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A review by kiaramedina
Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
5.0
I haven't done anything productive for two days.
The two days it took me to read this 576 paged beast.
I am in love.
For one, I don't usually read a lot of historical fiction because it's just about as hard to follow as fantasy, which in itself tends to be kind of hard to read for me. But this book.
It may have to do with the fact that I used to write stories like this when I was younger, so it felt vaguely familiar, like embracing an old friend. And maybe that makes me a little biased about this book, but seriously, this book is spectacular.
First of, it involves assassin nuns.
Yes. Like the ladies who devote themselves to a ministry and never marry and so forth. But these ladies are assassins. (In my opinion highly feminist assassins who hate men, but shh)
Who do they serve? None other than Death himself (Hence why the assassin part is totally okay for them to do). Ismae has trained her entirely life for this cause and so when she has to embark on her most trying mission thus far, she believes she can handle anything they throw at her.
Oh, how wrong she is.
Ismea is as strong willed and determined as it gets. She is the perfect assassin and the perfect person to be sent on this mission to save the duchess, no matter the costs. But her loyalties are tested, things are at odds, nothing makes sense to her in this strange new world she has found herself in.
Teaming up with people she dislikes and people she trusts and those in-between, will Ismae be able to succeed in her mission, thus allowing for her to become a true handmaiden of death? Or will all of this be a lot more complicated than she originally thought? The twists and turns this novel takes will keep you up all night because you can't help but find out more and more and more and...then you're done. And then you're sad because it's over, but pleased at how the entire ride turned out.
This book has destroyed me. I want to read it over again and I just finished it. I'm still reeling from the blows. I highly recommend.
The two days it took me to read this 576 paged beast.
I am in love.
For one, I don't usually read a lot of historical fiction because it's just about as hard to follow as fantasy, which in itself tends to be kind of hard to read for me. But this book.
It may have to do with the fact that I used to write stories like this when I was younger, so it felt vaguely familiar, like embracing an old friend. And maybe that makes me a little biased about this book, but seriously, this book is spectacular.
First of, it involves assassin nuns.
Yes. Like the ladies who devote themselves to a ministry and never marry and so forth. But these ladies are assassins. (In my opinion highly feminist assassins who hate men, but shh)
Who do they serve? None other than Death himself (Hence why the assassin part is totally okay for them to do). Ismae has trained her entirely life for this cause and so when she has to embark on her most trying mission thus far, she believes she can handle anything they throw at her.
Oh, how wrong she is.
Ismea is as strong willed and determined as it gets. She is the perfect assassin and the perfect person to be sent on this mission to save the duchess, no matter the costs. But her loyalties are tested, things are at odds, nothing makes sense to her in this strange new world she has found herself in.
Teaming up with people she dislikes and people she trusts and those in-between, will Ismae be able to succeed in her mission, thus allowing for her to become a true handmaiden of death? Or will all of this be a lot more complicated than she originally thought? The twists and turns this novel takes will keep you up all night because you can't help but find out more and more and more and...then you're done. And then you're sad because it's over, but pleased at how the entire ride turned out.
This book has destroyed me. I want to read it over again and I just finished it. I'm still reeling from the blows. I highly recommend.