A review by contemporarymeepsie
The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

dark informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Mercies is a fictional retelling of the real life storm of 1617 off the coast of Vardo, Norway and the subsequent witch trials that followed in the years after. We follow the stories of Maren Magnusdatter, a young woman of Vardo who lost her father, brother and fiancé in the storm, and Ursula Cornet, the wife of the dreaded Commissioner Absalom Cornet who played a big part in Vardo's witch trials.
Initially I struggled to get in to this book. I think I didn't associate with Maren as a character and I found the writing style hard to get in to. Regularly having to reread sentences to understand their meaning. But once Ursa was introduced, I found a character I liked and gradually as the story picked up pace I lost myself in the plot. The friendship that blossomed between Ursa and Maren is so well described and thoroughly genuine that I couldn't not love this book by the end. Every choice each character makes feels real and believable for that character. Every character had a realistic fully formed personality. Kudos to Kiran Millwood Hargrave for her first adult novel as I believe it was a success, and although I struggled to begin with, I do believe it was worth pushing through and I'm excited to see what she writes next. This is a book I have already recommended to a friend.
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