Kushiel’s Mercy, Jacqueline Carey

I find Jacqueline Carey’s work to be addicting and intoxicating, particularly her Kushiel’s Legacy series. KUSHIEL’S MERCY is no exception to this rule, considering I received it yesterday (early, considering it is due out June 12th!) and read most of it in an hours-long marathon read overnight. It is impossible to put down.

Imriel and Sidonie’s love for each other has finally become public, but for it to acknowledged by the Queen of Terre d’Ange, Sidonie’s mother Ysandre, Imriel must find his mother and bring her to justice for the crimes she committed in Carey’s first trilogy. Imriel takes on this challenge to win his love, only to be confronted with even more insurmountable obstacles that endanger everything he holds dear.

This is a fabulous book. It is well-plotted, never a dull moment, events popping up that I never would have expected. As I mentioned, I literally could not put it down until I was done. Carey’s writing remains spectacular and her character development proceeds at a running pace. Imriel’s development is absolutely stunning, considering where he came from in KUSHIEL’S SCION, and she has done a wonderful job here as well. Princess Sidonie comes into her own, providing us with another of her very strong females, though she and Phedre are vastly different. Carey excels at creating characters to fall in love with – not only that, but who fall in love (and make love, though it’s never the focal point here) with each other in believable and wondrous ways.

This is a journey to treasure and a book I will read over and over again. I am sad that Carey will be turning away from these characters to set another story generations later in Terre d’Ange, but I will recommend these books whole-heartedly.