Kushiel's Mercy (Kushiel's Legacy Book 3)

Note: While this is Book 6 in Kushiel’s Legacy (also referred to as the Terre D’Ange Cycle) it is Book 3 in the second trilogy and focuses on Imriel de la Courcel, who we met in Book 3 of the first trilogy, Kushiel’s Avatar. Kushiel’s Mercy is best read as part of the second trilogy, if not as Book 6 in the larger series, since there are plenty of characters and situations referred to from the previous books.Imriel de la Courcel, a Prince of the Blood, and Sidonie de la Courcel, Terre D’Ange’s princess and next in line to the throne, are in love. This doesn’t sit well with much of the realm because Imriel’s estranged birth mother, Melisande Shahrizai, betrayed the nation a generation ago. Imriel and Sidonie are faced with a difficult choice: Bring Melisande to justice or Sidonie will not inherit the throne. After beginning their search for Melisande in earnest, an unlikely city nation, Carthage, comes with luxurious gifts, promises of alliance, and an apparently heartfelt hope that Sidonie will consider their General Astegal for marriage. Things do not go as expected, for anyone.This historical fantasy is another beautiful addition to the Terre D’Ange cycle. Through the adventures of Imriel and Sidonie, we learn more about this alternate world Carey has created. Carthage is a budding empire, rich in gold and gems but also dependent on slavery. General Astegal comes off as a very charming man, willing to bend to Terre D’Ange’s way of things when it comes to love; for instance, he wouldn’t be in a miff if Sidonie decided to have a harem of pretty young men. The other culture that really stood out for me was the Euskerri, which is akin to the Basque. Deeply proud and also demanding equality from their two neighboring countries – Terre D’Ange and Aragonia.In the previous books, there has been some magic, though much of it is left up to the reader’s interpretation. In this novel, the magic is direct and has immediate consequences. Even though this is a reread for me, I always find myself surprised by how not subtle the magic component is in this story, as compared to the previous books. So how do you fight strong magic when you only have a passing experience with it? That is something that Imriel and Sidonie will have to figure out, though I do like all the hints that Elua, Terre D’Ange’s primary deity, may be giving them a hand. The magic does follow certain rules, which I liked, though it was quite the trial for Imriel to figure out what those rules were.There’s plenty of adventure and sneaking about in this story. Imriel must make alliances with the most unlikely of people to even make a solid attempt to not only rescue Sidonie but the entire capitol of Terre D’Ange, the City of Elua. Indeed, spying, misdirection, and disguises make up a good part of the book. I think it was hardest on Imriel to deceive his beloved foster parents, Phedre and Joscelin. There’s some pretty intense scenes that had me holding my breath! Also, those scenes with Barquiel L’Enver, a man who has disliked Imriel since he was born, were quite worthy.Sidonie really shines in this book. Even with everything told through Imriel’s eyes, Sidonie had some tough decisions to make and was at the center of some dangerous situations. Carey has this magical way of writing female characters behaving in feminine ways and still getting important stuff done. While Imriel is the character that carried me forward in this story, there’s a strong argument for Sidonie being that star of the story.Each time we think our heroes have found the key to winning the day, there’s another twist or another spell or another hurdle or another bad guy that must be vanquished. One of the hardest things about this was that sometimes they had to find a way to sneak past, trick, or even fight friends and family that were ensnared in the magic. My poor nails! I was biting my nails too often with this story!As with the series, there are incredible sex scenes that range from playful to desperate to healing to sad to joyful. Carey is just as detailed in her love scenes as she is with her use of cultures and linguistics. I always enjoy these scenes because they reveal something further about the characters.The ending was well done. I was very satisfied that things were not easy to unravel and iron out. Not everyone gets everything they want. There’s plenty to be forgiven all around. Still, it was beautiful and satisfying.The Narration: Simon Vance does this final book in Imriel’s trilogy justice. He had to take on further accents as our heroes experienced new cultures. There were also plenty of complicated emotions and intense scenes and Vance did a great job capturing the subtleties of those emotions in his voice work. Also, he did a fantastic job with the sex scenes.

As the second - and please Elua, not final - cycle of the Kushiel's Legacy series comes to a close, the central question most fans will be asking is, Will Imriel and Sidonie live happily ever after? Rest assured, Carey gives us plenty of these two star-crossed lovers (complete with requisite scorching hot bedroom scenes - whee!). But she's not content with just giving us their love story, oh no. She's not even content with giving us another of Imriel's soul-seaching, personal growth quests. In "Kushiel's Mercy," the pattern more closely resembles that of Phedre's trilogy, as Imriel finally gets his chance to save the world, and the woman he loves, from evil magic and the threat of war.Part of the joy in this book comes from the way Carey skillfully brings everything full circle. In the past, Melisande Shahrizai has been the greatest threat to Terre d'Ange and the one impediment to Imriel and Sidonie's happiness; now she is the realm's, and the princess's, only hope for salvation. In "Avatar," Phedre and Joscelin sought the secret name of God in order to bind an angel; here, Imriel and Sidonie must find the magic word that will free a demon. In "Chosen," a loyal Barquiel l'Envers held the City of Elua while Queen Ysandre raced with her army to avert a coup; in "Mercy".... Well, I'll let you read that one for yourself.Can I wax rhapsodic for a minute about the fact that one seriously undervalued character, who's been around - and maligned - almost since Day One, finally gets his due? I've had a guilty crush on Barquiel l'Envers for ages now, and it's nice to see my conviction in his wonderfulness finally justified. I love that he steps up here and that he finally gets the recognition he deserves. Terre d'Ange got the better part of the bargain when the l'Envers wed into House Courcel, and not just because of Ysandre. Barquiel has proved himself again and again to be one of her greatest heroes - albeit one of her more prickly, bitter, sarcastic ones. I also love that Alais gets a moment in the sun. She's one of those characters who, no matter how much face time Carey gives her, I want more of. Her ability to stand up for herself and choose her own future - even if it's not the one I would have chosen for her - is one of the happiest outcomes of the entire book."Mercy" doesn't quiiiiiite meet the amazingly high bar set by "Justice," in my opinion. Carey leans a little too heavily on a few moments that should just float freely, while not giving enough weight to some other scenes that should be filled with emotional significance. The much-anticipated reappearance of Melisande Shahrizai was rather anticlimactic. And by the 87th time Carey ended a chapter by having Imriel and Sidonie cuddle each other to sleep, I wanted to yell, "We get it! They love each other! So sweet! Get back to the naughty sex!" These are minor quibbles, though, in such a magnificent work.Meanwhile, one of the most disconcerting - and, I fear that for some fans, disappointing - aspects of this book is that almost all of the major characters spend so much time acting very much out of character. Imriel goes mad and then believes that he's someone else, Sidonie loses a large chunk of her memory, and - most heartbreaking of all - the entire City of Elua falls under a spell that turns them into delusional paranoiacs, barely recognizable to us. I hadn't realized just how much the series still relied on Phedre's resourcefulness, Joscelin's grim determination, Ysandre's wry strength, and Drustan's good humor until they were gone. Terre d'Ange without those beloved characters is a strange and alien place. The madness that haunts the City was, to me, a worse tragedy than any hardship that befell the two young lovers. It really serves to drive home Imriel and Sidonie's despair at what's befallen their homeland, and lends some serious emotional weight to a truly nervewracking climax, but I worry that some readers might not be able to handle it. All I can say is, stick with it! The payoff is well worth the pain (which is pretty much the motto of the entire series, now isn't it?)Did I mention that I love, love, love this book? Quibbles and nitpicks and worries aside, I simply cannot imagine this series ending any other way. I was torn between racing to see what happened next, and trying to drag out every page to make the experience linger as long as I could. "Kushiel's Mercy" is the perfect conclusion to the Legacy, even if I'm still not ready for it to end!

I really enjoyed both this book and the whole series, but I'm giving this four stars because something just didn't catch me as much as the other books did. I think it may be because most of the D'Angeline characters spend a huge portion of the book under a spell that makes them completely OOC. This was done on purpose, and I actually really love seeing magic take a more active role in this novel, but I think ultimately it just turned me off.I still love Carey's writing and was impressed with the change in viewpoint character that we see later in the story. The books are told in first person from Imriel's point of view, but here we see a spell to make Imriel into someone else. The writing both changing from and back again to Imriel were really well done, and I thought it was kind of fun.The antagonists, for the spells they managed to wrought, are not as impressive as they really should be. They pull off spells of enormous magnitude but make a number of really stupid (and enormous) mistakes. Still, the journey was fun, and I love the over-arcing theme (of the whole series) of love overcoming all. I thought it was a lovely end to a wonderful series.

Kushiel's Mercy is the final instalment of Imriel's trilogy and brings to a conclusion the story of Imriel and Sidonie. As we've come to expect from Carey Kushiel's Mercy is packed with great world building, evocative writing and strong story telling.Imriel and Sidonie have both come to realise that their love cannot be denied, the Gods will not allow it and having announced their love for each other the country is torn between those that remember all too well the atrocities caused by the treachery of Melisande and think that Imriel is foremost his mother's son and those that want to embrace the romanticism of the pair. Ysandre decrees that should the young lovers pursue their idea of marriage Sidonie will be disinherited and no longer next in line for the throne. The solution, Imriel is to seek out his mother Melisande and return her to Terra D'Ange where she will face execution as a traitor.I won't elaborate on the plot too much as there are a few twists here and there and I don't want to ruin them but the story goes in a completely different direction than I anticipated and rather than centring on the search for Melisande it becomes instead a story of dark magic, a nation ensorcelled and a search for magic talisman's that will lift the curse.So, instead, a brief discussion on other feelings that this final book raised for me.I thought the story was very clever although I was surprised at the level of magic used as it seemed a lot stronger than in previous novels which have barely skimmed the magical pool. I admit that in relation to the actual effects on the people of the City I was dubious and had a number of niggles but setting those aside enabled me to enjoy the plot. It was really interesting to return to Terra D'Ange and see the effects that the magic had wrought on some of our favourite characters! I admit that it was difficult to read in some respects.In terms of the other characters. We have the introduction of a new pov. Leander is one of Melisande's spies and winds up becoming a main pov character for a few of the chapters. It was really intriguing to be inside his head particularly given his role (which I will remain mysterious about as it would be a spoiler) but I have to credit Carey here with pulling off a completely different feel of character.Astegal is the main bad guy of the piece. I found this character a little bit weak if I'm going to be totally honest maybe, that's just because in terms of being a scheming manipulator he really isn't a patch on Melisdande. In fact because of the success of the first three books, and in particular the main characters, this series was always, for me, going to struggle a little. That being said though, after a little bit of a shaky start to the series, I did end up finding it very entertaining. Carey is just a wonderful story teller and I think in terms of making this a love story, and more to the point star crossed lovers, it was always going to appeal to some people more than others. Phèdre and Joscelin love each other but the focus of their stories was not the love they had for each other whereas this series centres quite strongly on Imriel and Sidonie and their almost impossible love affair.I think the side of this story that I enjoyed the most was the meeting between Melisande and Imriel. It felt like I'd been anticipating this for such a long time that I wondered whether Carey would manage to pull the scene off. I think she did. Melisande has got to be one of the best villains around. To be honest I wished that she'd played a bigger role in the story but even as it was I did enjoy this meeting.The other surprise for me was Barquiel L'Envers and the role that he played in Imriel's success. It was a pleasant surprise to be honest as he'd always been a little bit like the thorn in the side so it was good to see that he could be convinced of the truth of something.Overall, I really enjoyed this series. There's plenty going on and the writing is really good. Did I enjoy it as much as reading about Phèdre and Joscelin adventures, in fairness, no, but I'm glad I read on and I'm looking forward to the next series which I understand jumps us forward considerably and brings a new cast of characters into play.

I couldn’t stop reading this continuing saga. Until now, the trials have been within the normal spectrum of human life, and could be explained away, but this one veers into a greater realm of sorcery, and takes a turn into serious magic. A twist in viewpoint adds a unique twist to Imriel’s perspective. The desperate pain, sorrow and the strength of commitment for his quest throughout this adventure kept my senses reeling until the satisfying conclusion, which brings the two parts of the six Kushiel’s series to rest.

It's been a long time since I have read another Carey book. I don't know why because once you read one you want to continue. But changes in my life stopped me reading for a while. I have bought several of her books ( I'm waiting for more on the Banewreaker saga, Ms Carey) but recently I read Kushiels Mercy on my iPhone. Still riveted by her dialogue. I shall buy the rest and maybe the earlier ones too, to carry around like little jewels in my pocket. I commend her Kushiel series as much as I recommend Dorothy Dunnetts Lymond series. No higher praise can I give.

Have not finished yet but is certainly up to the standard of the previous works. I find great difficulty in putting the book down and turning the light off. Need to take time with this tale as it approaches the end of the present trilogy as do not know what is next ( if anything) in this exciting saga. Hope more to come.

Following the story of Phedre through to Imriel has been a journey, highs, lows and everything in between. Well written, inspiring character arcs and enough twists and turns to keep me invested all the way through.