The Boneless Mercies | Book Review

By: April Genevieve Tucholke

Standalone | 384 Pages | Pub. 2018

The Boneless Mercies at a Glance

• Overall Rating: ★★★★★
• Heroine: Mercy doesn’t mean survival
• Sisterhood: THIS IS MY SQUAD
• Steaminess: About as chilly as the Vorse
• Brutality: Are you attached to your eyes?

Pairs Well With

Absinthe

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Review

“If we kill all the monsters, mankind will take their place.”

*Shivers*

I don’t think a book has ever given me the shivers so many times. From happiness, from joy, from the creeps… I LOVED it. This is a beautiful and bloody mess and one of the best reads I will probably experience this year. I’m so mad at myself for buying this book when it was released and then leaving it on the shelf for 3 months!

Frey and her fellow mercies kill the sick and elderly. They are hired by family or the citizen themselves to end their life through poison or blade etc. The client chooses the death they want and the mercies provide the service. But Frey and her team are not clinical or detached, they feel and remember every death and this weighs on them.

The mercies decide enough is enough and begin a journey for glory to kill a beast that has tormented a village. The story is told in an epic style that reminded me of the Iliad or the Odyssey. Throughout their adventure we learn about the mercies clans and mythology, which is very close to Norse mythology.

I have read a lot of reviews that say this is an atmospheric book and they are right on target. I was wrapped up so deep in this book, but only read a few chapters at a time. I needed to pause and process each bit because while it isn’t long, it will give you lots of feelings. I have never been so attached to so many secondary characters.

I loved Frey and her gang. They are all complex characters that we are introduced to slowly. Occasionally we learn details about her friends along with Frey and experience the impact of these revelations along with her. She is not a person to take anything lightly, but she has a wild streak. Frey wants more from life and she isn’t sure what that more will entail. The journey she takes is more to figure out who she is and what her purpose is than it is a glory-seeking mission.

I hope that Tucholke writes a book about the witch wars that were beginning because I loved this world and I so desperately want more from them. There was so much detail and history given that could be explored with some of the same or all new characters.

This is a bloody and emotional book. It was really hard to write a review because I loved it so much, but I also think that if you want an easy-to-read fantasy this isn’t for you. If you are a fan of mythology, you will definitely appreciate this world and story.

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Have you read The Boneless Mercies? Let us know what you thought in the comments!

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