Havemercy, is by far, one of the best books I've read this year. Maybe I've said that already about a different book, but you know what? Not even sorry. Havemercy and The Quantum Thief, and the Locke Lamora series, are going to be put under glass in my house. I'm going to admire them every day because I never want to let go of this feeling. Okay, review time! 
 Havemercy has multiple arcs, two of which center on punishment. Royston, a highly respected magician (a mage, actually), caused a stir by sleeping with a prince from another country. Rook, a devil-may-care dragon rider, caused a stir by sleeping with a diplomat's wife. While Royston is exiled from the kingdom to live in his brother's house, Rook and the rest of the Dragon Corps are ordered to begin sensitivity training. Here two more characters are introduced: Thom, a nervous scholar trying to teach the fourteen men of the Dragon Corps, and Hal, a tutor living in his distant aunt's (married to Royston's brother) house in the country. 
 The book bounces between these four characters. Royston, mourning his loss of the city; Rook, self-assured and cocky; Thom, struggling to understand the Dragon Corps; Hal, struggling with his attraction to Royston and serving the family he's always known. One might think four different POV, in first-person, would get tiring and confusing, but Jones and Bennett do a great job of giving each character a different voice. The personality of each character shines through with every chapter. 
 The characters lives are affected by the same problem: Volstov, where the story takes place, has been in a war with the neighboring Ke-Han for over one hundred years. Although the beginning of the book sees a shaky peacetime, the war builds by the second half, bringing the characters together for the same cause. 
 Sometimes the writing gets confusing with what the characters are trying to say, sometimes there are immense run-on sentences-but everything is in character! Royston and Thom over explain, as scholars do; Rook doesn't give two tails about grammar and clumps his thoughts together; Hal is a country boy and thinks himself very simple. And the dragons? They're imaginative and awesome. Giant beasts made of metal who are fueled by magic; there are different types like scouts, crushers, and Jacquelines-of-all-trade (as Rook calls them). They expel smoke, cover their riders in grease, and it's just really, really cool how their runs are described. 
 Everything about this book is a total godsend for a reading slump. If you want creativity, you've found it. If you want to see the love and fun authors put into their craft, you've found it. The best news of this book? There's four in the series!