Grave Mercy Review

Author: Robin LaFevers

Date of Publish: 3rd pril 2012

Genre: Historical 

Source: Netgalley

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Book Summary

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae's most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

Source: Goodreads

My Review:

I enjoyed reading this boook. It's told in Ismae's POV present, who is Death's daughter. Having lost her mother as a child, and the only father,(who happens to be human, so stepdad) she has ever known, doesn't treat her well and never has. He marries her off to a man who a man who mistreats her as well. Fortunately she finds her way to a convent, through a man who rescues her. The convent in itself is an unusual one, where girls are trained to be assasination. The story takes us through Ismae's journey as she trains, her first assignment. As the story progresses, one gets to see Ismae become confident, make her own decisions independent of the convent. 

The R.L. LaFevers did a wonderful job with this story, descriptions were done well.  I symphathised with Ismae, her life before, her life in court even though she was capable of handling everything herself. I look forward to reading the second book in the series. If you are a fan of historical dark stories, I recommend Grave Marcy.