Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Grave Mercy
Author: Robin LaFevers
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication Date: April 3, 2012

Review:

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers is set in Brittany prior to the county being under French Rule where the old Gods are still worshipped and the influence of one family can affect an entire nation. LaFevers does an excellent job of taking you into this olden day realm and paints a vivid picture of what life was like both at the convent and at court for Ismae.

I really enjoyed all the court intrigue and different plot twists and turns. Despite the length of the book I was never bored. I did find some of the portions of the book to drag and I wished for more action but all of the lulls in the storyline just made the action sequences more exciting.

I also enjoyed the relationship between Duval and Ismae, it is definitely not instant love. In fact I would say that they hated each other, came to tolerate one another, and then were able to work together and start a romance. It was very true to the time period and under the restraints each of the characters are under it made sense to me. The relationship also is not the pivotal action in the book which was refreshing, there were so many things going on that if romance isn’t your thing you will find something else you like.

Grave Mercy reads more like an adult novel then YA. Aside from the Ismae’s age, I can’t really see why this was classed as YA. In fact I kept getting the vibe that Duval was much older the Ismae or that LaFevers wrote the book with older characters in mind and then for some reason decided to change their ages. So if you are looking for a more grown up YA read Graver Mercy is definitely a novel you should look into!

In Summary Grave Mercy was a very intriguing read that was different from other YA novels out there. If you enjoy historical romance, court intrigue, and assassins you just might enjoy Grave Mercy!    

*The rating of this book was changed from 3 to 4 stars are part of my post In Which I Reconsider Book Ratings

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Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers