Book Review: CRUELER MERCIES
Thank you to Fantasy & Frens for sending me a copy of Crueler Mercies in exchange for an honest review.
Crueler Mercies by Maren Chase is a fantasy novel with bite. True, it may include a number of genre tropes, like a protagonist who is a princess and a king with dubious morality. However, it sets itself apart with its ruthless refusal to pull punches.
Please note that while this review avoids major spoilers, it does allude to some major plot points and resolutions.
Crueler Mercies
The story follows Vita, who believes she is the only child of the king of the realm. But one horrible day, when she's only nine years old, Vita's mother is executed. Vita is subsequently sent into exile. There, she spends more than a decade confined in a tower. However, the incarceration is somewhat alleviated by her new friends: a family of crows whose trust she earns and grows over time.
But one day, the situation changes. An invading army conquers the city where she's being held. Soon, Vita is betrothed to the general who led the siege, Ardaric. This is thanks to her status as the rightful heir, lending legitimacy to Ardaric's claim to the throne. In exchange, Vita will achieve vengeance against her father.
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In the meantime, Vita meets Soline, one of her new ladies-in-waiting. Soline has her own reasons to resent Ardaric. But she also has knowledge of alchemy — a theoretical knowledge, if not a working one. Soon, Soline and Vita are working together to break the code of alchemy, so they can use it to gain the upper hand against Ardaric. Plus, Vita begins to catch feelings towards Soline … even if the stakes of such a relationship are even higher with Ardaric in the equation.
Eventually, Ardaric's forces reach the castle where the king resides and begin a grueling siege. Will Ardaric conquer the king? Will Vita be trapped in a relationship she finds loathsome, or will she and Soline live happily ever after? And will Soline and Vita ever master the art of alchemy? An Accurate Title
This book surprised me. In spite of the fact that the title Crueler Mercies hints toward this fact, I didn't expect it to get as brutal as it does. Part of this is probably the high number of romantasy novels I've read lately. In that fantasy subgenre, things tend to stay on this side of the 'Stephen King line.'
Not so in Crueler Mercies. While it does include a romantic element, this isn't the narrative focus, but rather a subplot. This novel is simply fantasy … and comparatively grounded fantasy, too. While it takes place in a fictional world and includes alchemy, the majority of the story reads almost like medieval historical fiction.
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Speaking of the setting, this novel includes one of my favorite tropes: a map of the world. But while I'm always a fan of a book that opens with a map, this map was particularly well done. The inclusion of 'handwritten notations' was inspired.
One thing I do think this book could have benefited from: a more obvious content warning. As alluded to above, the novel gets surprisingly brutal. While I personally didn't feel overly blindsided by the darker twists and turns, I can definitely see how some readers might. And to be clear, there is a content warning included at the top of the copyright page. However, I didn't notice this until after I had finished reading. I think it would have been better to have put the content warning in the center of its own page, as I imagine many readers could overlook the warning on the copyright page, as I did. Spoiler Alert
In this final section, I am going to briefly discuss the ending of Crueler Mercies. If you don't want to have any hints about how the story ends, then please consider skipping the rest of the review.
One of my very favorite elements of this novel was the fact that Vita herself does not pull any punches in the final pages of Crueler Mercies. In many stories, a woman protagonist must be 'likable,' which is code for 'non-threatening.' I adored the fact that Vita was not forced to adhere to any such sexist standard.
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At the conclusion of the novel, Vita dispenses bloody justice. This isn't to say she does anything that many male protagonists wouldn't be 'allowed' to do. But it often seems as though female protagonists are prohibited from engaging in the same behavior as their masculine counterparts. I applaud Crueler Mercies for presenting a woman who is unapologetic in securing and wielding her power. More characters like this, please.
Crueler Mercies features a cover illustration by Camille Murgue, a cover design by Charlotte Strick and a map by Ilana Brady. Incredibly, this is Chase's debut novel. For some reason, 2025 has had a number of stunning debuts, and even among these Crueler Mercies is near the top. This novel is excellent, and I'm looking forward to reading more work by Chase in the future.
Crueler Mercies will be available at a local bookstore and/or public library beginning on June 3, 2025.
Book Review: SHIELD OF SPARROWS Avery Kaplan is the author of several books and the Features Editor at Comics Beat. She was honored to serve as a judge for the 2021 Cartoonist Studio Prize Award and the 2021 Prism Awards. She lives in the mountains of Southern California with her partner and a pile of cats, and her favorite place to visit is the cemetery. You can also find her writing on Comics Bookcase, NeoText, Shelfdust, the Mary Sue, StarTrek.com, in many issues of PanelxPanel, and in the margins of the books in her personal library.
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