Crueler Mercies is a dark, emotionally charged tale of exile, vengeance, and fragile alliances, with a slow-burn sapphic romance at its heart. Vita’s transformation from silenced royal to a woman fueled by rage and magic is both haunting and empowering, and the bond between her and Soline simmers with quiet intensity. The themes of betrayal, power, and feminist rebellion are compelling, and the alchemical magic adds an eerie, unpredictable edge. While the pacing falters in parts and some secondary characters feel underdeveloped, the novel’s raw emotion and striking prose make it a rewarding, if occasionally uneven, read.

For fans of Casati's Clytemnestra and Reid's Lady Macbeth.

This book took us on a journey through a young girl's tumultuous childhood and right through her even more harrowing coming-of-age & early womanhood. From witnessing unspeakable horror done to her mother by her own father, to being sequestered in a tower far from her home, to being taken as a trophy by a would-be conqueror & king - Vita had been left alone in the world to face evils that would use her for their own gain.

Until Soline. And a few other characters and creatures that help the princess realize she is more than a pawn in some monarchs game: she is a queen ready to take back her throne.

This book had me in shambles. I was shaking with anger, crying over her losses and so invested in the last quarter of the story that I had to sit through and finish it. At 2AM, I finally flipped the last page and felt changed.

Congratulations to Maren Chase on an absolutely INCREDIBLE debut... I will be looking for anything & everything else she might write.

Thank you NetGalley and Bindery Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book early and share my honest review. All reviews will be posted to my socials (Netgalley, Goodreads, Fable, IG).

For me, this book was so very satisfying in that Vita was the one holding the dagger at the end, using everyone’s assumptions about her incompetence against them. That, while she did slip here and there, she kept her anger quiet and buried beneath the picture of the naive exiled princess that they all wanted to see.
This book is not about loud rage. It is about the gradual building of anger, of reacting in the moment even if the timing is all wrong. It is the quiet sort of rage, the careful sort.
It’s the we should have run at the start sort. The I-will-kill-him-and-die-trying-because-he-harmed-those-I-love-the-most sort.
It is the rage that builds out of grief and doesn’t let go and doesn’t move on.
And in the hands of someone like Vita, it is by far the worst sort.
Kindness is a choice, but Vita shows us that kindness is not a weakness. She shows us that kindness is a gift and that, if you don’t want it, then you will receive her rage instead.

Crueler Mercies is a fierce, spellbinding tale of rage, resilience, and queer rebellion wrapped in a lush, alchemy-laced fantasy. Maren Chase delivers a heroine in Vita who is unapologetically furious—and rightfully so. Watching her transform from exiled, forgotten royalty into a force of reckoning is both thrilling and deeply satisfying. The sapphic romance between Vita and Soline crackles with tension and chemistry, adding depth to a story already brimming with political intrigue and rebellion. With poetic prose and sharp worldbuilding, this is a dark fairytale for readers who crave stories about women reclaiming their power—and wielding it mercilessly.

This book has a great revenge plot. Vittoria is so naive in the beginning it was almost hard to read. It did get better as she was discovering herself and the ways of the world. I adore the side characters and how she quickly developed her circle. There was so much growth in Vita. I loved the birds as their own character. There is so much to unpack in this book. Vittoria, shunned by her father after he had her mother killed and sent to live alone locked in a room in a far off place gave some rapunzel vibes. Her rescue was more of another capture and going on that adventure of Vita realizing she went from one cage to another and how she was going to get out of it was great. When it ended I wanted more and wanted to read about how things take shape after the end. Thank you NetGalley, bindery books, and the author for allowing me to read this book.

4.5 stars

A slow-burn, slow-paced story about brutality, war, and revenge, Crueler Mercies enchanted me from the beginning. There were times I had to take a break and switch to something lighter due to the sheer number of blows Vita endures. Even so, I was fascinated by her transformation from captive to cunning. Of course, I loved the Sapphic element and how tender Sol and Vita could be.

The ending of this one will haunt me for months to come.

If you loved The Jasmine Throne, give this one a go.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

This book was too dry for me. I also felt like the main character would have been a little bit more unhinged considering she was pretty much isolated from everyone for 11 years. Crueler Mercies is sort of a fantasy sapphic novel. To me the other issue is I thought it was too light on the fantasy. I would have liked there to be more magic or even more intrigue. All of the storylines were so transparent, there wasn't really anything that stood out to me as unique.

The first bit of the novel covers the execution of Vita's mother and Vita's subsequent imprisonment. It's established that Vita is emotionally abused the whole 11 years through solitary confinement, gaslighting, and outright torment when she is forced to attend dinners. Her only friends are the crows she feeds through her small window. I thought maybe there would be like a Cinderella aspect here and there sort of is, but I felt like the crows had the buildup to be like familiars. Instead, they're just nice birds that occasionally do Vita favors. I mean it's nice don't get me wrong and it adds depth to the story, but I felt like the crows could have been used better.

When Vita meets Soline and is introduced to alchemy, I expected there to be more of a take of moment. It's just a lot of failed experiments until they luck into the right answer. Vita has access to a library and Soline has friends/family, but they never use these connections to learn. It just felt like Vita and Soline against the world, which can be fun, but here it was claustrophobic. From the introduction of Soline, the story is fairly predictable. It just wasn't something I enjoyed reading.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bindery Books - Fantasy & Ferns for the advanced copy, all opinions are my own.

“Vita had once been a girl made of spiders silk, easy enough to brush away or leave to languish in forgotten corners. For so long, she’d seen hope the same way, too delicate to survive a gust of foul wind.”

Vita, our main character has a harsh introduction to us, we first meet her as a child living out a typical medieval princess life which, when her father has her mother executed, gets turned upside down and she’s sent away to be locked up for the rest of her life. This is where our story begins.
This is not the most fast paced book but the slow burn really works to build the story of revenge and power. This is a beautiful story of love, revenge, power and female rage. The kind of book that requires some patience, it’s a journey that builds and has a brilliant pay off at the end.

Vita, has been locked up for most of her life with little contact with the outside world - except her birds who visit her, bring her presents and whom she has seen grow up. These birds are Vitas family and I loved this aspect and the role they play, it goes to show the importance of found family in any form and the need for connection as a human. Vita is just very sweet and you can’t help but root for her. Found family is done so impeccably in this book. There are side characters that you just can’t wait to be in the scenes and their dynamic and humour helped the balance out the story.

Vita eventually gets captured by the general of an army looking to overthrow her father, he swoops in and makes it clear that he either joins her and marries him or he will kill her. With no other choice she agrees to marry him. This is when we meet Soline, a mysterious and guarded character who becomes Vitas lady in waiting, looking out for her and finally giving her the companionship she has been craving. Soline has her own agenda and when Vita saves her life they decide to team up to take revenge on the general together, a harsh and cruel man from Solines past too. I really loved Solines character, I do wish we got more depth from her but she was perfect for Vita, helping her discover what she can do and motivating her to stand up for herself.

Soline slowly starts to teach Vita alchemy, something that I don’t see enough of in books and is such an interesting form of magic. Unfortunately this magic, whilst helping the plot along in some areas, doesn’t play as big of a role as I had wanted. I was expecting it to play a larger role and it seemed almost forgotten about in parts.

The romance with Vita and Soline is so heartfelt, so tender and innocent which was refreshing to read. They complimented each other so well and it seemed like they had such an intimate understanding of one another, it’s was a really soft type of romance and I loved reading those moments. I am not sure if it was intended or not but there were instances where it could seem like Vita could be neurodivergent (or maybe just because she was locked away for 11 years) but the descriptions of her getting overwhelmed by emotions or too many sounds and sensations and needing to hide in a small dark space made me think of that. Then when Soline was the one who could help and always knew where to find her just made my heart so happy. “Looking at her would still feel like staring at the beginning of the world.”

The slow burn romance, plotting and scheming really builds up to a crescendo near the end when Vita finally realises she is smarter than these men that rule her life. Her journey of self discovery and her scheming and all of the anger, resentment and rage that’s been built up finally gets let out in a masterful and brilliant ending that will make anyone who’s ever been scorned feel vindicated. I really enjoyed this one and I think that if you like soft romance, strong women, female rage and historical fantasy then you should pick this up!

2.5 Stars

Unfortunately this book was just not quite for me. The description, setting and mention of alchemy made me think this was going to be my new favorite, however, there was just something missing. The first chapter was great and I was absolutely hooked, but then from the second chapter on I basically bored to tears. There were little moments I got sucked in again, but as soon as action died down Chase completely lost me again.

The main character, Vittoria, was the only one with any sort of depth making much of the “shocking” moments less than exciting. Personally, I think my biggest issue with this book was mainly to do with how rough it was to be in Vittoria’s head the whole time. While her passivity makes sense for the character’s background, I just didn’t enjoy being in her head while everything was happening around her. And honestly, I really wanted to learn more about the crows, not just that she loved them. I had the feeling the book was meant to be character-driven however there was not enough work on the side characters to bring any depth.

As for the plot, feminine rage where? Was it in the room with us before the last chapter? No, everything that happened and everything Vittoria did was so passive until the last minute. While that was incredibly satisfying and did boost my rating for the book, it kind of annoyed me that I had to wait so long and wade through so much before getting there. The majority of the book centered around Vittoria’s thoughts while the villain, Ardaric, fought to take control of the kingdom.

The magic system Chase used also may as well have not been there. While it did show up to drive the plot, it was not well fleshed out and didn’t really make any sense. I would have loved to know more about the form of alchemy she uses because it was so different. It just left me wanting so much more.

Thank you NetGalley and Bindery for the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

There was wonderful descriptive language in this story. Even in the most gruesome descriptions of things, the sentences still flowed beautifully. Vita was a character with such interesting growth - from a place of having only birds for friends, to determining how she was going to overthrow a general. I loved the cast of characters as well, although don't get too attached.

The story in general feels like one you're familiar with - tyrant men and their disregard for everyone around them. But the mixing in of alchemy, and the scheming of Vita and Soline, offer a unique twist here that sets up an ending I didn't see coming. The messaging is powerful, but there will definitely be moments that surprise you.

Overall 4.5 stars.

Crueler Mercies was a really unique fantasy where the MC, Vita, goes from an exiled princess to a key player in a plot for a foreign general to take her father's throne. There are definitely crueler mercies out there, and most of them appear in this book! No one is safe, and the victor gets the spoils of war!

I really appreciated Vita's character arc and how she develops. She is a pawn in a greater game, and she needs to learn how to play by the rules to guarantee her safety. I also liked the military tactics discussed in the book and how not everything was solved in a week! There is also a delightful sapphic romance and some cute animal companions!

There were moments when I felt like I was being told about characterization rather than being shown it. But, overall, it was a unique fantasy. You may want to check content warnings before diving into this one!

Crueler Mercies is a dark, gripping tale that pulls no punches. The prose is sharp, the emotions raw, and the characters linger long after the last page. It’s haunting in the best way. A few moments felt rushed, but the intensity and depth more than make up for it. A brutal, beautiful read.

The summary for this was very creepy, but unfortunately, the book did not really connect with me. This was a very slow moving story, and it kind of failed to hold my attention. I will say this was a very complex and complete world.

Thank you to Bindery Books and Netgalley for approving me to read this book, I’m rating this 4.0 stars.

This story really surprised me, the first half I was fuming hoping they’d cut the FMC some slack asap and the 2nd half our FMC showed a lot of growth.

The story was surprisingly romantic and I loved it. There was a nice balance of plot alongside this romance. I also enjoy the pace of the story as we see our FMC grow into a woman, and a formidable character.

Highly recommend for fans of a unique plot with warring nations, arranged marriage situation and betrayal. It’s hard to know who to trust in this story, but its quite the journey figuring it out.

If you like a sapphic, feminine rage, take-down-the-patriarchy vibe, then you'll definitely enjoy this book! It's a good war and battle story, lots of time spent strategizing and setting up battles! At times, the plot can definitely be a little slow but it is still a good plot and well worth a read!

Crueler Mercies is a clever, immersive story, but one that didn't quite hook me quite as well as I'd have liked. I highly commend Maren Chase for such an ambitious story and such a unique character in Vita - conplex feminie rage at its finest! The pacing felt a little shaky to me though, with a particularly slow beginning. I do think it will very much appeal to other readers though, so I'll still be mentioning it in relevant recommendations.

This novel was more of a slow-burn type story. I was captivated by Vita and the way that she was portrayed in the novel throughout- I loved the crows, and the way her character developed as the book went on. The intricacies of the land and the houses were well portrayed and kept my interest- I wanted to know the history and how each family/nation had contributed to the kingdom (either positively or negatively). Vita’s interest in this was a positive, too! It felt very natural for her to want to learn more about what was going on and how her world was functioning around her. Her relationships with the other characters were well done, too- they felt very true to me and kept me reading. As I said, the novel was a bit slow-to-start, especially with her exile, but as the novel continued it really pulled me in nicely- the plot kept up a steady clip and it was, overall, a good read!

TL;DR Review: Rapunzel meets Man in the Iron Mask. A helpless, naïve prisoner becomes a cunning, revenge-driven queen.

Full Review:
Crueler Mercies did something quite fascinating: it took an absolutely naïve, helpless character and transformed her into a cunning and revenge-driven badass.
In the beginning, we’re introduced to a ten-year old Vita, who watches her mother’s execution at her father’s hand and is subsequently banished to live out the rest of her life locked away in a high tower (a la Rapunzel). For a decade or so, she has only birds and the occasional servant for company, with no hope of anything outside her little room.
Until the day the city to which she’s been banished comes under siege and is captured. The enemy general proclaims that he will marry her and she is to be his queen, and together, they will kill her father in revenge for her mother’s death.
Vita, naturally, has no choice but to go along with the scheme. It’s clear from the beginning that her psyche is incredibly stunted—in many ways, she’s the ten-year-old girl who first went into that room.
But as the story weaves on, we see Vita gaining a better understanding of her husband-to-be’s cruelty, the horrors of the world around her, and her own desires—chiefly, a desire for vengeance. Not only against her father, but against everyone who has mistreated her, and the general who seeks to use her with no real care for what she wants or thinks.
Thus begins Vita’s slow efforts to undermine the general, to break his iron grip on her, and, one day she hopes, remove him entirely. In the doing, she may just discover that she is stronger and cleverer than she thinks. Once she learns more about the world around her, she will come into her own and, perhaps, become the queen she was born to be.
I loved seeing the innocent, hapless Vita in the beginning. Her naivete and innocence made the story feel so much darker than I expected. However, from the first chapters, the spark of anger and defiance within her was clear. I had no doubt she could become great—and as her story went on, it was immensely gratifying to see that she did.
Crueler Mercies is a slower-paced, slow-burn story that will keep you absolutely spellbound and burning through pages as you try to figure out what obstacle Vita will next face—and overcome—in her quest for revenge. The ending was so satisfying, the perfect culmination to an incredibly well-written and clever emotional and physical journey.
This book blends Rapunzel and The Man in the Iron Mask vibes and tells a story I love and am absolutely happy to recommend to dark fantasy readers like me.

Crueler Mercies is about a princess locked in a tower both literally and metaphorically, the people who help her see her value beyond her inheritance, and the men standing in the way of her both finding this actualization and her literal throne. It’s a quieter, grim fantasy about survival, with the light within Vita growing brighter and brighter as she learns to navigate a world of fantasy politics that has none of her best interests in mind. Her relationship with those around her moved me, leading to an incredibly satisfying comeuppance that stems from our protagonist finding her own worth.

This is a book that is a slow burn of the main character finding strength in herself. Though she ends up a badass in her own right, Vita is not the one brandishing a sword and physically fighting for her own freedom. Chase works impressively with fantasy tropes and historical figures to explore the ways one can fight for oneself in ways more quiet than heroic. The stakes are much more personal in this fantasy story. While there is political intrigue that extends beyond Carca to various neighboring lands kingdoms, the points of tension largely happen in Vita’s immediate vicinity. Most of the negotiation happens within her own heart as she tries to wrangle any morsel of control.

Soline and Vita bounce off each other well in a hand-maiden and princess romance that worked for me. They yearn for each other, and when they are afforded moments of intimacy, it hits. It’s not just Soline that Chase graces Vita with. She has her pair of other attendants, who both love her in different ways, helping her work within the limitations imposed by her tenuous hold on her literal political value and encourage more drastic action once the pieces are mostly set. While there there are several tender interactions woven throughout, the overall world of Crueler Mercies is a brutal one. There is graphic violence on page befitting the grimdark world this book inhabits. Lives aren’t entirely expendable, but neither are they precious except in very specific circumstances. While the terrors aren’t acute, the feeling of having to walk on eggshells is palpable, which made the villain, General Ardaric, so scary to me. The way he lures Vita to his side with ultimately selfish promises of a return to her kingdom made him such a compelling villain. The depiction of that kind of protective manipulation is refreshing to see, but also heavy to read.

The cover copy mentions alchemy, and I do want to warn that the alchemy is very much a background element. There is no skeleton key or a deus ex machina of magic arriving at just the right time to save Vita. There is no chosen one arc with her, only lessons from fellow women like her predecessors. Instead of gaining proficiency in magic, she develops her own ability to navigate conversations and negotiations while leaning on the tight bonds of a family she chooses.

If you’re someone who got a lot out of reading Damsel by Elana K. Arnold in the young adult fantasy space, there is so much to appreciate with this adult fantasy debut that feels very much in conversation.

Vita is a princess in exile after a traumatic betrayal by her own father. She lives a contented life in a tower, hardly seeing other humans, spending hours upon hours alone with her books and the birds who visit through her window. One day she notices a commotion outside, and before she knows it, her door finally opens and she’s thrust into a world of war, destruction, and political machination. She needs to learn quickly to stay alive and get the revenge she never even knew she wanted.

I have some mixed opinions on this book but overall enjoyed it. The characterization is great - I think Vita is a refreshing protagonist who acknowledges her faults and weaknesses and shows great character growth from sheltered princess to warrior queen (albeit a LITTLE unrealistic maybe). Her love interest Soline is a little more shallow, but still decently fleshed out with her own motivations and light backstory. The main antagonist even has his moments of humanity, something I found particularly refreshing since I hate one-dimensional villains. The political plotting was light enough to be easily understood while being complex enough to have an impact on the plot. But I will say overall this felt a little YA for some reason, and the romance was a little lacking for me. There’s also a magical element to the story that felt a little shoehorned in there and I wish it was explored further. I don’t see myself rereading this one, but I would recommend it if you like light political fantasy and satisfying female-rage endings.

Huge thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for this Advanced Reader Copy! This review is my honest opinion and offered voluntarily!