Review: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Grave Mercy
(His Fair Assassin #1)

Author: Robin LaFevers

Publication Date: April 3rd 2012

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Genre: Historical Fiction

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Synopsis:

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

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?

My Thoughts: What do you get when you add historical fiction, romance and assassins? A kick butt, awesome story that I loved, that's what! Grave Mercy was a great read that I was unable to put down. If you are a fan of historical fiction, you should definitely give this book a read.

One of the things I liked the most about this story was Ismae, she is such a strong person after all of the years of abuse that she had to put up with. Although, it doesn't help her love men. Once she is rescued and sent to the convent, she harbours a great hatred for men even and doesn't trust them at all. When she is sent on her mission with Duval, she thinks it will be easy, but she couldn't be more wrong. Sometimes you just need the right man to make you realize that not all men are awful. So will she warm up to Duval, can she trust him? She certainly doesn't want to!

The romance in Grave Mercy isn't really shoved in your face. You know it's there, but it's a cute type of romance with a girl trying to figure out her first crush. Duval is a very nice guy, although he doesn't trust Ismae right away, she is an assassin after all! She doesn't trust him either. Can they get past these things and find love?

As for the basic storyline, all we know is that there is a traitor who is close to the duchess, Ismae and Duval must figure out who the traitor is before it's too late. The French is invading and there is a lot of arguments over who the duchess should be made to marry. Once Ismae see how things work, she begins to doubt her convents orders, is it possible they've made mistakes? Can she carry out these orders as she used to? What happens when you begin to question' Mortain's will? 

An overall page turning adventure, where you don't know who to trust. Grave Mercy was an exciting read full of deceit, murder and love. There are so many chapters that left off on cliffhangers that I couldn't put the book down. Although it is a bit long compared to the "normal" young adult novel, it's an excellent read. I definitely recommend this novel to anyone who likes a good kick butt heroine, romance and a bit of history. LaFevers made an awesome debut novel and I will definitely be watching out for more from her in the future! 

Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy!