got to see the rough and strong personality of a character without constantly being reminded of how good they look. 2) There is no romantic connection between the two main characters, but they have a beautiful friendship and call each other “soulmates”.

The world building was great, and although the world in itself was nothing specifically unique (the usual downtrodden slums vs the wealthy areas), the environment and the things in it, like the lightning bee hives that light the streets, the tea houses and the homes in the trees, were really charming.

My reason for not rating this book 5 stars is because, although the dialogue was written extremely well, it sometimes became really overwhelming and dragged out when some characters went on a bit of a rant/monologue for pages on end. I also thought there were some perfect spots to end the story after the 90% mark, leaving the reader with resounding questions and thoughts after finishing. However it did just continue on for, what I personally believe, was too long.

I’m also a huge animal lover, so any book that has animals dying or suffering is difficult for me to read.

Please read the trigger warnings before picking up this book, as some uncomfortable topics are talked about, but not heavily focused on.

I’ve tried so many times to pick this up, seeing some really brilliant reviews absolutely raving about this book… but I just can’t get into it. I’m not sure if it’s the way it’s written, or edited for the ARC, but I’m about 20% through and struggling. This unfortunately will be a DNF for me, but thank you for the opportunity to read the ARC.

this book had a very interesting premise: a society in which the unregistered and the poor struggle to make ends meet everyday whilst the highborn enjoy luxury and comfort. where i feel it fails most is in part due to not showing this contrast enough. we have the spectators of the fighting matches versus those who are fighting, which lets us see it for a while. we see some previous fighters who have gotten further up in the hierarchy which was an interesting pov to explore, but those characters are painfully underdeveloped and the story suffers for it. the story felt far too dragged out and the second half in particular was often boring.
most of the characters we see are underdeveloped, or one-note. i wasn't able to form a connection with any of them, and following the FMC around for 400 pages got very grating as she erred on the side of annoying oftentimes. the match-master was the most interesting by far, and his dialogue and backstory was genuinely very good.
the plot involving fighting beasts could have been quite compelling, but the world-building could be confusing or absent altogether. they are sun-cursed but we never dive into what that really means, and we don't see the wealthier parts of the city at all. it all felt very compressed, and if the characters had been compelling at all I would have found it easier to forgive some of this.
the beasts themselves were inventive and imaginative, but we don't see too much of them.
overall, a bit of a letdown, and i found myself skimming from about 60% onwards.

I feel very middle of the road about this book. On one hand I really like the premise, all the politics, and the ending. But on the other hand, I felt like the story struggled with pacing at times and it kinda seemed like the last 30% of the book had too many story lines. Instead of every thing culminating and coming together at the end, it seemed more like following and wrapping up one story line then jumping to the next one to do the same. It made the last part of the book feel a bit clunky.

Publishers really do a disservice to authors by comparing their books to amazing franchises - especially when the book is nothing like the comps.

The Squid Game meets Witcher description is not accurate at all - yes, there are monsters to kill, and there are games where you can win a lot of money, or die, but that's about it. I found Lythlet and Desil's story to be okay, but it needed more. More worldbuilding, more fleshing out, more consequences so that things don't feel so surface level.

All in all an okay effort but not a book I will be going back to.

If you see this book - READ IT!

Imagine if the Hunger Games was a team of two against legendary beasts instead of other people, and one of the team members was low-key Sherlock Holmes. Sprinkle in some essence of The Bone Season series by Samantha Shannon and some Malaysian/Chinese mythology, and you have one awesome story.

This debut novel is delightfully descriptive, with humour sprinkled throughout. I laughed out loud and cried multiple times while devouring this story. Only two chapters in, this book had its claws in me!

The scenery had me vividly imagining this new world. The trials and combat scenes had me on the edge of my proverbial seat. The friendships had me laughing and crying.

We follow the story of Lythlet, who isn’t pretty or rich. The change and growth of our main character was a joy to see. Her moral compass is such a key part of this journey and was beautifully written.

I found many powerful quotes of thought-provoking wisdom to the philosophy that will keep me returning to reference this book. I can’t recommend this book enough, even if I can only think of so many words to do so!

Clever, brilliant, unique, and a joy to read!

Thank you to NetGalley and DAW Books for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Serpent Called Mercy by Roanne Lau.

The premise and the story in general were really great, but somehow this still wasn't that good. I felt like it was just lacking real depth to the characters. Like Desil could have been literally written out of the story and I feel like I would feel the same. Most of the side characters fell flat and the story just dragged really bad 50% of the way through. Really i feel like the world felt one dimensional and the worldbuilding was lacking so bad, felt like there was only 2 places in this world, the arena and there hut they lived in. The creatures were cool but it didn't help that I never really cared if they made it out alive. The beginning was great but tge middle needs more editing.

2.5 Rounded up

“There is nothing more dangerous than hope.”

The Serpent Called Mercy had such good bones and a premise I liked but this one just didn’t feel very fulfilling for me. I really wanted to be in the group of people that enjoyed this one and gave it 4 and 5 stars. You’re following Lythlet and her childhood best friend Desil trying to find a way out of the debt that they’re in. They end up deciding their solution was to become conquessors and fight sun-cursed beats in an area for money run by the match master Dothilos.

I loved the beats in here and the deep friendship and bond between Lythlet and Desil. I also really liked that it never developed into a romantic relationship. As well as seeing the relationship between her as her parents. I think these relationships were very well written. I loved some of the magical and fantasy aspects of this as well but I felt that they would get touched on maybe a little and then were just kind of forgotten about which would really bum me out as I wanted to know more about them and the world that this was set in.

I also was drawn in on the pitched comparisons of it being The Squid Games mixed with The Witcher (I really love The Witcher) and didn’t really see them in this story. It sadly, to me, felt that the world and lore wasn’t well developed. The actual fighting felt glossed over and the politics I felt we were supposed to be learning about felt so in the background. I was also bummed about that as well. There were sooo many elements I was fascinated with that we just didn’t get to fully delve into. Some plot points felt a little weird or off at times or maybe even like out of left field a bit, but that’s my opinion.

Overall, I am sure there’s readers out there that would enjoy this but I guess this one just isn’t for me.
I would still be interested in reading something by Roanne Lau again though.

I really liked this book! It’s a very fun concept of battling in arenas and a girl exploring what it means to survive and shine and how to hold true to the person that you are deep down when you are tempted with greed and riches beyond belief. I will say some parts were a little clunky in the sense that the fights could have been a little better (the description was a little confusing) but I really liked the pace of the book and the almost innocence of it because there isn’t a hero at the end. There isn’t the happy ending we think she is going to get and I think that’s the point - we see that after all the battles Lythlet suffers and all the ups and downs, hopes and hardships, she consistently has to choose to have faith and hope in the long run- against all odds. The ending was a little meh for me but it leaves the reader to openly interpret what the future might hold. Some of the vocabulary was a little dense I think it would have been nice to have a visual of the types of gods or the structure of their religions to refer to but overall I liked reading this! Would recommend if you like the hunger games and kind of underdog coming of age stuff.

I had a good time in general, but I really wish this had been a duology so everything could've been fleshed out a lot more.

It is what it is.

It's also neither Squid Games nor The Witcher, so I don't understand the comps. It's like whoever wrote the summary never even watched any of those shows, or even bothered to watch a trailer, or even looked at the memes. (I haven't watched Squid Games, but I've seen so many reels/tiktoks/memes that I understand what it's about.)

Anyway.

I'll start with the good.

I absolutely LOVED the deep friendship between Lythlet and Desil. This is the definition of ride or die. And I really, really appreciated that it never developed into a romance. (Personally, I'm sick and tired of romantasies.) And to have a world where ride or die friendships is just as important as like, say marriages in the real world, is something really rare in the fiction world. I really wish we saw more of this!

I also liked Lythlet's relationship with her parents. It was very multifaceted, and you could feel the guilt, shame, and love that Lythlet felt as a daughter who failed her parents. I liked that her parents were actual characters with real feelings, and not just there to be used as props for Lythlet's character growth. Very well done.

And here's the meh...

The gladiator/conquessor stuff was fine. The monsters were cool and I liked that Lythlet and Desil had to use their wits instead of just brute strength. It was a good twist to the usual humans vs. monsters genre.

But after a while, it became really repetitive that I started tuning out. Then again, this might be a me thing because gladiator/arena style fantasy novels bore me after a few fights.

The little rebellion/class warfare plotline was... lacking. Like I said, I wish this was a duology so that entire plotline could actually be fleshed out and given a lot more detail. It pretty much read like Lythlet was supposed to do x, y, z, and then deus ex machina, the situation was resolved. Also, Desil was out of the picture for a while there, and I actually missed him.

One last thing. The dialogue between Lythlet and Dothilos was weirdly excessive. It was one of those infodumping through dialogue situations and had me tuned out. This also goes for some of the other character dialogue. You'd think two characters were having a conversation and then suddenly one person is giving an entire speech. It was weird.

Anyway, I had a good time reading this, and I'll read more of Roanne Lau's work in the future.

Thank you to DAW and NetGalley for this arc.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Comparing this book to The Witcher or Squid Game does it a disservice as it is so unlike them I don't really understand why it was marketed as such! The fact its a fantasy with dangerous beasts, and the characters are in debt they're desperate to pay off is where the similarities end. The world is unique, vibrant and alive with interesting culture and lore I wish could have been expanded on further - the gods and goddesses, the class system, the wider world beyond the city (especially the Wildlands). I found the fact there was zero romance in this book pretty refreshing. It was nice to have a story centered around lasting friendship and the loyalty between them. If you're not a fan of action scenes then this may not be the book for you - this is where the story really shines, in an arena pitted against dangerous magical beasts and creatures, fighting for their lives as spectators cheer them on. Overall an ambitious standalone with compelling, interesting characters and packed full of action.

The world building?? The premise??? The freaking writing style?? There was too much to love about this story.

An interesting fantasy about a female gladiator who flits with fame. Even though it was made up, I found the religious aspect heavy.

Thank you NetGalley/DAW for the e-ARC!

3.5 rounding down. This book was hard not to get excited about when I saw it was marketed as the Witcher meets Squid Game. I had imagined a high stakes deadly competition against monsters for the main character to escape debt. And that's what it is... plus a bit of other stuff. The other stuff (being politics and interpersonal problems) comes to the forefront as the book progresses, and the monster fights get to the point where they are glossed over. Not really a complaint, but just trying to set up correct expectations. The fights were interesting at first, and I loved seeing the monsters Lythlet and Desil were fighting. They were really interesting and inventive, and left me wondering a lot about the larger world.

And that larger world was so interesting. I could tell the author put a ton of thought into the history and religion especially, and I wonder how much was cut during the editing process to keep the page count down. Being a standalone, I don't really mind that not all of my worldbuilding questions were answered, but what we got was pretty inelegant. And that's a word I'd use to describe a lot about this book. Not bad, just rough around the edges. A few instances of lore dumping something that would be important in the plot 3 pages later. A lot of the dialogue felt very stilted and cartoonish, especially from the villainous characters. Many points the book is trying to make are spelled out directly on page, which I guess is fine, but does make me feel a little talked down to. This might be more of a me problem than an issue with the book itself, so keep that in mind.

And while those complaints made it so I couldn't love this story, there was a lot I liked about it! It felt very fresh compared to some of the other new fantasy I've been reading recently. There's no romance at all and the story focused on a deep friendship instead, and I loved their relationship, especially in the last chapter. Lythlet was a great main character to follow, and I thought the way she wavered through the story was believable. And, inelegant as it was, I am glad this was a story about people struggling in cycles of poverty and openly discussing the problems that cause and perpetuate it. I think this book would be a good choice for a YA reader who wants more books with social commentary.

Roanne Lau’s debut The Serpent Called Mercy is a heady mix of high fantasy, monsters and politics. Lau drops readers into a familiar fantasy setting in which there are strict social hierarchies, immigrant populations, organised crime and contested politics. And she focusses on a character at the bottom of the social pile – a “slumdog” who lives by her wits and on the edge of abject poverty. But also there is some ill-defined magic, a vague form of religion and plenty of weird monsters because… monsters are fun?
Lythlet and her best friend Desi are in trouble. Deep in debt to loan sharks, and abused at work, Lythlet resorts back to thievery to get the pair through their next visit from the heavies. Desi used to earn money as a fighter but has quit and dedicated himself to religion. But then the pair see and grab an opportunity to become “conquessors”, fighters who take on monsters in the ring while spectators watch on and bet on either their success or their death. Although Desi has the strength and fighting ability, it turns out to be Lythlet’s logical abilities that serve them best in the ring as they try to work out how to defeat a range of creatures with strange abilities and powers. The match-master Dothilos notices this and starts to groom Lythlet for greater things, including bringing her into his organised crime syndicate.
There is a lot going on in The Serpent Called Mercy and some aspects work better than others. The central relationship between Lythlet and Desi is the core and the push on pull on them as they gain success in the ring in well observed. The link between politics and organised crime has been done many many times in fantasy and elsewhere and so there is nothing really new here. The interesting slant is the view of Dothilos who has a similar background to Lythlet and uses that to “instruct” her and in doing so tempt her to the dark side.
The magic “system” is particularly weak. Early in the book, Lau suddenly introduces an ability to wield some form of magic for eight seconds by climbing to the top of a particular type bamboo pole. Later there are weapons that have different powers because they have been made using certain creatures. The monsters themselves are inventive but readers will have to hold themselves back from asking too many questions – where do they come from? who has caught them? (and how?), and, really: a monster with three heads that it can swap and give itself different powers. The monsters are cool but it all feels a little random. And then there is the tale that apparently Lythlet’s people had some sort of access to magic in the past but lost it when they emigrated to the city.
The Serpent Called Mercy is pitched as The Witcher meets Squid Game. While it has the monsters from the former and some of the very obvious social commentary from the latter in some ways it is closer to The Hunger Games and the Green Bone saga than either of these. But comparisons aside, Lau has taken these influences and delivered them in her own style and with her own vision. And while some of the elements are not well enough developed or explained to carry the story off entirely successfully, it is still an engaging and promising fantasy debut.

*The Serpent Called Mercy* is a gripping and exhilarating epic fantasy that effortlessly blends the dark, gritty world of *The Witcher* with the high-stakes tension of *Squid Game*. Set in a Malaysian Chinese-inspired universe, the novel thrusts readers into a cutthroat arena where beasts are fought and lives are risked in the pursuit of fast riches. The stakes are raised as Lythlet and Desil, two debt-ridden friends, become conquessors—fighting both literal monsters and the more insidious beasts of politics and betrayal.

The heart of this story is Lythlet’s transformation, from a desperate fighter to a calculating player in a dangerous game. Her cunning and ambition make for an unforgettable journey as she navigates not only the bloody battles in the arena but the treacherous world outside it. The intricate world-building is both vivid and immersive, drawing readers into its brutal underbelly, while the plot keeps them on the edge of their seats with twists, intrigue, and moral dilemmas that feel all too real.

What truly elevates this story, however, is the unwavering bond between Lythlet and Desil. Their friendship is the backbone of the narrative, a powerful reminder that even in the most perilous situations, loyalty and trust are invaluable. The personal stakes, both in terms of honor and ambition, make every decision feel monumental, and the emotional depth brings the characters to life in a way that makes the reader deeply invested in their fates.

Fast-paced and deeply compelling, *The Serpent Called Mercy* is a thrilling ride through a world where loyalty is tested, monsters lurk in every shadow, and the true price of ambition is yet to be fully revealed. It's a must-read for fans of high-stakes fantasy that doesn't shy away from exploring the complexities of friendship, ambition, and survival.

DNF at 60%

even though i fairly enjoyed this book in the beginning, it later became too slow for me and i stopped being invested in the story. however, it was very original and i might decide to finish it one day, but i know that for now, i can't.

the worldbuilding was good, the author explained to us how the world works, and gave us lots of more details through stories Lythel knew. i loved reading the stories since they were all well written, like the entire novel, and interesting.

the fighting of the monsters was nicely done, there were a lot of details so i could imagine quite well how the scenes looked. the monsters were creative and most of the time i truly had no idea how they're going to win.

the characters were likable, well most of them. Lythel, our main character, was very original, she was herself, and i loved the way she spoke. her friend Desil however, wasn't very likable. for me he was just a bit too religious which at times made me uncomfortable. other than that, he didn't do much, and he didn't do anything significant. the side characters were cute, i loved the way they interacted with Lythel, and i enjoyed reading about her relationship with her parents.

overall, this novel was pretty good and i think the author is a great writer, the story was just too slow-paced for my liking.