Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

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?

I’ve been tempted by this book for almost a year now, when it really took off amongst the book blogs of the world.  There has been an incredible amount of hype about Grave Mercy and it seems a very popular book with my fellow bloggers.  So we must ask ourselves, once again, does it deserve all of the hype?

Yes.  Actually, it does.  The hype almost doesn’t do it justice.

Set in the Middle Ages with a few modifications, Grave Mercy is just one of those books that when you start, you can’t stop.  The intrigues of Anne’s court and council, the tension between Ismae and Duval and the fast pacing of the plot make for a great read.  I spent a whole afternoon on this book, something I rarely do anymore because of time constraints, but I just could not put it down.  Ismae herself is a great, believable character who escapes a terrifying arranged marriage and eventually finds herself taught and indoctrinated in the ways of St. Mortain, the old god and new saint of death.

So is this an historical novel or is it completely set in a fantasy world?  I had to look this up, but apparently Robin LaFevers did all her research and set the story in 15th century Europe and stayed true to the politics of the time.  The only made up part would be the specific ‘saints’ or ‘gods’ mentioned in the book and the group of female assassins.  (Obviously, the divine/magical elements are made up as well.)  Other than that, Grave Mercy is actually pretty historically accurate, which if you’re a lover of history adds that extra layer of enjoyment.

I love political thrillers to some extent, so I really appreciate all of the political intrigues Robin LaFevers included.  Betrayal, hidden allegiances and secret contracts all ratchet up the tension and drive the plot forward as Ismae tries to navigate the tricky politics of the times while trying to figure out her own feelings for the handsome Gavriel Duval, the duchess’ half brother. As you’re reading this, just remember that not everyone is as they seem and some characters will really, truly surprise you.

It’s hard to explain what makes Grace Mercy so great, but I think it’s a combination of very three dimensional, relatable characters, a fast-paced plot and rich mythology woven into the time period where it takes place.  Not only that, Robin LaFevers is an excellent writer who knows how to balance dialogue and description without boring her readers to death.  The cliffhanger at the end is also a good incentive to read the next book, Dark Triumph which stars Sybella instead of Ismae.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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Some Advice for Book Bloggers

I’ve only been blogging about books for a year, so that makes me both qualified and unqualified to give advice about it.  I figure I’m as qualified as most people out there when it comes to giving advice to random strangers on the internet, but please, take it with a grain of salt.  There’s no way I can know your exact personality and set of circumstances, therefore this is more of an article with general guidelines rather than strict book blogging rules.

So why am I even writing this?  Well, before I decided I would blog about books I went looking for advice specific to book bloggers.  There was a shocking lack of it, especially for a newbie with virtually no knowledge of the industry and community.  I don’t wish that feeling of flying by the seat of your pants on anyone, which is why I’ve compiled this article.  Here are some bits of ‘wisdom’ I learned the hard way.

Assertive

1.  Be polite and flexible when you work with authors, but know when to put your foot down.

Being a book blogger who accepts indie and self-published submissions, I get to work one-on-one with a lot of authors.  This is probably one of the best parts of my ‘job’ (aka volunteer work/hobby).  However, there is one particular incident that I’m ashamed of and I want all new book bloggers to avoid.

A couple months into blogging I was sent a book by an author and gave it a not-so-great review initially.  About 3/5 stars, if you’re curious.  Since I let authors get hold of a copy of my reviews a week in advance of the publication date, this author asked if I could change the wording around a little bit to make it less ‘harsh’.  She pressured me because she had spent the money to ship me a print copy of her book all the way up to Canada.  I felt guilty about this and changed the wording and the rating so that it was a little less harsh, but never an outright lie.

This was a mistake I’ll always regret.

Honestly, being polite and accommodating is important when working with anyone (especially authors), but you have to know when to put your foot down.  You have to set moral and ethical limits for yourself that you will not cross under any circumstances.  I crossed that line once and vowed never to do it again; I’ve kept that vow.  That is why I am always extremely open in reviews about when an author sends me a book in exchange for an honest review, whether it’s a print or ebook edition.  And that is why I am telling all you new (and old) book bloggers out there that you need to stand up for your right to your opinion.  It’s okay to give a mediocre, even negative review.  What’s not okay is to lie.  Don’t learn that the way I did. Continue reading →

That Lonely, Sinking Feeling is Free on Amazon!

Remember how I loved That Lonely, Sinking Feeling, the short memoir by Gabriella West?  Well, now you can read it too!  And it’s totally free on Amazon up until April 23.  That leaves only a day and a half (depending on where you live) to go download it, so head on over right now!

If you still aren’t convinced, go read my review of it.  Yes, it’s that awesome.

Short Story: A Goddess’ Curse by Luciana Cavallaro

A Goddess' Curse by Luciana Cavallaro(Cover picture courtesy of Smashwords.)

Hera, Queen of the Gods, is the most powerful goddess on Mount Olympos. Beautiful, sensual, and merciless, she is a goddess renowned for her jealous rages and for inflicting horrors on hapless victims. She’s the protector of women, virtue, family and marriage yet her husband, Zeus, has had countless affairs. She puts up with it. Why? Is she really malicious or a product of circumstance?

For the first time ever in a candid interview, Hera shares what it’s like to be a goddess and wife to Zeus, the King of the Gods.

Drake Dabbler, chat show host, sees his exclusive interview with Queen Hera as a sure road to a Daytime Emmy… He should have been more thorough in his research.

[Full disclosure: Luciana Cavallaro sent me a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.]

I definitely had my doubts about A Goddess’ Curse simply because it was focusing on Hera, who is renowned throughout Greek mythology for fitting the jealous woman stereotype.  Her treatment of Zeus’ lovers was well-documented as was her part in the Trojan War.  So when I started this short story I was wondering if Luciana Cavallaro would go for the Ice Queen interpretation or something a little more sympathetic.

As it turns out, she decided on a combination of the two.  Learning about Hera in her own words through an interview with an over-zealous TV host is interesting, but the reactions she gives said TV host are priceless.  Not only do you get to see her side of the story in her own words, you get to see flashes of her personality in her interactions with other characters.  I like Luciana Cavallaro’s interpretation of Hera and I absolutely love how she stays true to the goddess’ character by revealing her actions at the end of the story.  I don’t want to spoil things, but what she does is very, very similar to what happened to some of Zeus’ lovers.

There really isn’t much more to say.  Both Drake and Hera were great characters who had interesting interactions, the plot was fast-paced and Luciana Cavallaro covered pretty much all of the topics of interest in the interview.  I’m starting to love the way she lets famous women tell their stories because telling them in third person but having the characters do an interview is very insightful.  Honestly, I wish we had a whole novel from Hera’s point of view.  Yes, A Goddess’ Curse was really that good.

I give this short story 5/5 stars.

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Spotlight: Prophecy of the Setting Sunrise by Diantha Jones

Spotlight is my weekly feature in which I highlight a book I’m really looking forward to or really enjoyed.  This week it’s a book I really, really loved: Prophecy of the Setting Sunrise by Diantha Jones.

Prophecy of the Setting Sunrise by Diantha Jones

It’s official. Myth is doomed.

And it’s all Chloe Clever’s fault.

Still as whacked out as ever, Chloe is now faced with an even uglier truth: Not only is she the Pythia of the Great Unknown, but she is more powerful than she ever imagined and only the manifestations of her prophetic mind can save them all now.

With her Prince boyfriend, Strafford, and the Quad Fraternity always armed and ready to annihilate the opposition, she will embark on a mission to stop a great power that could consume every god in Myth…and everyone else she’s come to love.

But the worst is still to come.

[…]

This is just one of those books you zoom through then want to start again immediately after you’ve finished.  It’s also one of the rare sequels that doesn’t get bogged down in the details necessary to set up the third book.  Both of these things are rare on their own, but together they make Prophecy of the Setting Sunrise an incredible read.

Not only do we learn how Strafford came to be in disgrace, Chloe develops more and the Great Unknown Prophecy is beginning to fall into place.  Here we have a fantasy book with the fast pacing of an action/thriller novel and Diantha Jones has also managed to weave in aspects of Greek mythology seamlessly with the modern era.  There are believable explanations for why nobody knows about the Greek gods in the modern era, as well as a believable system of how the gods operate and how they’ve managed to stay immortal.

I’m not the biggest Strafford fan out there, but at least he isn’t your typical jerk Prince that you find in YA.  No, he has a believable backstory as to why he was such a jerk in the beginning and he’s actually moved beyond that, another rarity.  Say whatever you like about him, but at least he’s able to change, unlike a lot of bad boy types in literature and movies.

If you haven’t already read Prophecy of the Most Beautiful, you need to.  Right now.  And once you’ve read the first book, you’ll devour the second book and be desperate for the third, which comes out sometime this summer.