Review - Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin, #1) by Robin LaFevers

Title: Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin, #1)

Author: Robin LaFevers

Pages: 496

Publisher: Anderson

Release Date: 3rd January 2019

Blurb from Goodreads:

Young, beautiful and deadly.
Trained as an assassin by the god of Death, Ismae is sent to the court of Brittany, where she finds herself underprepared - not only for the games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death's vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?
A dangerous romance full of intrigue, poison and finding one's path.

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US

My Review:

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Penguin Random House UK Children's and NetGalley*

When Ismae is saved from an arranged marriage, she finds herself at the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters serve Death.

Ismae learns that she has been given gifts from Death Himself and is offered the chance to use them as a handmaiden to Death, to stay at the convent and become an assassin.

Having nearly completed her training, Ismae is given an assignment that takes her to the court at Brittany, where she is thrust into a world of political intrigue and treason.

Ismae's loyalty to the convent and her obedience in serving Death's will is tested, but what will win - her head or her heart?

The premise for Grave Mercy intrigued me - I love a historical setting and assassin stories.

I thought Ismae was a likeable protagonist. She had suffered a lot during her childhood, so the convent was a safe haven for her where she learned to defend herself.

Duval was an interesting character and I liked reading his interactions with Ismae.

The setting was interesting as I don't know much about the history of France (except that England and France have pretty much always been at war). However, I don't know how historically accurate it was.

I liked the mix of fantasy and historical.

The plot was interesting and held my attention. I appreciated that the romance (which I found quite sweet) didn't overshadow other aspects of the plot like Anne's struggles. I thought it ended really well.

The writing style was easy to follow and I liked the character descriptions.

While I wasn't blown away by Grave Mercy, I did enjoy it and I am intrigued to read the other books in the series.

Overall this was an enjoyable read.