Overall Rating: ***
I really wanted to like this book…I mean come on it’s a book about bad ass girl assassins 
who are the spawn of death. I mean how could that not be great??
Grave Mercy is an older release and the first book in the His Fair Assassin trilogy. I was hearing a ton of hype about this series due to the author releasing a new spin-off in the same universe. The book started out very interesting i loved the premise. The main character, Ismae, ends up at the Convent, learning about her heritage and training to be one of the Handmaidens of Mortain. Once Ismae sets out on her first “job” things start to go downhill. I was expecting a bad ass assassin and ended up with a novice girl.
What I liked:
- I really liked the premise of the book. Female assassins, the Convent…had a little bit of the Throne of Glass vibe.
- I actually really like the male main character in the book, he was the one who had it together more than anyone.
- The ending wrapped up nicely, no cliffhangers.
What I didn’t like:
- I was really not fond of the main female lead. As soon as she started falling part and asking everyone else what to do all of the time I was done
- Just not an overall fan of the writing, she flipped back and forth between speaking very modern and going back in time. I am no history buff at all but the swings still bugged me.
- There were also quite a few side characters that just seemed out-of-place and really did not add to the story, perhaps they will play larger roles in the sequels.
A lot of people really like this book and I really liked the idea. While I will not be reading any further in the series or buying more of the authors work, I understand that the other books in the series are based around different main characters so things might improve.
Official 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?
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