Grave Mercy was a really entertaining read. I very much enjoyed Ismae's backstory of how she became Deaths handmaiden and where the story went. I loved the aspect of gods and saints, it was really interesting. 
 Our main character Ismae could be annoying, but I still understood where her actions and thoughts came from and mostly she was smart and a good heroine. She also developed very well and I am really proud of what she is in the end. This book had a bunch of other great characters. I liked Duval from the moment her was introduced and I liked him even more the more I learned about him. Beast and de Lornay were great. Anne was such a strong person and I had a really hard time seeing her as a 12-year-old! All that desire to find her a husband and her leading a country... The not-so-nice characters were also interesting. 
 I have to admit that one of my favorite aspects of this story was the romance. It might not have been slow burning regarding to the time span (I really don't know) but at least it felt like it and I loved it. The way Ismae wanted to stay away from Duval and tried not to trust him and basically ended up not being able to resist him! From enemies to allies to friends to lovers, it was beautiful. 
 The mystery aspect really sucked me in, too. It was fun to try to guess who was behind each and every thing that happened. I was suspicious of the person who was behind most of it right from the beginning, but I wasn't sure and it was glorious.