MurderByDeath
Written on May 11, 2014
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?
- ISBN10 054762834X
- ISBN13 9780547628349
- Publish Date 3 April 2012 (first published 1 January 2012)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 12 May 2021
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Houghton Mifflin
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 560
- Language English
Reviews
Katie King
Written on Apr 24, 2014
Upon reading the description, I was pretty excited. A female assassin working for the god of death finds herself drawn into not only political intrigue, but with her own heart as well? Sounds like someone has finally found the best mix of romance and action. If only that were what actually happens.
Grave Mercy starts out with our fair assassin, Ismae, essentially being taken in by a convent loyal to Death himself. She is told she has special powers due to her father...being the god of death. She then learns to use these powers...skip 3 years...and is sent on one last mission before her final vows. It is up to her to protect the Duchess and her country all while guarding herself against the late Duke's illegitimate son! What action! What excitement!
Nope. True, all of that technically happens. However, don't kid yourself if you're wanting for some great pro-female adventure. Ismae does more talking and swooning than any good assassin should. She is told to stay away from Gavriel Duval (late Duke's illegitimate son) and not to trust him, and of course she falls in love with him. He even gets poisoned and she saves him...by sleeping with him? Her body is a temple, apparently.
The major villain is thrown at you like a small child begging for attention. The minor antagonists miraculously switch sides and swear fealty. Ismae saves the Duchess from a trap, saves everyone's soul, meets her real dad, saves Duval, confronts the major villain, has a talk with Duval, confronts her Head Mother, and goes to meet the Duchess for her coronation all in the last 50 pages. Everything worked out really nicely for Ismae.
The romance felt weird to me. I can't think of any points where they would have forged their deep and everlasting bond, but it was apparently there at the end. Even now, I question why they even liked each other. There weren't any really positive moments, but no negative ones either. Maybe I stopped paying attention by the time that happened.
The plot, while it needs work, actually presents a good idea. If it were carried out more truthfully to the description, this would be a great book. The very beginning was interesting enough to catch my attention. The arranged marriage, the escape, the introduction to the convent was all exciting. Basically after the "skip 3 years" part, it went downhill. Ismae manages to kill a few people, which are some of the more exciting parts. Overall, a lot of the time I felt as though I were reading the same few pages over and over. The same people said the same things and did the same things as though all action in the book was scripted like a play. I was straight up bored past the first 100 pages, and for a book this long (~550 pages), that is a struggle.
Summary
This wasn't a bad book. It just wasn't that good. If you've ever felt so incredibly neutral about something that it frustrates you, that describes how I feel. A great concept that was shakily executed. A romance built out of air. An assassin, who does everything but. The sequel focuses on another female assassin; maybe that one is better.
paperbackjedi
Written on Aug 22, 2013
His Fair Assassin had something I'd never encountered in a book before. Badass nun assassins. No, seriously. Ismae is a girl who's tired of her circumstances and the crappy life they've created for her. Not to mention, she's surrounded by absolute jerks. Her "adoptive" father tries to marry her off to a complete and total abusive asshole and she's just DONE. Way done. Before her would-be husband can do too much damage, she is whisked away by a priest to a convent to train to be a servant of Mortain, the patron saint of Death, who also happens to be her real father. There, she learns how to fight, kill, and seduce men who bear the marque of Mortain (a way to spot those that need to be punished by death) and sometimes even people the convent deems fit for slaughter.
The kicker comes when the leader of her convent decides to send her on a mission to uncover a plot against the Duchess and punish the deserving culprits. Adding to the mix, she's posing as mistress to a very gorgeous, very mysterious man, Gavriel Duval, who has his own game to win. As she becomes more embroiled in court life, she begins to wonder who she can trust and who exactly is giving the orders she's assigned to carry out and to what purpose?
This book was a quick read for nearly 600 pages. Even though I didn't finish it in one sitting, I probably could have. The chapters are short and there's a lot of action (especially for a period novel). The plot is engrossing, but in many cases, predictable, though there are some surprises. Where LaFevers really shines is the mythology and history. The story takes some of it's cues from actual places and events in history (though not a true story by any means). I particularly enjoyed the mythology surrounding The Nine Old Gods of Brittany which is the author's own creation based loosely on Celtic mythology- Continental, not Irish). It was interesting and added an air of intrigue to the novel.
In all honestly, I kept forgetting Ismae's name for the first hundred pages or so, even though I had no trouble with most other characters. Ismae as a character is driven by a singular purpose; to seek revenge upon evil men. She is very much single-minded in the endeavor and her character is one dimensional for the first part of the novel which made her a little boring for me. However, once she got away from the convent and started experiencing a very different world, her character became more rich and engrossing and I started rooting for her. Duval was probably the most charismatic character to me and evenly developed.
The romance takes a backseat to the mystery and actual plot of the novel which is nice. Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was different than what I normally read and I had a lot of fun imagining the world it took place in. It's a bit long, but you don't really notice it honestly, as the plot moves at a pretty steady pace, breakneck even, at some points. The characters could have been a little more fleshed out, but by the end you do get a pretty good feel for them (some more than others). It's set up for sequels about other initiates at the convent who are introduced briefly at the beginning of the novel. All in all, I'd say to grab a Kindle copy or head to your local library and check it out.
Stephanie
Written on Apr 21, 2013
With Grave Mercy being over 500 pages, I was a little scared. Especially since it's a historical, sometimes I feel like historicals can drag. But I found myself happy that it was so long, because I didn't want it to end.
I absolutely loved the dynamic between Ismae and Duval. Ismae was awesome, and Duval was awesome, and together they were awesome. I cannot express my love for them enough. Ismae is someone who thinks for herself (or learns to think for herself), and learns from her mistakes. And Duval is such a caring and loyal character. I'm just so sad that this was a library book, because I wish I had a copy right now to hug it.
I didn't realize that this book had some kind of fantasy along with it. I didn't even think about the fact that these were nuns and that they obviously have a god that they follow. But learning about all the other old god's that this country was built on was fascinating to me. Especially since Ismae is one of the daughters of the god of Death. So interesting!
I really enjoyed reading about Ismae's time around the court. I couldn't figure out who was a traitor and who wasn't. This is somewhat of a mystery because the whole time I was trying to figure out who to trust. But I didn't start figuring it out until Ismae did.
So if you're a little hesitant to read this because of the length, I say go for it because it is a fantastic story. I loved it so much, that I want to go out and buy it right now, along with the next book, Dark Triumph, which I can't wait to get my hands on! This is definitely a favorite of mine and I will be revisiting it again.
nitzan_schwarz
Written on Mar 31, 2013
(This is the re-reviewed version)
When Grave Mercy came out, everyone were going gaga over the idea of assassin nuns. However, I wasn't planning on reading it. While the idea is superbly cool, I had my doubts on whether the book could live up to such an intriguing hype.
But one day, when I was cruising a site called Libbo (that has since stopped operating), I saw Robin LaFevers put the book up for grabs for those who publicate the book. So I did, not expecting to win. But then I did win, and now I had an e-book copy of this book everyone is talking about. So... I read it. And loved it. And bought it. Twice.
This book was unlike what I expected, but in a good way. It has it's flaws, but at the end of the day, I really enjoyed this mammoth of a book (the hardcover is HUGE. It could double as a lethal weapon, easy).
Grave Mercy is not really about assassin nuns. It's about blind faith, making your own choices and understanding "god's will". Understanding there is no such thing is absolute truth, or even a true truth.
The first installment of the trilogy tells the story of Ismae, a farmer's daughter who was sired by Death itself. Being Death's own, she ends up in the Covenant; a place that worships Death and carries His Will. In other words: Assassination.
She's brave and strong, and she grows and matures throughout he book as she takes off the wool over her eyes and starts thinking for herself and questioning what she is told, instead of blindly trying to prove her worth and loyalty to the Covenant.
The uncovering is set into motion by Duval, a man she is sent to keep an eye on for the suspicion of treason. But instead of a traitor, she finds the most loyal man. A man filled with compassion, care, kindness, strength and duty. A man she grows to care for, trust, and love. And if the covenant is so wrong about him--what else might they be wrong about?
And the romance between these two?
That pretty much sums it up, thanks! Slow burn.
And the both of them are well suited, covering for each other's weakness and creating one whole together.
That said, I did feel it was lacking in the process of falling in love, especially on Duval's part (since we are not in his head). It was all rather sudden, missing those small moments that would have convinced me he loved her.
This book is pretty unique. I haven't read many historical YA novels before, and none that were also a cross with fantasy and mythology like this one. The mixture creates a delightfully fresh and complex story that you can't help but devour.
I do feel obligated to warn you: yes, they are assassin nuns. It does not mean that the book is fast paced though. The book starts slow and features many political intrigues; schemes; betrayals; as opposed to flat-out action, with the action meter going up slowly as we get farther into the story.
One of the greatest thing about this book is the realism of it. And yes, a fantasy YA novel can and needs to be realistic; in terms of making the reader believe that, were all these things possible, this is how it would've went down.
As for the writing itself... I did not like it. Yep, I know; WTF. This is the main reason the book is a four star; I just didn't connect with the writing style. It took me a long while to get into it and get used to the sound of it.
The other minus of this book is the character's names. They were just so distracting. I kept stopping and trying out different pronunciations, trying to figure out how the heck LaFevers meant for them to sound. And it wasn't just one or two names; it was all the names.
Originally published on my old log, and re-reviewed on my new blog. Please consider popping by :)
_______________________________________________
OLD: I've been a bit... reluctant to read this book. Everyone were going gaga about the idea of ASSASSIN NUNS, but I was a bit skeptical because of it.
Turns out, this book was unlike what I expected (in a good way), and there isn't much "nun" in the assassin (they live in a covenant. That's about all the nun-ish I could find).
It has it's flaws, don't get me wrong, but at the end of the day - I enjoyed what I read.
Grave Mercy is a story of blind faith, making choices, and understanding 'gods', 'faith' and 'truth' are all complicated and complex, and that there is no such thing as 'One, absolute truth'... or even a true truth.
It tells the story of Ismae, a farmer's daughter who was sired by Death itself, and has been abused for it greatly in her life, until she ends up in The Covenant, a place that worships the god of Death and carries on His Will. Meaning: assassinating the people he wishes to kill. She's brave and strong, and at the beginning of the book, she blindly believes in the Covenant, and is sure they can make no mistake. She doesn't question their decisions or how they make them, and is eager to prove her worth and loyalty to Death and the Covenant. She, in fact, knows very little of the organization she belongs to.
But then she meets Duval, a man she is sent to keep an eye on for the suspicion of treason. Instead, she finds a loyal man, filled with compassion, care, kindness, strength, and a strong sense of duty. A man she grows to care for, trust, and...
To read the rest of my review go to my blog; Drugs Called Books
Kelly
Written on Mar 9, 2013
The book is actually quite good, but historical novels just aren't my thing. I really did persist and made it over a quarter of the way through, but it just wasn't for me.
e_rodz_leb
Written on Aug 2, 2012
Grave Mercy is a historical ‘romance’ with a bit of the paranormal thrown in for good measure, targeted to young adults. The setting of the story is the duchy of Brittany (now part of France) in the 1400s and it’s a period in history that I haven’t read much about. I found the backdrop of the story fascinating, even if complicated to follow.
The story starts by introducing us to Ismae which had a very cruel upbringing and also the power that religion and superstition had on that time. I can see how the promise of a safe haven to live in, without fear and of a way to defend themselves from the brutality of the world can be very alluring, and even appear to be a blessing. The elements of the old religion made a lot of sense and were easy to understand and were the very important to the story along with all the political machinations.
Ismae is very brave, loyal, is a great judge of character, and is a no-nonsense type of person. She is only 17, but has learned a lot about how bad things could be, which makes her appreciate and recognize a good thing when she sees it. Another redeeming quality is that she uses her brain, instead of following instructions blindly. Gavriel Duval and Ismae’s are unwilling partners in the political game, and quickly learn to trust each other. Their romance grows very slowly, which I can appreciate and makes it more enjoyable and believable. I am also glad that there wasn’t a love triangle, and that Ismae didn’t stray from her beliefs and her feelings. I really love Duval!
The overall characterization was really well done. We get to see Anne of Brittany, a sweet girl that is put in a very difficult position that I’m not sure that I could have ever understood at that age. She is constantly betrayed by the people that are supposed to be her allies. Other characters were really well crafted and made the story believable. I’m sure we will see more of all of them in the following books. All the ins and outs of the life at court can be confusing and seemed like a big theater performance at times.
The plot, as I’ve mentioned before, was a bit complicated, but not impossible to follow, keep in mind that this is based on past history! The writing was one of the best parts of the story. LaFevers has a way to making you feel like you know these characters, and I learned to care for them. The use of old words and sayings was also essential to the story.
Overall Grave Mercy is a great story, full of history, superstitions, religion, politics and romance. I will definitely read Dark Triumph, book # 2 due for publication sometime next year.
A very true fact that is repeated throughout the story: “People hear and see what they expect to hear and see”
Another favorite: “Ah” Duval says. “So this is what you didn’t want me to see. Poor Ismae”…”There is no shame is scar, Ismae”
About the cover: It’s a beautiful cover! We see Ismae in a beautiful red gown with a crossbow and in the background a castle.
lizarodz
Written on Aug 2, 2012
Grave Mercy is a historical ‘romance’ with a bit of the paranormal thrown in for good measure, targeted to young adults. The setting of the story is the duchy of Brittany (now part of France) in the 1400s and it’s a period in history that I haven’t read much about. I found the backdrop of the story fascinating, even if complicated to follow.
The story starts by introducing us to Ismae which had a very cruel upbringing and also the power that religion and superstition had on that time. I can see how the promise of a safe haven to live in, without fear and of a way to defend themselves from the brutality of the world can be very alluring, and even appear to be a blessing. The elements of the old religion made a lot of sense and were easy to understand and were the very important to the story along with all the political machinations.
Ismae is very brave, loyal, is a great judge of character, and is a no-nonsense type of person. She is only 17, but has learned a lot about how bad things could be, which makes her appreciate and recognize a good thing when she sees it. Another redeeming quality is that she uses her brain, instead of following instructions blindly. Gavriel Duval and Ismae’s are unwilling partners in the political game, and quickly learn to trust each other. Their romance grows very slowly, which I can appreciate and makes it more enjoyable and believable. I am also glad that there wasn’t a love triangle, and that Ismae didn’t stray from her beliefs and her feelings. I really love Duval!
The overall characterization was really well done. We get to see Anne of Brittany, a sweet girl that is put in a very difficult position that I’m not sure that I could have ever understood at that age. She is constantly betrayed by the people that are supposed to be her allies. Other characters were really well crafted and made the story believable. I’m sure we will see more of all of them in the following books. All the ins and outs of the life at court can be confusing and seemed like a big theater performance at times.
The plot, as I’ve mentioned before, was a bit complicated, but not impossible to follow, keep in mind that this is based on past history! The writing was one of the best parts of the story. LaFevers has a way to making you feel like you know these characters, and I learned to care for them. The use of old words and sayings was also essential to the story.
Overall Grave Mercy is a great story, full of history, superstitions, religion, politics and romance. I will definitely read Dark Triumph, book # 2 due for publication sometime next year.
A very true fact that is repeated throughout the story: “People hear and see what they expect to hear and see”
Another favorite: “Ah” Duval says. “So this is what you didn’t want me to see. Poor Ismae”…”There is no shame is scar, Ismae”
About the cover: It’s a beautiful cover! We see Ismae in a beautiful red gown with a crossbow and in the background a castle.
Jordon
Written on Jul 29, 2012
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What a story! I don't even know where to begin.
I loved this plot. It was so interesting to read about a religion that believed in the Saint/God of death, yet those people weren't murderers, they believed that they killed that men that were traitors to their country. They killed for the good. What an interesting aspect to look at.
I really liked this book. I loved the whole idea of it. It just fascinated me really.
But I did feel like that it was a little bit too much based on the romance in some points. For example once Ismae left the convent, she didn't get to do much work that her God Mortain wished. I wanted more assassination! More fighting! More action!
I found Ismae to be interesting only in the way because of her background and how she was desperate to never be in that situation again. I really liked that she was strong and could defend herself. But then I had wanted her to be stronger and I guess more cruel in her decisions. She felt like such a good girl, only ever acting if her God Mortain willed it, only if she was ever instructed to do so by the convent. At first that was how I felt. That did change and I liked her more, I liked that she didn't just follow instructions without questioning as well.
At first I really liked how strong and opinionated Gavriel seemed. How angry he got over the things that he believed in was somehow an attractive quality. His love for his sister was heart warming to see and just added to the mysterious Gavriel. For most of the book I thought he was going to be the strong character that never let anyone in simply because he had no room for them, all the space was taken up by the people he loved and cared about and his duty to them. But then it became obvious just how nice he was, how much he actually did care, his bad boy status dropped off quite sharply after that. I guess by 'bad boy status' I mean his strong interior suddenly felt more like desperation therefore rendering him a normal human being. I liked him more when he sounded untouchable. Is that horrible of me?
In the end I still really liked Gavriel, my opinion just went from 'oh-my-god-what-a-swoon-worthy-guy' to admiration for his actions. He was a strong character and I liked that everything he did was for his sister and the situation.
I had really, really wanted to learn more about Beast and De Lornay! They were the mysterious, strong and interesting friends of Gavriel. I felt like they were in the story for a reason but that this story was not actually their story. I had wanted more interaction with them, more scenes with them in it, deeper personalities. I really wanted to know more about them, their backgrounds and their lives!
Beast reminded me of Barak (Also known as 'Bear') from David Eddings' The Belgariad, and De Lornay reminded me of Lelldorin from the same series. So for some odd reason I really liked De Lornay, I really wanted Ismae and him to 'click', I wanted them to like each-other and be at least friends. I'm not sure what drew me to him, probably the way he treated Ismae when he first met her. So as the best friends of Gavriel I felt like they were hardly around or mentioned as often as I felt like they should have been. Well wanted them to be.
Anne was the duchess to be in Brittany. I thought this was shown quite well, I loved that she had such a personality! And Isabeau, her younger sister, I thought was cute. But I'm sure if we had been shown more of her or more about her than I would have been able to really like her and really feel for her and how sick she was.
Even though I really liked all the characters I do feel like the only two we really got to learn about and really see / connect with was Ismae and Gavriel. This isn't bad in anyway, being able to connect with the main characters is a great thing. But I did kind of feel like all the other characters were outer shells to us, we didn't get the chance to learn about or connect with anyone else. I had really wanted to. For example I felt like characters dropped off the face of the earth when they weren't in the plot line, like Annith and Sybella, when Ismae left the convent these two characters suddenly felt like they weren't a part of the story any more. Same with a certain character that I found was very entwined in the plot, when he left it felt like he didn't matter any more. Ismae just forgot about him. Well not to that extent but it was in that general direction.
The world was beautifully created in my opinion. There wasn't one moment where I was drawn out because something didn't feel right or I couldn't understand it. The world was constant and very believable. I loved the saint's and religion aspect that wasn't forced down your throat. It was a very interesting and well built world.
This book was very beautifully written. It was nice and easy to read and it was constant with the style it was written in. I loved that it was narrated the way everyone spoke, it would have weird otherwise.
The romance. At first I was very excited for the prospect of the romance, there was no insta-love, Gavriel and Ismae disliked each other a lot and there seemed to be some sort of chemistry between them. Then once they left the convent the romance felt too predictable. Gavriel became nicer and you could just see there was no way he was not going to fall for Ismae. Ismae was so naive and inexperienced on the subject that it felt like all she felt towards Gavriel was trust, simply because even she didn't know what she was feeling. Then the chemistry between them disappeared somewhere along the way. So it was once exciting, but then by the end it was what I expected.
Overall I really, really liked this book! It was entertaining, fun to read and very fascinating. I couldn't put it down, even when I knew I had to I found it so hard to stop reading.
The rating for this book is four and a half because there were quite a few small things that I think brought it down from being a full blown five. It was definitely worth the read and I recommend giving this book ago!
When I first read the summary I wasn't too fond of it, but then there were many people saying it was really good. So I thought I would give it a go, I'm really glad I gave this one a chance because I loved it!
Miss J
x
**Actually 4.5 Stars
Amber
Written on May 7, 2012
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Before picking this book up, I had heard a lot of talk about a kickass female assassin who was raised in a nunery. This is something that was totally different to anything I've ever read before, and while I am usually hesistant to pick up historical novels (which is kind of ironic, as I'm currently writing a historical fantasy), I couldn't wait to read this one. I love badass females, and Ismae is definitely one of those!
Ismae was my favourite element of the book. I loved reading about her background story, her time at the convent and her time elsewhere. At one point, she took down three men at once, which matched the guy who was fighting with her. She was AWESOME!
I also liked a couple of the other characters, the Beast and Anna, but to be honest I became very confused over the amount of characters in this book. I had a hard time learning all their different names and statuses, and it got on my nerves because I wasn't able to get as sucked into the story as I had hoped, due to having to concentrate on which Lord was which.
The plot was action packed, and had several different elements thrown in there. I was hooked as I read about Ismae and her fighting, and as she spent time in the high court. I was hoping for more conflict at the end, because the book spent a lot of time building up to the climax and it fell a little flat. Perhaps I was just expecting too much from the ending.
As for the love interest - I won't give any names, though I do think it is glaringly obvious from the get-go - I feel pretty neutral about him. I liked him in the beginning when we didn't know much about him, but then his character development came to a halt and I grew bored.
Overall, this is a great book with a top notch female lead. A few elements were disappointing or average, but as so many others have adored this book, I think the impact these elements have must vary from person to person!