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!

This book captivated me from the first chapter. I found the beginning and end of the book to be gripping, but lost interest for a while in the middle. I enjoyed the romantic subplot, although I would’ve liked a bit more chemistry between Vita and Soline. I appreciated the incorporation of alchemy into the storyline but I felt like it could’ve been better explained. Overall, I found this to be an interesting story with well written characters.

I really enjoyed this book and although not a princess kept in isolation under the thumb of cruel men, I found the story relatable. I loved the transformation of Vita from meek girl, to a cunning and resourceful woman.

I am sad that I am DNF’ing this one at around 50%. I struggled from the start of this book with the writing and being able to get into the story. I can’t pin point what it was but it felt very simple and “I’m just going to tell you what’s happening” and I kept trying to rewrite it as I was reading. It also felt like a lot was going on around our main character but she wasn’t doing much, which I know is what her arc will be but I wanted more from her even in the beginning. Giving it two stars still I loved the concept and the storyline. Crueler mercies was definitely a nice change in the fantasy world and felt fresh and different, but this one just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bindery, and Fantasy & Frens for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Vita was a beloved princess when suddenly her whole world came crashing down around her. Her father ordered the execution of her mother and forced Vita to watch. Soon after Vita was forced into exile away from the kingdom she once knew. 11 years has passed and the Kasri have invaded her new home. Ardaric, the general of the Kasrians, has come to steal Vita away and storm the kingdom for the thrown. Vita is now pushed into the hands of Soline, a lady in waiting, who tells Vita about alchemy. As her world changes once again, Vita does her best to balance her life. But will she end up losing it all or getting everything she hoped for?

This book was so similar to Ava Reid’s Lady Macbeth. Not in the story specifically but the atmosphere and the vibes. Chase has extensive descriptions of the scenes and feelings of characters as they move through this war for power. It’s constantly giving this feeling of a jack in the box about to pop while you turn the handle. I loved it! My heart was pounding moving from scene to scene. You can almost hear the sounds of the castle or the battleground. There’s so much of this book that I loved. My only critique is the breath of the world and the plot. While so much was put into this book, so much was left out. The world building was patchy. Nothing felt fully thought through when it came to understanding where we were in this world. The magic system had no structure at all. It was all a hope and a prayer. Do I think that made it a bad book? Not at all!! I still very much enjoyed and loved this book for what it was but I definitely think the synopsis gives out expectations that were not delivered on.

Overall I am giving this 4.5/5 stars, rounded up. The characters and the story were truly what saved this for me.

Thank you Maren Chase and Bindery Books for a NetGalley ARC copy of Crueler Mercies

DNF at 68%

This book started SO strong! A royal beheading, the FMC being locked away for 11 years, A siege by unknown invaders, followed by a conqueror forcing her hand in marriage. This all happened in the first 70 pages, followed by not much for the next 220 pages after (that I read). When the FMC and her lady's maid started trying alchemy I was so excited because I thought something would surely come of it, but they started one fire and then didn't try again for over a 100 pages at least. The author would also skip weeks at a time, with no notable changes in the war or mention of the FMC trying to find her captured bird (who was supposedly family to her). There was no sense of urgency and the book seemed more focused on the FMCs romantic relationship with her lady's maid, than progressing the political plot. This was one of my most anticipated reads and ended up being such a let down, I'm sure there is a powerful ending, but I can't peak my interest enough to finish.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect of this book, but I quite enjoyed it. All I knew going in was a sapphic fantasy with female rage, and while that is accurate, it's not a hugely romantic story, and while I liked both characters, there was not a lot of emphasis on their romantic relationship. And the rage was a bit more quiet than expected, but there was a nice build up to it, a slowburn rage if you will.

The book is a single POV story about Vita, a princess who at nine years old was exiled from court after her mother's execution and locked up in a fortress far away. It's essentially a take on a princess in a tower fairytale, and one where the princess gets "rescued" in a way. Except, the man who claims to have liberated her is a general seeking to dethrone her father, and to him Vita is little more than a pawn to get there, and he's forcing Vita to marry him.

Most of the book follows Vita after being freed from her prison, and cast into the next, and she has to navigate her new situation, and try to find some place for herself in it. She doesn't want to marry the general, but he does offer revenge against her father for locking her up and killing her mother, and if she doesn't comply he'll kill her, so she doesn't exactly have a choice here.

I've seen other reviews complain about Vita's lack of agency, and I'm inclined to disagree. She does rebel, and she's scheming and plotting behind the scenes, trying her best with what she has, but she's in a situation where she doesn't have a lot of control. In that sense, it's true she doesn't always have much agency, but that's the kind of story this is. About seeking freedom for herself that is independent from the powerful men in the world, but the circumstances are such that that is not simply a matter of wanting it badly enough. The general makes it very clear that if she is not useful to him anymore, she's too dangerous an enemy and he'd kill her. Vita does not have much to work with.

Vita at the beginning is a 19 year old woman who has been locked into isolation with barely any education since she was nine years old, and she very much reads like a character in these circumstances. That makes her read a bit younger, but I don't think that means the book is YA perse, but it is a voice I imagine not everyone will enjoy. It did make her character feel vibrant though, and I quite enjoyed how she developed in gaining more agency, improving her tactics, and trying to wield power as she could.

Aldaric was a great villain, not the most complex, just a very typical man who thinks he's entitled to whatever he wants. I was really rooting for Vita to kill him most of the book, and I liked this subversion of the "knight rescues princess from the tower" because in a way he did rescue her from the imprisonment and he deeply sucks.

The female rage is something that builds up, and Vita starts out as a sweet, rather passive character, but she does want revenge against her father from the start, and ultimately lands on Aldaric also needing to die. It's not filled with range, but rather building up slowly as Vita tries to grapple with this huge change in her life.

My only complaint about this book is that it did get a bit slow around the middle, and sometimes I wanted Vita to hurry up and do something already, so I think that part of the story could have been tightened a little.

Would recommend this to people who enjoy female characters finding their agency in a patriarchal world

Thank you to Bindery Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of Crueler Mercies.

I was excited and intrigued by the description of an exiled princess seeking revenge and falling in love. The story started out strong with a dramatic opening. The pacing at the beginning of the novel felt effective for the amount of time Maren Chase wanted to include. Reading about Vita's years in exile was poignant and sad -- to look forward so deeply to having her hair washed was a good example. And then, everything changed. One fateful day, the enemy general Ardaric takes over the city where Vita is hidden away, and against all odds, she is found, saved, and given a choice: marry the enemy, or die.

At this point, unfortunately, I felt the plot slowly begin to unravel. Vita is given her crew of caretakers, including Soline, Isotta, and Marius. She begins to develop feelings for Soline that she doesn't understand, as she balances this "dangerous" relationship with warring desires to go along with Ardaric's plans or seek revenge on basically all identified enemies in the story, including both Ardaric and her father, the king, who forced her into exile.

Vita seems both extremely naive and all too intelligent at various points for the remainder of the story. It doesn't make much sense that a young child completely uninterested in her lessons has any grasp over running a kingdom, fighting a war, or understanding the intricacies of the relationships between different parts of the world. She is looked down upon as a young nobody, and then also exalted by Ardaric's warriors when she gives a rousing speech before a battle. She is both cruel and delicate. I loved the idea of incorporating alchemy into the story, but this did not really pan out in a way that was any more realistic than the rest of the plot. The way this was incorporated ultimately seemed way too good to be true for two young women seemingly just messing around with a bunch of plants, jewelry, and coins, and hoping for the best. And lastly, romance? That is a bit of a dramatic sell for the actual relationship between Soline and Vita. The end is so unbelievable as to almost be laughable. I like happy endings, but come on....

Isotta and Marius were my favorite, Vita and Soline ended up annoying me quite a bit, and I really disliked almost everyone else. The pace of the plot was good, but nothing else about it really stood out. The book overall read a little more YA to me, which is fine, but if it was billed as such, I might have been a little more convinced by everything. The writing was very good overall. The story did hold my attention. Ultimately, a three for getting me engaged despite all the drawbacks.

What a book! I adore a good standalone fantasy novel, and this fulfilled a craving I didn't know I had. Rich world-building, political intrigue, and a swoon-worthy romance - really, this book had everything. More than a few times I found myself on the edge of my seat when confronted with the violence and brutality of Vita's world.

If I had one complaint it would be that the "magic" and Vita's efforts to learn about it seem more like an afterthought until the last third of the novel. It's not necessarily a bad thing but I did think it would play more of a role.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

Maren Chase’s Crueler Mercies is a searing, lyrical tale of fury, exile, and the seductive promise of reclaiming power on your own terms. At its heart is Vita, a fallen princess shaped by grief and sharpened by betrayal, whose long-buried rage refuses to stay dormant. Chase crafts a vivid world in the Kingdom of Carca—rich with courtly deceit, sun-soaked brutality, and the alchemical magic that becomes both salvation and weapon.

The bond between Vita and Soline simmers with tension, desire, and danger, grounding the story in emotion even as it flirts with revolution. The prose is poetic but sharp, echoing the novel’s themes of feminine rage and resilience. Though the pacing occasionally lags in the middle, the payoff is worth it: this is a story that doesn’t just demand justice—it burns for it.

Crueler Mercies is a fierce, intoxicating debut perfect for fans of politically charged fantasy with sapphic romance and sharp edges.

This was ok, overall - the beginning was the strongest part with the Anne Boleyn vibes of nine-year-old Princess Vita's mother being beheaded by order of her father. Vita's existence as she knows it is over and she is exiled while papa goes for Jane Seymour to try to get a son and heir.

Her circumstances much changed, Vita is a confusing lead character much of the time. She is passive, and childish at times, which is understandable as her emotional development has been pretty much stunted, but then we're presented with Vita the politically savvy princess? How? When? She didn't seem to be into her schooling when she was a child, but now understands the intricacies of court intrigue and politics?

The relationship between Vita and Soline wasn't all that convincing, and neither was the ending. Perhaps if more seeds had been planted at the beginning of the book (having Vita be interested in how her father runs his kingdom would be good) then the Vita at the end of the book would feel more believable and her ending would feel earned.

This is a revenge story set in a dark fantasy war setting complete with slow burn sapphic romance, alchemy magic, and court drama. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel by Maren Chase, set to release on June 3rd.

There are healthy doses of female rage through the entire book. I found myself absolutely loathing the FMC’s father as well as her controlling fiancé. The strength of this story is following Vita’s arc of slowly believing in herself after years of solitude in captivity. Each progression out of her shell feels properly earned, making Vita easy to root for.

I found the world building to be very interesting to the point that I truly hope more stories are told in this world. This is Maren’s debut novel, and I will absolutely welcome whatever she has next for us with open arms.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bindery Books for giving me this ARC in return for an honest review.

Maren Chase’s Crueler Mercies is a bold, emotionally charged debut that delivers everything its title promises—and more. Set in the sun-drenched yet politically treacherous Kingdom of Carca, the novel follows Princess Vita, a once-beloved royal whose life is shattered when her father executes her mother and casts her into exile.

Years later, Vita is offered a cruel bargain: marry a conquering general or die forgotten. But her path takes a thrilling turn when she meets Soline, a mysterious lady-in-waiting who introduces her to the volatile power of alchemy—and to a love that could ignite a revolution.

DNF at 22%. Vita was like if stale bread was a main character. I thought she was going to be so much more badass. She goes from one plot point to the next with barely any thoughts at all, half of them feeling so out of character. Her and Soline have ZERO chemistry; the relationship came out of nowhere. The plot is so generic, I feel like I could find dozens of books just like this.