Grave Mercy Review

Date Published: April 3, 2012

Add it on Goodreads

Buy it on Amazon or B&N

Number of Pages: 549

First Thoughts:

This was one heck of a kick butt book. Usually the books I read with assassins are all the same and there's nothing ever really special about it (exception the Study series by Maria Snyder). But this book really took the thought of assassins to a whole different level. Though at times I found it to lack a tiny element the overall view of the book was fun and fast. This is definitely a series I want to keep in touch with.

Plot:

The plot was thick and fun, though I felt the pace to be a little slow at times I also believed that there was no way not to have those slower moments, without them there would have been no room for the explanation of this new world. I felt that this had all the key elements of traditional plots and all major questions retaining to this specific book were answered. As for the sub-plots they were just as thick as the main plot and they were interwoven just right as to make the main plot that much more important and strong. The romance in this book was very well written and placed and while the author chose to keep the romance to a certain level I do believe the way she wrote it made it seem that much deeper and meaningful. I loved that she didn't make it an assassin ordinary love story, she added complex walls, complications beyond the sane and created a romance that isn't about the relationship but about the souls...In the end I loved the plot and all the elements that tied it together and while it did have those slower moments it didn't take long for me to read.

Characters:

What to say about these wonderfully crafted characters? I loved the way they were described and placed within the story, each one had their own role to play and created well balanced world, where the characters seem real and are created to have their own personalities. As for the major characters I felt that they worked well in the positions they were placed, some had more jagged edges to them while others had a more smooth and clean cut edge and whether two of the opposites merged it was in the end just right for the characters. As for the minor characters though I found a few liking some true character they were in the end just a minor character and whether they blended in just right didn't have that much impact on the story itself. So overall I really liked how this author chose to create her three dimensional characters and place them in a world that is filled with treachery and lies and to be able to see even a little sliver of lightness is a miracle in itself.

Transformation of the character:

Okay as far as transformations go there weren't any big deal transformations in my opinion, yes there were some and yes they were kind of big but you kind of expected that change to occur, I mean you could spot it a mile away, you just knew that character had to change or the whole world would have been unbalanced. But I enjoyed watching the transformations don't get me wrong there just wasn't anything I haven't seen in this element of the story. But seeing different transformations is difficult and though each one is special in their own way they in the end all have similarities.

Description:

The description was perfect for this book and like I mentioned earlier there were the slower moments but that was okay, they helped the reader better grasp the situation at hand. I really did enjoy reading the beautiful imagery the author wrote up, to be able to picture a land filled with all this emotion and mixed beauty was something startling and special at the same time. I also thought the description was what drew me into the story; it really got me to picture each scene and make me see exactly what was going on in the mind of the main character. And I have to admit seeing from the vantage point of an assassin is pretty darn cool, I mean who doesn't imagine being a high skilled fighter at some point in their life? I sure did. But I felt the author did a great job on drawing the reader a map of their locations and creating a four dimensional world, where you as the reader and can literally taste the world with your senses and explore it right alongside the main character. One last thing about the description I really enjoyed that she didn't always gloss over some of the more "ugly" scenes, she really painted us a true picture of this world and allowed us to see a big part of it, good and bad. Overall the description was fun and emotional at times and I felt the author did a great job on it.

Style:

The author's style was nothing unique; it was in one POV and in first person. And though big stories like this I'd recommend switching POV's it wasn't necessary in this book, it allowed us to discover more of the world right alongside this main character and left us with suspense and surprises around each corner. As for the writing style she had her own way about organizing this story and though her writing wasn't really poetic, it did have a certain feel to it that poetry usually has. So, overall the style was good and true to the story.

Quote of the book:

"For while I am Death's daughter and walk in His dark shadow, surely the darkness can give way to light sometimes."

Goodreads Summary:

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?

Last Thoughts:

I would recommend this book to any reader who enjoys a well action packed book with a little romance thrown in the mix and to anyone who just enjoys a good well written book. I really did enjoy reading this book and can't wait to read more of this series come spring next year, there's just so much that happened in this book and I really want to know the outcome of all that was shown in this first book. I would also love to read any other books this author writes because from this book I could see she knows what she's doing. And though I found a few issues here and there I really did enjoy this book overall.

My Rating: