ammaarah
“The desires of my convent have collided with the path of my heart.”
Grave Mercy is a consistently good, but conventional read.
Ismae, the main character, is a handmaiden of Death and is trained as an assassin at a convent. Ismae is a good heroine, a slightly more relatable badass and an easy character to become attached to, but she's also a little bland and unmemorable.
The most interesting character is Duval - because of the balance between kindness, strategicness and questionable motives. I liked the slow burn, dislike-to-love relationship between him and Ismae.
The plot is predictable and I knew exactly where the story was going and how it was going to end. However, the predictability made for a slow and relaxing read, instead of one that kept me on the edge of my seat and I didn't mind it.
I love the assassin school trope and while there isn't much of assassin training or assassinations, the little bits and pieces are interesting and the fantasy and mythology aspects, especially related to Death, are fascinating and unique.
The political machinations and political intrigue is also interesting. The nature of complete loyalty and trust in the convent and its leader makes me a little uneasy (and I don't know if this is done on purpose or not), but I enjoyed seeing how Ismae navigates through it all. Her character growth is wonderful.
Grave Mercy is a solid read and has some interesting concepts, but the execution is predictable. However, it's a nice change to read a book with a calming presence. Sometimes predictability is comforting.
“When one consorts with assassins, one must expect to dance along the edge of a knife once or twice.”
