A review by teri_reads
The Serpent Called Mercy by Roanne Lau

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I originally picked up this book because I am a sucker for any kind of deadly trials in an arena, but this book ended up being about SO much more than the conquessorial battles. There were political secrets, oppression of the lower classes, and large scale conspiracies that Lythlet and Desil found themselves caught up in. The individual battles themselves actually became more about revealing some kind of detail, secret, or character development than defeating the monsters themselves. 

I really liked how the theme of mercy wove through the entire story and really became the central theme for Lythlet's character arc. She had an interesting progression; gaining and then losing confidence, being steered by the strong personalities of others until finally finding her own voice. Her upbringing really fueled her motivations, and it was interesting to see how that even contrasted with others who had similar pasts but made different choices.

Overall, this book has an epic fantasy feel to it, while also being very emotional and character-driven. I really loved Lythlet and Desil's friendship and how it grew and changed and went through struggles, but always remained a sort of north star, something they could always cling to even when things went wrong. I feel like nowadays with the world of romantasy (which don't get me wrong, I am 100% a fan of) every boy/girl pairing in a book ends up romantic, so it was really sweet to see a deep, soul mate level of friendship that was absolutely content to be exactly that. There is also a sweet, found-family-eqsue ensemble that you'll definitely end up falling in love with. 

Thank you to DAW and Netgalley for sending me an eARC of this book to review!