I was super excited for this: female rage? sapphic subplot? alchemy? sign me the frick up. trust me no one's more disappointed than me that it did not deliver. The main thing is that Crueler Mercies is undoubtedly YA. Between the beautiful dark cover, ravings of female rage, and adult characters, I really was just not prepared for that. The juvenile style of writing and bald descriptions put me off. It wasn't unreadable though!

Princess Vita has been imprisoned in a tower since she was 9 after watching her mother be beheaded by her father the King so that he could marry his mistress and make his male son the heir. Then a neighboring kingdom's war general Adaric (main antagonist) kidnaps now 19 year old her to marry her and thus become King. She gets a Lady-in-Waiting, Soline the love interest, a single young guard Marius, and a handmaiden Isotta. They become Vita's retinue and basically the only side characters we see. Soline has her own reasons to want to kill Adaric and Vita and her connect over that. Soline introduces alchemy to her. 2nd phase of Adaric's plan comes to head where he and his army take over Vita's father's kingdom but then stuff happens and it's Vita's time to shine. HEA.

I think if I went into this book knowing it was YA and not that in-depth I'd have enjoyed it a lot more but sadly it did not work out that way. Soline had a lot of potential but halfway through the book she's reduced to Vita's handler always comforting her and not wanting any action to be taken. And what even was the alchemy??? They put coins into a bowl with herbs and started chanting things and then they had fire. I just did not understand the magic system. Characters were cookie cut outs, had inconsistencies in their roles and behavior, and has Adaric and his entire war group never opened a history book in their life?

HOWEVER! It wasn't all bad. It definitely wasn't a battle to finish it and I really did like Marius. There's some political stuff going on I couldn't really get into but it was there. I loved seeing Vita getting her time to shine and bond with the army. And that last page made everything WORTH IT I was literally giggling and kicking my feet I just love public proclamations of attraction. For a debut, this was impressive.

3.5/5 and probably best for YA/borderline children I know I would have DEVOURED this if I was 8-14. Thank you NetGalley and Bindery Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tw: animal death
Well, this book certainly lived up to its title, it felt like every chapter we were introduced to a new cruelty being committed by various characters.

At the very start of this book, it felt like reading a Disney princess story, only like it was a part of the wicked truth about Snow White or Rapunzel (i.e., its a much darker story than it initially appears). And it drags on at the start, you are reading about Vita who has been utterly alone for over a decade, absolutely helpless (for now), and has no one she can rely on as everyone wants to use her to help themselves in some way or another. On my Kindle, I noted that it was around 46% that I really started getting into it (so an investment of reading I guess) and the story began to develop and Vita became a character you could root for and watch her find her own footing.

The cruel acts only continue throughout the novel though, there were some moments that I felt were too gruesome (witnessing animal deaths, the aftermath, and brutal murders) to read about that I had to pause, but still I continued on.

Maren Chase certainly knows how to deliver a character arc and witnessing Vita and Soline develop into stronger and smarter women was enjoyable. I knew the ending (as would any by half way through) but I didn’t know how, and I was pleasantly surprised by the twists and turns of the last half of the book and the result those led to.

My main gripe with this book (besides the trigger warning being slightly buried between the cover and copyright) would be that Vita, throughout the entire book, experienced what I would call memory struggles and vivid dreams/nightmares that aren’t ever really explained. Some can be explained by an illness mentioned later on, but that doesn’t explain the occurrences from the beginning. I think if the author has a second book planned (which I do think would be a good idea) that this topic should be further explored and explained.

I have to admit, I didn't expect that much politic and plotting (to overthrow a kingdom) in this book but I enjoyed every twists and turns. It was delicious and nicely written. Vita is a believable lead as she slowly come to her power and seized it. I also love her little found family and how they navigated things and plotting around!

Crueler Mercies didn’t hold back any punches. This book was full of feminine rage and vengeance and I ate it up. The tension was palpable and I had to put my book down a few times because just when I thought it couldn’t get worse for Vita….it got WORSE. Her character development throughout the story was so incredible to witness. She went from being a princess locked in a tower to being so much more than that. I can’t really elaborate because I don’t want to spoil anything. I thought the world building was well fleshed out and the side characters were very well developed. There was a lot of political intrigue and scheming. I also have never cried over a crow before, but here we are!!!! The last half hour of reading this had me UNWELL. I truly loved this book so much.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bindery for the ARC in exchange of an honest review!!

Nothing would have stopped me from reading this when the inspiration for it was said to be female rage, revenge, Judith Slaying Holofernes. It did deliver on the rage and revenge. It delivered on a very touching, realistic sapphic bond that felt sincere, natural, and soft. This is a strong point in the writing for sure.

The book is technically fantasy, but it is very very light. It doesn’t really make a big appearance in general, and really not even until the end. The build of this book is fast then slow then fast. The first 50 pages and the last 50 pages were the best. I loved the closure of the book and I wish we’d been able to see more of what Vita is capable of throughout the whole book.

A splendid little story I had an amazing time reading. The characters were fleshed out and had a tenderness to them, the writing had a sort of melancholia, and the pace was just right. 4 stars.

Crueler Mercies by Maren Chase is such a good story. I loved the book and it's characters. I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and the characters are fantastic and the story is immaculate.

3.5 stars

This was super fun and I loooove how (rightfully) vengeful Vita was, she was a fantastic protagonist. The politics in this was fascinating and I enjoyed seeing the different dynamics play out. However, I think the pacing in the last quarter was off; it felt like all the build up let to a climax that didn't quite deliver. But overall, this was a good story that I would recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Bindery Books for the ARC.