Grave Mercy

Grave Mercy is a young adult fantasy novel by Robin LaFevers, published in 2012.[1][2] Grave Mercy is the recipient of the Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth of in 2012-2013, and has been well received according to fan reviews.[3][4][5]

A sequel, Dark Triumph, was published in 2013. It follows another sister from the Convent of St Mortain, Sybella. A third book, Mortal Heart, which tells the story of a third sister, Annith, was published in 2014.[6] The books are referred to as the His Fair Assassin series. A fourth book, Courting Darkness, which continues the story of Sybella in France, was published in 2019.[7] It is the first of a duology of the same name. One more entry is planned.[8]

Plot

Grave Mercy is set in a fictionalized fifteenth-century Brittany, at a time when the nation was struggling to maintain its independence from France.[9] 14-year-old peasant, Ismae Rienne, is feared and abused by her father and fellow villagers after she refused to succumb to the poison her mother drank to attempt to abort her in the womb, and left her with a large scar down her back. Ismae escapes from an arranged marriage with the aid of the very hedge priest that sold her mother the poison to abort her with no other option but to join at the St. Mortain convent where she learns to be an assassin in service of the God of Death, Mortain. Ismae learns of a dangerous gifts that Death has blessed her with, and a violent path ahead of her. The nuns reveal her immunity to poison and her ability to talk to spirits as they gave her a choice that directed her path into the royal courts. If she stayed at the convent she would train to be an assassin sent to take the lives of people marked by death. For three years she trains to be an assassin for Death's arsenal until she is sent on her first mission. After two successful missions she starts to notice the nuns are not as infallible as it seems, and starts to question the political connection among the targets which leads to her third mission. She must infiltrate the high court of Brittany to protect the duchess Anne of Brittany from enemies that they won't see coming and develops feelings for her target, the duchess's illegitimate half-brother, Gavriel Duval.[10]

Reception

Grave Mercy was a 2014-2015 Iowa High School Book Award nominee[11] and a 2017 Abe Lincoln Teen Choice Book Award nominee.[12]

References
  1. Bruder, Jessica (2012-04-06). "Nuns Behaving Badly". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  2. Robinson, Tasha (2012-04-16). "Grave Mercy". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  3. "Grave Mercy | Awards & Grants". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  4. Grave Mercy.
  5. "Grave Mercy: His Fair Assassin, Book 1 - Book Review". www.commonsensemedia.org. 2012-04-04. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  6. Lamb, Joyce (2014-07-18). "Exclusive trailer reveal: 'Mortal Heart' by Robin LaFevers". Happy Ever After. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  7. "Courting Darkness (Courting Darkness Duology, #1)". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  8. "Robin LaFevers". Goodreads. Retrieved 2016-07-05.
  9. "Robin LaFevers Takes Successful Leap Into YA With Dark Grave Mercy". The Huffington Post. 2012-04-22. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  10. "Grave Mercy Summary". SuperSummary. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  11. "Iowa Book Awards 2014-2015: Iowa High School Book Award 2014-2015". westunion.lib.ia.us. West Union Community Library. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  12. "2017 Abe Lincoln Award Nominees: Grave Mercy". oprfhs.libguides.com. Oak Park and River Forest High School Library. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
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