Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.
Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly 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?
When I first read the summary, I said to myself "Assassin nuns? WTF?" But then I read the first few chapters and it made sense. It took me 4 days to read the first half of the book. But only 4 hours to finish it.
It is rare to find the perfect match of multiple genres, but Grave Mercy has it all; fantasy, action, historical fiction, romance. I loved it!
Ismae is one of the best female protagonists I have read about in a while. She is strong, stays true to what she believes in, doesn't let a man stand in her way (even as she's falling in love with him) and puts her Duchess and country before herself and her love.
On a side note, I loved that this was set in Brittany. I've always wondered about the history of the Kingdom (Duchy, Province, whatever), as I share the same name!
I highly recommend this book/series to fans of Tamora Pierce, Kristin Cashore and Cinda Williams Chima.
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