Audio: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers @RLLaFevers @recordedbooks #LoveAudiobooks #BeatTheBacklist2019

Posted March 24, 2019 by Anne - Books of My Heart in Book Review / 8 Comments

Audio: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers @RLLaFevers @recordedbooks #LoveAudiobooks #BeatTheBacklist2019Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
Narrator: Erin Moon
Series: His Fair Assassin #1
Published by Recorded Books on April 3, 2012
Genres: Fantasy
Length: 14 hours, 10 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
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two-half-flames
One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star

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?

Read It, Rate It and Record   

A short review to update challenges

 

Robin recommended this His Fair Assassin series to me for assassins and she also just reviewed Courting Darkness, which is the first in the related series.  I couldn’t resist starting into it and luckily my library has RBDigital which means we have almost everything from Recorded Books.  Oddly, the next one in the series, Dark Triumph, is the only one in the Audible Romance package which I have for a short time.

So simply to not be a spoiler, this is historical set in the 1400s. women have few choices, primarily marriage or the convent. Brittany and France are on the brink of war, with France wanting to take over Brittany.  Ismae is poorly treated and escapes to the convent to serve the god of death. She is trained as an assassin.

I loved Ismae for her commitment and courage as she learns and her personal growth as her skills build.  There’s politics ( which also means liars) and life and death decisions are not easy ones to make.  Ismae even finds friendship and love in her work.

Narration:

This narrator was new to me but very enjoyable and she felt well-suited to the primary character, Ismae. Most of the story is from her point-of-view so the consciousness is her thoughts. The other voices, both male and female, felt right and each was distinct.  I settled in to 1.5x speed comfortably.

Listen to a clip: 

About Robin LaFevers

Robin LaFevers was raised on a steady diet of fairy tales, Bulfinch’s mythology, and 19th century poetry. It is not surprising she grew up to be a hopeless romantic.

Though she has never trained as an assassin or joined a convent, she did attend Catholic school for three years, which instilled in her a deep fascination with sacred rituals and the concept of the Divine. She has been on a search for answers to life’s mysteries ever since.

While many of those answers still elude her, she was lucky enough to find her one true love, and is living happily ever after with him in the foothills of southern California.

In addition to writing about teen assassin nuns in medieval Brittany, she writes books for middle grade readers, including the Theodosia books and the Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist series.

Rating Breakdown
Plot
One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star
Writing
One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Characters
One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star
Narration (Audio)
One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star
Overall: One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star
Anne - Books of My Heart
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • 2019 Audiobooks
  • 2019 Library-Love
  • BTB 2019

Posted March 24, 2019 by Anne - Books of My Heart in Book Review / 8 Comments


8 responses to “Audio: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

  1. Anne, I’m so glad you enjoyed this. The next book in the series is my favorite of all of them and it is the Kindle Daily Deal today.