Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin #1) by Robin LaFevers

I started listening to a new book podcast called Books Unbound. It's two friends talking about the books they are reading and giving recommendations to listeners who write in with questions like "what book should I read that my plant would like to listen to?" Well, one of the friends talks about books she's reading, the other buys a lot of books, but doesn't actually read many of them, but we've all been there, right?  I like this podcast because these two are friends and you can tell that they have a relationship outside of the podcast and I also like that, while there is a structure to each episode, you do also get to know each of their personalities.  Anyway, the other thing? These two are YOUNG. I'm listening to early episodes right now and they're in their mid-twenties and it's crazy to hear them talk about life in general because they are so much younger than me. But that age gap is important because they read such different things than I generally do and recommend books I've never even heard of a lot. 

Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin) by Robin LaFevers is one of the recommendations I got from this podcast. Listen to the selling point. This is a fantasy book in which a girl is recruited by a convent of assassin nuns.  

Look, if you can hear that premise and not immediately want to read it, you are an altogether different person than I am!!

Seventeen-year-old Ismae was trapped into an abusive marriage when she escapes to the convent of the sisters of St. Mortain, the God of Death. She is immune to poisons and trains as an assassin. We follow her on her first mission.

The Good: I like a heroine who can save her own life and makes decisions for herself. Ismae is a badass.

The Bad: The rest of the book? Why was there not more assassination? Why was there so much romance? Why so much talk about clothing? Why couldn't we actually follow the other two trainees the book spent so much time talking about in the first few chapters? 

I don't know. The premise was great. The execution fell flat for me. 3/5 stars

Lines of note (I listened to the audiobook, so all of these are the timestamps):

People hear and see what they expect to hear and see, but just because we've been trained to use that to our advantage doesn't mean I like it. (timestamp 01:19:59)

I thought this was a smart observation about people, fifteenth century Brittany or twenty-first century North America.

I don't know where these seamstresses have found this gown or whose it was supposed to be, but it's mine now and I must remind myself that assassins should take no pleasure in their finery and frippery. But surely even a knight can admire his armor. (timestamp 04:59:27)

I think this is a true statement, for sure. But then! Then! So much talk of clothes! I didn't love that. 

It's Duval who sets my heart to racing, who addles my wits, who makes me short of breath. For even when he's angry, he's kind, and not the mere surface kindness of good manners, but a true caring. Or at least the appearance of true caring, for I'm well aware it could all be an act, an act designed to earn my trust. And just like some poor dumb rabbit I've stumbled into his snare. (timestamp 07:45:20)

I always like a good animal metaphor.

Things I looked up:

There's also braised rabbit and roast goose, pork pie, pastries, and frumenty. (timestamp 10:17:29)

Frumenty was a popular dish in western European medieval cuisine. It's a thick boiled grain dish made with cracked wheat boiled with either milk or broth. You could add things to it like eggs, currants, sugar, and spices to make it more special, but it was mostly a peasant's food. 

The blare of a sackbut heralds the arrival of the evening's entertainment. (timestamp 10:21:47)

A sackbut is an early trombone. 

Hat mentions: 

His hood is drawn close around his head, shadowing his face, and his straw hat hangs down his back, marking him as one who toils in the fields. (timestamp 01:16:56)