The Serpent Called Mercy - Roanne Lau // Book Review

The Serpent Called Mercy

Roanne Lau || Publication Date - 25.03.2025

Begging for money, in debt and working for abusers just to make ends meet. What if risking your life could bring you comforts far beyond your wildest dreams?

Fantasy | Fiction

Affiliate Link - https://bookshop.org/a/110173/9780756419448

Lythlet and Desil have been sworn siblings since they were children after Lythlet came into the care of Desil's parents. However, growing up together hasn't always been smooth sailing for the pair. After Desil was desperate to save Lythlet's life, he made a deal with a loan shark and has been drowning in the crippling cycle of debt ever since.

One day, after giving up hope they're ever going to break free of their debt and be able to start living better lives, they make the heavy decision to join the arena as Conquessor's. Fighting in a Colosseum style match-up between themselves and sun-cursed beasts, Desil and Lythlet have the capacity to shape their futures and roll in wealth they could only have dreamed of.

However, when things start going down a different path, it's up to them whether their friendship is worth more than riches.

The Review (May Contain Spoilers)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me early access to this eARC for an honest review!

I felt while reading this book, that there were multiple story hooks which didn't quite gel together. As much as I enjoyed the concept of the story, and it had the foundations for being an epic fantasy novel, I couldn't help but have the impression for how disjointed it was. It would have been more enjoyable if each storyline was broken up over a duology, too much wanted to happen in this single book.

The main friendship and their debt is clearly the focus of the novel. It's their driving force to becoming Conquessor's and fighting for money to pay off the collector and be able to be free. I would have loved to have seen more of Desil's internal monologues and character viewpoints through the novel. It's essentially written solely through Lythlet, and I do believe it could have benefitted for some sections or chapters divided up to incorporate Desil.

One of the traits being highlighted in this novel is Lythlet's financial skills. This to me is unique, and I'm genuinely happy to see this being showcased in the forefront of a characters skillset. I see money being used a lot in Fantasy novels, but there's never really any mention of characters being versed in their own financial situation. She's also incredibly perceptive, which as a skill is remarkable however seen far too often in my opinion.

Overall Thoughts

As a whole, I personally felt this novel was trying to be too much all in one sitting. There's arena battles, magical beasts, gods/goddesses, magic, fugitive thieves, espionage and a political social hierarchy all trying to take centre stage in this one book. All of these ideas and the development of them could have been so much more enjoyable if they were spread out over more book real estate. A lot of the time this story felt disjointed and too much was happening in too many different areas for me to really keep a grasp of what was happening.

I would have also liked to have explored Desil's point of view more than we had. I truly believe he would have been a useful and refreshing voice in the jam packed narrative which could have helped flesh things out a little more and extend the story to a sequel at best.

The Midnight Library - Matt Haig // Book Review

   

The Midnight Library

Matt Haig || Publication Date - 13.08.2020

Imagine feeling like each decision you have ever made in your life could be undone and you could experience what your life could have been.

Contemporary | Fiction | Literary

Affiliate Link - https://bookshop.org/a/110173/9780525559498

Nora finds herself at an all time low. She's lost her job, her depression is gripping her life and of all things her beloved cat has passed away. What was left for her?

After struggling to grasp any real reason to continue being alive, Nora fatefully decides to end her life. However, this decision opens her up to a world where any decision she has ever made could be undone. Nora would have the opportunity to see what life could have been like if she had never made decisions she regretted in life.

Does this mean Nora will be fulfilled in attempting to fix what she regrets in life? Or will everything remain as dismal as it was before she took this unexpected journey?

The Review (May Contain Spoilers)

This novel was a ride!

From the beginning I was skeptical. It was taking a long time to get anywhere and even though the premise made sense, I felt as if it took a few too many times to actually get to the meaty part of the novel. I did audibly complain that this book was repetitive, and considering it brings in the multiverse theory, it felt like groundhog day. I believe it was the last 100 pages of this novel where things actually started to move forward with the narrative it was trying to tell, and I do believe some of the writing could have been cut down to save on being repetitive.

We get it, she can choose any of the millions of books in her Library and live that life.

That being said, I loved the writing and the main character Nora. Her messy life and circumstances made this novel relatable and highlighted real questions I'm certain everyone has asked themselves when things haven't gone right.

It was very easy to sit there with her and wonder "What would have happened if I had done this differently".

This book also gave rise to one of my favourite quotes:

"So long as there are still books on the shelves, you are never trapped. Every book is a potential escape."

I've never annotated a book before, and The Midnight Library was the first I had read which made me want to do it. There were so many quotes and passages which were fantastic to read and reflect on.

Overall Thoughts

If you like contemporary fiction, or maybe even like reflecting on life, I would highly recommend this book to you. It has amazing writing, the premise is solid and it really has a feel good ending which despite the content, made me feel as if things are okay even if they're not.

The novel does touch on mental health issues such as anxiety, depression and suicide. If this is something you cannot read about or would not be able to comfortably take in, then this book would not be for you. The main character does in some passages get very emotional and offloads to the reader her feelings which could be triggering for some.