Thanks to Bindery Books and Maren Chase for this ARC.

Crueler Enemies is a slow-burn sapphic political fantasy focusing on intriguing female characters wanting revenge and the cruelties of men in power. I enjoyed the characterisation of Vita and her lady-in-waiting Soline, their dynamic was the strongest element of the novel and what really drove the story forward. I also liked the political background of the novel, the conflict between Vita and the enemy general and her own father portrayed the horrors of conquest and power in a way that felt very realistic.

I liked a lot of the side characters in the novel as well. I felt that they were all integral to the plot and were well developed, and really portrayed the tragedy caused by the enemy general and Vita's father, with the way they developed and their motivations influenced by either of these characters.

I didn't like how the pacing in the last part of the novel slowed down a lot and how the magical elements like alchemy barely had any relevance to the plot. But the feminist elements of the novel were done very well, along with the brutal violence portrayed throughout the book, showing the full picture of the nation of Carca presented.

Though I had issues with pacing and the lack of fantasy elements, this novel is an in-depth political battle with nuanced feminist ideals throughout, along with great characterisation of both the protagonists and the antagonists.

I have to be honest: at about a quarter of the way through Crueler Mercies, I was a little bored. Vittoria (Vita) is a sympathetic character, if a bit shallow - which is honestly to be expected given her age and upbringing - and you can’t help but pity her for the circumstances she finds herself in, but the book is quite slow to pick up momentum. Author Maren Chase spends a lot of time in Vita’s head, and while some of it is not only appropriate given her environment (I’m not trying to be cryptic, but I don’t want to drop spoilers here), but welcome, it does drag on. To Chase’s credit, some of those details that seem inconsequential do pop up later in the book and prove to be very important indeed.

The world building isn’t incredibly detailed. There is a well drawn map to accompany the book, and one could probably follow it along pretty easily if they chose. I should add here that as a fantasy reader I have always paid far less attention to the topography of a fantasy world and more to the social and cultural aspects. The world in Crueler Mercies seems to have much in common with medieval Europe, with all of the misogyny and brutality that entails. The reader is given only snippets of politics and history, and on the one hand this does make some of the whys and wherefores a bit murky. But to be frank this is a bit of a tightrope at the best of times; too much of it and a reader has a desperate desire to nod off.

The “magical” system of Crueler Mercies is fitting for the setting, but as one could reasonably ascertain from my use of quotation marks, it’s not strictly magic. I was very much of mixed minds about this aspect of the story. On the one hand it’s a unique direction. On the other it felt very mundane. It has to be said, however, that as with so many other fantasy novels, our heroine miraculously masters this magic with little effort and, seemingly, largely by having some innate latent talent that is never explained.

Having said all of that, I will also say that my formative years were spent with the likes of Eddings, Lackey, and McAffrey, and that sets a high bar. I will also add that while I made note of these things, largely for the purpose of writing a thoughtful review, they didn’t detract overly much from my enjoyment of the book. It’s worth pushing through that slow start.

Watching Vittoria come into her own is pure joy, and by the end the reader feels a profound sense of justice. Or at least this reader did. The relationship arc between Vita and Solene is sweet and fierce, but the love scenes are closed door, so if spicy scenes are a prerequisite for you, this book isn’t. Personally, I enjoy a good lovemaking scene, but I appreciate even more writing that evokes emotion, and Crueler Mercies does that. The reader has a front row seat while Vita manages to create for herself the family she was deprived of and learns what it is to lead even while terrified and doubt ridden in the depths of your own mind.

As a side note, the war scenes in the book are not sugarcoated. There are some graphic moments here (though no gratuitous scenes depicting violence against women, for which I personally was grateful. We all know this happens, but some of us prefer not to read about it in our fiction) and some readers may find it disturbing. Personally, I felt that Chase struck a reasonable balance between portraying the brutality of war with accuracy and glossing it over as some glorifying adventure.

The ending is not one everyone will love. It’s not a fairytale. But (stop now if you don’t want to read a tiny bit of a spoiler) the heroine gets the girl, and the bad guy gets his due. And sometimes that’s enough.

4.5⭐️

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am leaving a voluntary review.

This book is the heartfelt story of Vitta, how she was abandoned, forgotten, used. But also how she finds friends in her birds and eventually in other people, finds family after hers left her.
Its not particularly dark I would say but not particularly happy either. Its an emotional ride, we experience all of Vittas pain but also her happy moments.

I really liked the villain, I felt like even though he is cruel and power hungry his actions make sense, his actions are calculated, strategic. We see what power does to someone and how it degrades them.

The romance takes up very little screen time but plays a major role in Vittas motivation.

The magic was a bit of a mystery to me and I would have liked more depth there. Some "spells" did not make sense.
I would have also liked an epilogue to get a glimpse of the future, maybe we get a sequel? Some side characters I wish had gotten more space.

Thank you to netgalley and Bindery Books for providing me with an ARC

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.
Overall it was a very pleasant read, very quick, not too complicated.
However I felt like the book lacked a bit of details, some relationships felt weak, others strangely done, I was confused by some characters deaths etc.
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The book tries to do a female rage / empowerment part, it didn’t really stand out to me.
I was expecting most of the plot twists, just not the wedding diner food tbh.
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A good 3/5 star

Crueler Mercies is the kind of book that sneaks up on you—quiet, simmering, but absolutely brimming with tension. It’s not loud or action-packed, but every moment feels dangerous. It’s a slow unraveling of power and desperation, and I loved every second of it.

Vita is such an interesting protagonist—naïve, traumatized, and passive for much of the story, but her transformation is so satisfying to witness. She’s both soft and furious, which adds a layer of female rage that I don’t often see depicted this well. This story isn’t just about rebellion—it’s about survival in a world where women are treated as ornamental, where power is wielded by men while women watch from the sidelines. And yet, Crueler Mercies makes that feel intentional rather than like a flaw in the narrative. The lack of action doesn’t mean a lack of stakes—this book pulses with danger, heartbreak, and the kind of tension that makes you hold your breath. And it does NOT pull its punches.

Vita and Soline’s sapphic relationship is woven into the fabric of the story in a way that feels natural and beautiful. Their connection is gorgeous, and their quiet moments are some of the best in the story. I also loved all the secondary characters, even if we didn't get to explore them too deeply.

That said, I did have some minor complaints. While the alchemy is fascinating, I wish it had been explored more—it felt like a plot device rather than a fully fleshed-out system. The ending, while satisfying, felt a little too easy and fast compared to the slow, methodical build of the rest of the book. And the pacing is a bit uneven at times, but honestly, I didn’t care. I devoured this story, heart aching the whole way through. It’s a book that lingers, that makes you feel the weight of what these characters endure. Maren Chase, you have my attention.

Thanks so much to Colored Pages Book Tours, Bindery Books, and the author for the opportunity to read and review. This review is voluntary, and all opinions are my own.

“For so long, she’d seen hope the same way, too delicate to survive a gust of foul wind.”

I had an awesome time while reading Crueler Mercies, starting with the writing style. The author expresses feelings and sensations perfectly, and I adored how we have a strange feeling of time along with Vita, through that and pacing. Magic and romance are here, but quite discreet and make way for more down-to-earth and heavy subjects.
I loved how Vita’s isolation left space to speak about education and internalized prejudices, how her readings allowed her to humanize people around her, to try to understand them –despite their very questionable behaviors– and how it makes her resentment grow. Her weakness (being locked up) soon becomes a strength because she had time to study, to be able to put things into perspective. I also loved how historical and “accurate” it felt. We were at the siege with her, experiencing the cold and the fear. It felt like being in the Middle Age AND in a Fantasy World, all at once.
But my favorite part of the book, before anything else, is that we go through very real feelings, as Vita suffers to be used by men as a tool to gain/keep power, belittled, underestimated. Her rage grows and so does our. And what a female rage it is. It’s deep, raw, powerful. Real. It had been a very long time since I’ve read such a great depiction of female rage.
That story is immersive, sometimes very fast paced, sometimes slower (depiction of time, as I said); sometimes tender (I loved Vita’s relationship with Soline!), sometimes super-violent. That review would be incomplete without talking about the crows, yet saying too much would become a spoiler.
In one world, I really enjoyed that story!

Thank you to the author, Bindery Books and Colored Pages Pr for the eARC via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Crueler Mercies is everything it promised and more. Vita’s path is not only one of vengeance but also of grief and empowerment, fighting not only those who’ve done her wrong but also everything that was assumed of her. The world trapped me and it’s characters left no indiference in me, they felt so real I lived each story and presence as if I knew them.
This book surely put an end to my reading slump, if I was not reading I was hoping I was.
It’s for stories like this that I love books and the fantasy genre.

In the kingdom of Carca, Princess Vita has led a life filled with opulence, lessons and etiquette. However, this changes when she is taken to see her mother, the Queen, in the depths of a cell urging her to look away from what comes next. In a flurry of events, the Queen is executed and Princess Vita is exiled away, confined to a tower where her only companions are birds and the servants who come to her in varying days. But when a general overtakes the city with the intention of making Vita his queen and bride, slowly but surely a new physical prison arises. She wishes to not marry but she knows she wants vengeance, and soon enough she realizes the General is no better than her tyrannical father. In the midst of it all, she finds herself falling for Soline, her lady-in-waiting who wants her own reparations. But just how can a woman make due in a man's realm?

Beautifully written prose in this fantasy, I truly appreciated the worldbuilding as well as the unflinching view and costs of how war can trickle down. Vita is a powerful FMC, despite her jaded upbringing and naiviety, I loved the simmering of feminine rage that lives in this book. I will be thinking of it for days to come.

Well-written with unique characters and relationships, especially between Vita and the birds and Marius. I felt each of their deaths and mourned them right along with her. The story did slow for me about the 80% mark and I was ready to get to the end. Lost a star in the rating due to the lag in the pacing.

This story follows Vita, an exiled princess, as she struggles to find her position in a life ruled by men who sees her as nothing more than a pawn in their games of power. She is expected to do as she’s told without asking questions, while living under constant threat. We experience her growing rage and thirst for revenge against her tormentors, as well as get to watch love blossom in the unlikeliest of places.

The story had me hooked from the first chapter, with immediate action to ensure you kept reading for answers. Its beautiful prose and fantastic characters, and specifically the character development of Vita, made the story hard to put down.

It is a fantastic debut by Maren Chase, and I can’t wait to read more of her works in the future.

Thank you to BinderyBooks and NetGalley for the eARC in return for my honest review.

Absolutely amazing. Vita has my whole heart. The budding sapphic romance was so well executed and I really got into the story!

The book kicked off really well and ended on a strong note, but the middle was a bit all over the place, with in different themes and plotlines.

The ending, though, was intense and pretty dark, and honestly, it wrapped everything up in a way that felt really satisfying.

Vita is the beloved princess of Carcea
but at the age of 9 her mother is executed by her father the king and vita is forced into exile
living in a tower for 11 years, befriending only the crows that visited her tower
vita is given the choice of marrying an enemy general or dieing in the tower
confused and lost she agrees to marry General Ardaric who has dark plans of his own
when vita and her lady in waiting start growing alittle to close and the rise of her fathers army against her husbands, vita is forced into a position of protecting her people, her family or the person she loves the most
a story of love, magic, war and death, you feel the feminine rage

Thank you to Bindery for the complementary ebook in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

This book started strong and ended strong, but everything in between felt a bit herky jerky.

I was absolutely hooked for the first hundred pages or so: the action was gripping, the setup was interesting, and I really enjoyed how the author introduced different themes and plot lines.

The ending was intense and dark and, frankly, very satisfying. I loved the plotting and seeing all of Vita’s hard work come to fruition (trying to be vague enough to avoid spoilers while also specific in my feedback).

My issue lies with everything in between. Plot lines felt like they kept getting dropped and picked up and random points. The passage of time felt clunky and confusing. Regarding inter-character relationships, I found the chemistry lacking in the main romance and too much telling (rather than showing) between everyone else, which took the impact out of some of the more emotional moments. Additionally, the magic system felt ill-thought out and could have been incorporated in a way that felt more organic to the story rather than a footnote.

All in all, I do think was a decent debut novel and hope to see more from this author in the future. I enjoyed her prose and the ideas she brought to the story and look forward to seeing her growth as an author in years to come!

I adored this, it gripped me from page one and didn't let go!

Crueler Mercies is filled with female rage, tension and rebellion. Whilst its dangers aren't always loud or in your face you'll be on the edge of your seat the entire time.. Expect female characters who are raw and real, who are traumatised and on not merely a journey of revenge but of healing. This tales characters are what really stood out to me, they all had their own motivations, they had depth and you couldn't help but root for them.

Our MC starts her journey betrayed by a man she should have been able to trust the most, abandoned and hidden in a room without any real experience of the world. She's lost, her anger has softened over her years in isolation and she's naive but when found and put into play by another man, her rage grows, she finds friendship and heals whilst planning her revenge.

Crueler Mercies by Maren Chase tells the story of Vita, a young princess who's lived the last ten years of her life in exile, living locked up in a single room with only some crows to keep her company. However, as the lawful heir of the kingdom of Carca, Vita is still considered by some a valuable game piece. But as she's pulled into a game of thrones between the father who abandoned her and the general she'll be forced to marry, Vita proves herself to be much more than just a pawn in their game.

I would describe Crueler Mercies as Game of Thrones but with less old men and more lesbians, which, let's face it, is an AMAZING premise. Whereas the book is not without its flaws, I think this is a very strong debut novel and I enjoyed reading it. The story started off pretty strong, felt a bit boring in the middle, but HOLY HELL the last 10% were AMAZING. At one point my jaw actually dropped. Just wow.

One of the things I liked most about this book is that it doesn't romanticize the war it's depicting. There's a lot of (sometimes shocking) death, of both humans and animals, and a lot of cruelty. That makes the story ring true and also server to raise the stakes of the story. I also loved the relationships Vita formed along the way (especially the one with Solene), but my absolute favorite thing was the VENGEANCE! (have I mentioned that before somewhere?) The just rage that fuels Vita is just delicious to read, and I love that the story gets a proper ending instead of a cliffhanger one.
Much like Game of Thrones, Crueler Mercies has a lot of war politics, training and strategy talk, which is honestly not my jam. At times during the middle of the book I'd get bored, but then suddenly something shocking would happen and I'd be all in it again. Resembling Game of Thrones in this aspect too, I didn't really connect with the characters. I loved Vita and Solene's quest for vengeance, but I wasn't that invested in the characters themselves. (Except Vita's crows. I love those crows, bro.)

All together though, Crueler Mercies was great and I'd definitely recommend it, especially if you like high fantasy with more war and vengeance and less magic. (Not NO magic, just less magic.)

Is the female rage in the room with us? I couldn't find it. I liked the beginning of this book and the ending was great but I was a little bored in the middle.
I liked Vita but I didn't feel the rage that she claims to have until the very end of the book. The enemy general basically steals the princess away and then ignores her for the most part which I guess is fine because it gives her time to build her relationship with her true love interest? The magic/alchemy was interesting but with more explanation I think it could have been even better. On the whole, this book definitely has its merits but I finished feeling a little underwhelmed.

Thank you NetGalley and Bindery Books | Fantasy & Frens for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this… sapphic romance, action and adventure. For me the characters and world building wasn’t deep enough. Lots of people loving the book. Thank you to the author. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Thank you Netgalley and Bindery Books | Fantasy & Frens for the free e-arc. My opinions are being left voluntarily. Holy moly this is a debut book, I'm shook. It was so dang good. I love a revenge, strong af women mcs and just the level of details. It felt a bit like Hansel and gretel / beauty and the beast / and Romeo and juliet.

No notes loved it.

Highly recommend.

5/5☆

This book is a beautiful story about a girl losing her power and regaining that power as a woman. It reflects the realities women faced centuries ago while maintaining a fictional story. A spin on the damsel in distress trope. This was a great read.