I enjoyed playing out the story in my head and imagining the vivid characters though it took me quite a while to work out if it was set in England or France. That is why I am recommending it for this award and I hope that many others will read it and enjoy it as much as I have.Ĥ. Sure there was the odd harmless poisoning and assassination but it also contains a fair amount of romance that was in perfect balance with the action. It could be because I thought it would help my understanding of 18th Century Brittany but truthfully it was probably because the blurb's first few words were 'an assassin trained by the god of death.' That appealed to me, though it may put a few of you off, it isn't actually centred around violence too much. The book that I read was Grave Mercy and there were a few reasons why I decided to pick it. Personally, I think it is a lot harder to understand if you don't know much about the time which it is set, however it could also be a good book to learn from as there are many pieces of information throughout.ģ.

I also thought that the author made the story work well in its historical setting and there was a lot of information about the time that made it more realistic. I really enjoyed this book I thought the growth in the characters personalities and relationships were well developed and believable. When she is sent to the court of Brittany, she discovers that what they teach in the convent is one-sided - how can she kill the one person she has grown to love? Labelled as an outcast and a freak she is taken to a Convent where she is taught to carry out Death's Will as an assassin. Ismae is marked by the God of Death when her mother tries contraception, unsuccessfully, to kill her. If you're one for thrillers with a hint of reality, romance and history then you should give this book a try.Ģ. It was intriguing, ferocious, passionate and compassionate all in one but it left you craving more. It was a book where I could tell myself one more page but carry on till the end of the chapter.

1. I think this book should be on the shortlist.

Grave mercy book 1