ARC Giveaway's

The lovely book muses over at The Midnight Garden are holding ARC giveaways of two amazing summer books.

The first is of Siege and Storm, the second book in author Leigh Bardugo's wildly popular Grisha Trilogy. Enter to win.

 The second is The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancy, an edge of your seat post-apocalyptic novel that some are already touting as the next Hunger Games.

Head on over and enter to win, and give them some much deserved praise, not only for their generous offer, but for being such a wonderful literary source to all of us book lovers.

Good luck!

Book Review ~ Grave Mercy

I read a lot of books, and I have yet to review a single one here on my blog. Here is a post to remedy that oversight.

I recently finished a wonderful book called Grave Mercy, the first in the His Fair Assassin Trilogy. I enjoyed it so much, I thought I would share it with you.

I absolutely love reading a book blurb and thinking, "I have never read anything remotely similar to this". That's exactly what crossed through my mind when I read the synopsis for Grave Mercy. There weren't a lot of reviews associated with the book, but I saw that it was repeatedly recommended by other authors I love so I figured I would give it a try. I couldn't be happier. Grave Mercy is an action packed novel that rarely stops to breathe and had me hooked by the end of the first chapter. The b...moreI absolutely love reading a book blurb and thinking, "I have never read anything remotely similar to this". That's exactly what crossed through my mind when I read the synopsis for Grave Mercy. There weren't a lot of reviews associated with the book, but I saw that it was repeatedly recommended by other authors I love so I figured I would give it a try. I couldn't be happier. Grave Mercy is an action packed novel that rarely stops to breathe and had me hooked by the end of the first chapter. The book follows Ismae, a seventeen year old novice living in a convent of trained nun assassins. Yes, you read that correctly. After being sold off into marriage at 14 by her heartless father, Ismae escapes to a convent off the coast of Brittany, where she learns that her real father is actually Mortaine, the god of death. Blessed with special powers, Ismae begins her training to fulfill her duty as a handmaiden of death. After three years of being trained in the arts of combat and killing (she excels in the poison department), Ismae is sent outside of the convent on her first big assignment. She must infiltrate the court of Anne, Duchess of Brittany, find out who Anne's enemies are, and dispatch them. But Anne's court is a nest of vipers, and any one of them could be a spy for France, including Duval, Anne's half-brother and the man Ismae is slowly losing her heart to. The book sets fictional characters like Ismae and her convent co-conspirators smack dab in the middle of real life historical figures and events and does so with an air of authenticity that helps to build a world that is both intriguing as well as believable. It's clear that author Robin LaFevers did her research and the result is a seamless integration of reality and fantasy. I very highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys exceptionally strong female characters, historical fiction with just a dash of paranormal influence, and steamy romances that don't overpower the story. I'm looking forward to the sequel Dark Triumph. I give Grave Mercy four out of five stars.