Quick Synopsis – Nine-year-old Princess Vita witnesses the execution of her mother by her father’s hand. Forced into exile, Vita fades into obscurity with her only friends―the crows that visit her window. Eleven years later, Vita is given a choice: marry an enemy general, granting him legitimacy to take the throne, or die as the forgotten princess. With time running out, Vita meets Soline, an intriguing lady-in-waiting who introduces her to the powerful-but-unstable magic of alchemy.

If Vita and Soline can learn to control it―and the undeniable spark between them―they could burn the world of men to the ground.

Song This Reminds Me Of – You Should See Me in a Crown by Billie Ellish

Publication Date – Jun. 3, 2025

Bookshop Link – Crueler Mercies a book by Maren Chase – Bookshop.org US (I get a small commission if you use my link)

Content Notes – There is some non-consensual kissing between the main character and a male character. There is a lot of violence against women and violence in general. There is blood, gore, a beheading, and other acts of war. There are also children who are murdered off page. There is also accidental cannibalism, which honestly seems to be happening more in books.

Steamy Rating – 🌶️

Overall Rating – ⭐⭐ out of 5

Review – This book was too dry for me. I also felt like the main character would have been a little bit more unhinged considering she was pretty much isolated from everyone for 11 years. Crueler Mercies is sort of a fantasy sapphic novel. To me the other issue is I thought it was too light on the fantasy. I would have liked there to be more magic or even more intrigue. All of the storylines were so transparent, there wasn’t really anything that stood out to me as unique.

The first bit of the novel covers the execution of Vita’s mother and Vita’s subsequent imprisonment. It’s established that Vita is emotionally abused the whole 11 years through solitary confinement, gaslighting, and outright torment when she is forced to attend dinners. Her only friends are the crows she feeds through her small window. I thought maybe there would be like a Cinderella aspect here and there sort of is, but I felt like the crows had the buildup to be like familiars. Instead, they’re just nice birds that occasionally do Vita favors. I mean it’s nice don’t get me wrong and it adds depth to the story, but I felt like the crows could have been used better.

When Vita meets Soline and is introduced to alchemy, I expected there to be more of a take of moment. It’s just a lot of failed experiments until they luck into the right answer. Vita has access to a library and Soline has friends/family, but they never use these connections to learn. It just felt like Vita and Soline against the world, which can be fun, but here it was claustrophobic. From the introduction of Soline, the story is fairly predictable. It just wasn’t something I enjoyed reading.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bindery Books – Fantasy & Ferns for the advanced copy, all opinions are my own.