Crueler Mercies is the story of Vita, a young princess swept away by the politics of her father - to be hidden in a tower and starved by loneliness, other than the visits of her crows. After a long decade an enemy general invades the city and she briefly escapes, only to be caught in other trap, this time as the general's fiancée in a larger plot to use her to destroy the king. She has few friends but her lady-in-waiting, who encourages her own politicking and alludes to the forgotten art of alchemy and how it might help them escape their confining lives. A story full of rage and revenge contrasted against a soft sapphic slow-burn. In several ways reminded me of Markless and The Priory of the Orange Tree.

rapunzel retelling | royalty | sapphic romance | found-family of crows | political intrigue | female rage | vengeance

This cover isn't doing the book any favors. This is actually a pretty solid read with some great female rage, cool battle details, and a sweet love story. (none of which comes across in the cover.)

Vita is a princess who grew up basically as a political prisoner in another kingdom. When she is freed as an adult she needs to learn about the ways of the world (up until now she's mostly talked to birds), politics in the kingdom, and how to deal with her betrothed, Ardaric who is not a good guy.

While I liked the characters quite a bit, I oddly found the battle scenes in this book to be the most memorable (wherein Vita, Ardaric, and his army lay siege to her father's castle.) This book gets into the nitty gritty of what it's like to live on a battlefield for months at a time and Vita gets to grow into her personality and her relationship with her maid. It's quite a substantial character arc.

I would have liked the book to lean into the alchemy element more. It felt a tab underbaked. We don't get to learn very much about the hows and whys and history--just that certain elements have power a and that power comes in handy within the plot.

Overall, though that's a small quibble. I was pleasantly surprised with this read. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This started out strong and I really loved the main character Vita and seeing her relationship with her birb friends, but unfortunately the middle really dragged for me and I struggled to stay focused. Love the sapphic rep tho!

✧₊‧˚⁀➷ 4.00/5 .ᐟ

❝ “if you want me to remember your name, i will pay scribes to write it across time, across history. our legacy will be carved into the very core of this kingdom, and they will remember us. but it can’t happen yet. we’re not done yet. do you understand me? there’s too much left for us to do.”

➺ lesbians killing their husbands and marrying women instead is the best romance trope of all time. i accept no argument.

ʚɞ ⁺˖ setting .ᐟ takes place on carca, an island country in the alstrin continent (?). carca is surrounded by several other island nations, enemies and (barely) allies alike. vita, princess of carca, is exiled as a child after her father has her mother executed. vita grows up locked in a tower, her only company the birds she feeds from her window. the town vita lives in during her exile is conquered by a kasrian (from one of the other islands), who forces her to marry him to give him legitimacy for when he takes carca's throne. vita develops a friendship with soline, a noblewoman from the kasrian party, and through their relationship, rediscovers herself after being confined for a decade. and she practices killing her husband. very important to the story. and to me.

ʚɞ ⁺˖ plot / pacing .ᐟ honestly, pretty slow for the first 2/3 of the book. maybe even the first 3/4. the story is mainly an exploration of vita's mentality as she is trapped by tyrant after tyrant and watches her family die around her. it's also about the female role in marriage and the nuclear family + vita realizing that even if she is scared about the consequences of taking any form of action, she will never gain any safety from such a structure and she should protect herself. (this makes it sound very dark and triggering, but while it does deal with heavier topics, it's honestly not as far as new adult fantasy goes.) the last 8-10 chapters were very action-heavy however, and the last chapter alone convinced me to raise my rating from 3.8 to 4.

ʚɞ ⁺˖ characters .ᐟ

➺ vita is so perfect. i love everything about how she is portrayed, from her introduction as a child to her life in the tower, how the abuse she faced impacted her mental development, how she navigated her life hampered by her fear, how she gained the confidence to take control of herself again, how she loved soline. vita is definitely one of the better depictions of abuse victims that i have read in ya/na fiction.

➺ soline. love her relationship with vita and her protective nature. she starts out consumed with rage, and it's insane that she's able to quiet that in order to protect vita. she's also witty and fun and ridiculous at times, and her determination, whether it's focused on revenge or shielding vita from a certain goblin, is intrinsic to the novel.

➺ the cast of side characters (marius and isotta) were equally vivid, with motivations and backstories of their own. ardaric is a miserable misogynist with no redeeming qualities and my desire to see him burn is half of what made this such an immersive read.

ʚɞ ⁺˖ romance .ᐟ lesbians + murder always makes excellent romance. and aside from that, vittoline had realistic pacing and development, the best confession i've read recently, and the sweetest romantic scenes. i love that you can see exactly why/how/when they fall for each other and what each of them bring to/sacrifice for the relationship.

➺ such an enjoyable read. i actually read this own my own time, instead of when i was on the train or bored at work like i usually do, so that shows how good this is. thank you to netgalley for the advanced copy!

3.5 stars. This had a great beginning, a great ending, and an average middle chunk. I love a story of female rage, and Vita was a great character. She has fantastic development and I loved how much she grew. The sapphic romance is beautiful and tender. The fantasy aspect really took a backseat, which I didn't mind as I'm not very into big elaborate magic systems etc. And there's a strong political aspect that I really enjoyed. But the pacing just didn't really work for me. I was super into it at the beginning, and then I started losing interest. I'm glad I didn't give up as my interest was eventually rekindled, but it did take quite a while and I think the middle could have been better paced to avoid this.

Another great book from Fantasy and Frens!

I really flew through the first 40% of this book, a real page turner.
The middle part dragged on a little too much for my own liking but then I got into a nice flow again in the last 30%.

The writing is beautiful and fits the atmosphere perfectly.

You gotta feel for Vita especially in the beginning. I was really attached to her and was rooting for her to get her revenge.

The romance sub plot fell a bit flat to me. It was really cute for the most part but I didn't feel a really strong connection outside of trauma bonding between the two.

The ending was really satisfying and smart and Vita felt like a kind of strong feminine character I havent seen a lot of before.

I really enjoyed this book overall though and would recommend it to anyone who needs a good standalone feminine rage story!

I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, I thought this one would be more fantasy/alchemy driven. The villains of the book weren’t fleshed out enough. They felt like caricatures. Wish they were more morally grey.

I did though like how it ended. Probably my favorite part of the entire book outside of the opening chapter.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

I really liked this one, has a really great friends to lovers between a princess who has been l9cked away her whole life and one of her enemies many victims that bloomed so beautifully. The romance felt so natural and soft that I felt like I was melting with how cute it was despite this book being pretty dark in its premise. You will be just wanting our FMC to escape and never look back. They deserve freedom and peace. Really good character growth. Thanks Netgalley for an early e-arc copy.

This one wasn't for me, but that doesn't mean it will not find its audience elsewhere. I feel like I expected more adult themes, given the introductory chapter of the book, but then you have to stop to remember Vita is only 20, at most, and has been stunted by her time in isolation. It read as very YA trying to be adult, and while I enjoy one or the other, I don't enjoy being promised one and receiving the other.

I've read some incredible fiction involving prolonged isolation and the mental effects on its subjects, but this...wasn't it. Vita felt bored, so *I* felt bored. The romance between Vita and Soline didn't feel like a romance; it felt like Vita latching on to someone who finally showed her deference again.

CW: Child Neglect/Isolation; Gore (Beheadings, Corpse Mutilation); Cannibalism (Minor); Cruelty to Animals;

Chase’s book features good diction and a solid, if plodding, plot. I thought Chase did a good job of highlighting how main character Vita’s life experiences affected her, as well as capturing the tensions of a monarchy.

I thought the book had two primary weaknesses. First, Vita’s characterization is inconsistent. For all the time spent on understanding her trauma, isolation, and lack of education, her awkwardness somehow gets played off as “charming,” she picks up on manipulating situations very quickly, and her reading an outdated history text is enough to make her a tactical genius. It just doesn’t make sense. Second, the pace is glacial. It takes so long to get anywhere and do anything – except for when the book has to wrap up in the last few pages, so then the “big triumph” comes overly quick.

I got this as a Netgalley arc from Bindery books and it will come out in June. This is a sapphic feminine coming of rage story. It's brutal, it's passionate, it's intense,and despite it's length I flew through it.

sapphic slowburn
- rapunzel inspired
- political fantasy
- feminine rage
- vengeance
- strong character development

The character growth in Crueler Mercies is such a raw and realistic portrayal of feminism and feminine rage that has me floored. It is tragic, dark and SO human. Though it has too dark an undertone for younger me, her siege-fascinated self would have gobbled this portrayal of a strategic war. The narrative is so nuanced, never eclipsing the gore and the cruelty. The romance, even though a subplot, progresses in line with Vita's reservations: nothing feels out of character for a moment and LISTEN, for those of you looking for your next book girlfriend, might I present Vita? If you love books with strong character development and beautiful prose throughout -- this should be on your TBR. ALSO THAT TITLE IS GENIUS OKAY WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND WHERE IT CAME FROM.

THIS is the book for everyone who has been belittled and made to feel like they can't follow their dreams, this is the feminist dark fairytale we all needed. This is a reminder that you can conquer EVERYTHING.

Thank you Netgalley and Bindery Books for this lovely eARC.

This started out with such an intense event (a royal beheading!), so I don't know how the rest of the novel became such a huge bust.

This is one of those instances where this is actually a YA novel that the publisher is trying to upsell as adult fiction, so definitely manage your expectations.

The one huge thing that really bothered me throughout this novel was the FMC's lack of agency. I know that she was basically under house arrest for most of her life, but even when she had the rare opportunity to make a break for it, she kept second guessing herself. It was extremely irritating.

And because of her lack of agency (which didn't include feeding and talking to her wild birds and interacting with Soline), it read like she was just passively participating in everything that happened to her, while men dictated the actual story. Maybe this was the entire point, but it didn't make for an exciting read.

This entire thing was frustrating because it felt like Vita didn't even try.

And when she finally did decide that enough was enough, the events at the end made no logical sense. No spoilers, but why would anyone bother to listen to her if she barely made an impact on the people around her? It read like a wish fulfillment fantasy catered towards YA readers.

The romance was also mild to nonexistent. It felt like Vita and Soline were friends working within a loose superior/subordinate relationship. Vita pretty much fell in love with Soline because Soline was the only one there who was willing to listen to her and indulge in her whims.

Thank you to Fantasy & Frens and NetGalley for this arc.

This story follows Vita a lost and exiled princess who has been hidden from the world for 11 years. An army general find her and she has the choice of marrying him and he will take back her kingdom with him as king and her a wife, or dying. She choose marriage.
We follow Vita as she learns of alchemy and a plot to kill the general and claiming her rightful place on the throne. Soline is a lady in waiting who we find the definition of slow burn, pining, and forbidden love.
This is a simpler fantasy with minimal world building and easy to understand concepts, I think it would be perfect for people who haven’t read fantasy but want to try.
The found family, the sapphic love, the family of crows and the character development of Vita and how strong and powerful she becomes definitely made this a brilliant read.
A lovely standalone which I read in two days, speaks for itself!
Thanks to NetGalley!

""Vita's rage overflowed until she was prepared to drown in it, and she knew that she would never again dam this anger to please another."

After nine years as the people's beloved princess in the sun-soaked Kingdom of Carca, Vita witnesses the execution of her mother by her father's hand. Forced into exile, Vita fades into obscurity with her only friends - the crows that visit her window.

Eleven years later, Vita is given a choice: marry an enemy general, granting him legitimacy to take the throne, or die as the forgotten princess. With time running out, Vita meets Soline, an intriguing lady-in-waiting who introduces her to the powerful-but-unstable magic of alchemy.

If Vita and Soline can learn to control it - and the undeniable spark between them - they could burn the world of men to the ground."

Do it! Burn the world of men to the ground!

Vita, a long hidden away princess of her nation is dragged out of hiding to help dethrone her father. Vita is forced into an alliance with the invading general Ardaric, as he threatens her life in order to use her connection to the throne to take the crown. Vita is given a guard and two servants to help her adjust from being locked in an attack to being a proper princess. One servant, Soline, is set on making Ardaric pay for the death of one of her brothers and bring Vita in on her plans to hopefully make success easier.

As they all march on e the capital of Messilio, Vita is taught many lessons on political maneuvering and turning the loyalty of those around her to her side. All of this allows her to take her revenge on those who killed those most precious to her. Long live the king.

This story is a political fantasy where a princess isolated from her kingdom and people must learn to quickly reenter society and find a way to survive. Soline helps in teaching her the basics of alchemy to help Vita succeed in regaining her throne. I enjoyed this story and was rooting for Vita, even when she was losing hope in herself and others.

I really enjoy sapphic fantasy book every now and then and this definitely delivered on that part. I did feel like this wasn't really that eventful and there was a constant feeling of building up to something grand and epic. The ending partly delivered that, but felt little too easy and simple for my taste.

I also expected the alchemy to be explored more but it also felt very simplistic and not that big of a part of the story.

Overall a story I enjoyed reading but probably won't think about again.

Lovely stuff but this leaned too YA for my tastes - I didn’t realize that when I picked it out. Is it marketed as general/adult, or YA? Maybe I missed a tag.

thank you author Maren Chase for allowing me to read and review your book.

I really liked the beginning of this book and the interest of it all slowly lost me in the middle. the middle was muddled together and told more but showed less, and the end was a predictable ending but still didn't give the rage that vita deserved.

This was a bit of a slow read for me but around the mid-point I was captivated. I noticed bits that seemed to be inspired from Rapunzel, Game of Thrones, Henry the VII(History) and Olga of Kieve (History) - and I love a story with a slow-burn sapphic romance, feminist themes and feminine rage too. This did feel light on the world building (especially the magic system) and the characters felt more new adult than adult, however, Vita's character development felt realistic and I enjoyed it.
I feel like if this story had been developed a bit further it would have been an easy 5-star from me.

Thank you NetGalley and Bindery (Fantasy & Frens) for the ARC. All opinions are my own.