I thought this was a solid follow-up, but I definitely didn't love it as much as the first one. I thought it was a bit slogged down by details, and I had to push myself to get through it. Still interested to read the next one, though.

I love this series so much! Namina Forma keeps the action moving along and writes strong women well. It has the same pacing as the first one, with added plot and intrigue!

Second book syndrome strikes again. I really wanted to like this one but it fell a bit flat for me. The cover is gorgeous and I’d hoped in the inside matched the outside, but sadly it didn’t.

A fantastic continuation to her The Gilded Ones series, Forna comes out strong in this second novel with an action packed plot. The creation of her world continues to impress, with a lot of complicated political and social culture.

Forna has a gift for world-building. There is a lot going on in this world and the complexity just continues to grow, with surprises in store from start to finish. The writing and construction are clever and clearly have a lot of planning behind them. This is an intricately built story.

There were moments where the inclusivity felt a little heavy-handed. Though it plays an important role in the plot development for this novel, it came a little out of left field as it wasn't used much in the first novel. This made the tendency to create so many LGBT+ characters feel a bit forced, as if part of a ploy to gain wider readership, rather than a natural progression of the plot. Had the inclusivity been a bit more well rounded in the first read it may not have felt quite so spur of the moment. In conjunction with this, the character work isn't as in depth as it was in the first installment. So, while the reader does get a great picture of Deka and her progression/change throughout the plot, the secondary characters are not as well investigated and included. I appreciated the thought behind the characters, but felt that the execution was not quite as impressive as in the debut.

The writing remains gorgeous and each move of the plot was smooth and well thought out. The pacing was a bit slow through the middle of the novel simply due to some repetitive scene work to build some tension and background, but then revived to an explosive and tense pace for the last third of the read.

Overall, a great second installment in this trilogy and an excellent demonstration of Namina Forna's immense writing talent. I am really looking forward to reading the conclusion of this series.

This just didn't hold my interest as much as the first one. It wasn't bad, but I think the first one could have been a standalone.

Forna had a strong story with her first book The Gilded Ones, and continues with this latest installment in the trilogy. I often find that the second in a series is not as satisfying as the first, and that is the case here. Forna does an excellent job filling in some of the spaces and setting up the final showdown that will happen in the third book. Although as a book on its own, I was not as excited as I wanted, this book has me extremely interested to see what comes next.

The Merciless Ones continues on with a strong story of Deka and the war that is waging across her kingdom. I really love how Forna continues to dive deeper into the lore of the deathshrieks as well as the conflict we see Deka and her friends endure as they try to figure out who to trust. Such a strong sequel!!

The Gilded Ones, PHENOMENAL, this one.. second book slump. I feel as though Forna could have easily just left it at a standalone book, as the first book ended nicely. Maybe if she took the first 10% ish of this book and put it at the end of the first, it would have been perfection. I started this book with probably too high of hopes because of the first one, but then I was like, nope.. it’s the book. After the first bit, it started to drag. Nothing was happening, and I found myself spacing out and noticing I was about 30 pages ahead and didn’t recall anything that had happened. The end was great though! Forna’s writing continues to be beautiful and the African Folklore will always be one of my favorites!

wow OMG ... WHAT !! Kicks right off from book 1 and is just action packed fast pace loved it. would definitely recommend

While I enjoyed the fresh concept of “The Gilded Ones,” I wasn’t as compelled by “The Merciless Ones.” The story was quite action-driven and I didn’t care about any of the characters or see them mature or grow throughout the book. Action scenes were followed by more action scenes without down-time to get to know the characters or empathize with their struggle.

I really enjoyed "The Gilded Ones," but i didn't feel this one wasn't as good. I honestly can't put my finger on what was missing, There was a lot of running, fighting and Deka uncovering the lies she's been told in the book. It felt like a majority of this book was focused on world building or history building. Which make me hopefully that the third one will be really good.

I continue to love high fantasy series rooted in West-African folklore and magic, and the GIlded Ones series falls directly into that category. I love high fantasies with strong Black female main characters, and I really enjoy the world Namina Forna creates and the magic system that she established in book one. The Merciless Ones is book 2 in The Gilded Ones series, and picks up where book one leaves off in the aftermath of the battles and discoveries that Deka has made about herself and the world that she lives in. I really loved book one, but I struggled to get as invested in book two. I still really enjoyed the writing, and the characters, but I think I just struggled with the pacing of the character development compared to the plot. Overall this is still a really enjoyable book, and I recommend if you loved book one that you should still check out book two.

Full transparency to say I DNFed at 50%

That being said, this book and series just is not for me. I was neutral about the first book and thought reading the second one would be good. I was wrong.

I did not enjoy the characters or the writing. I felt very no thoughts head empty while reading it that this review isn’t good because other than wasting my time I have no other thoughts.

-I thought book one was good and I gave it 4 stars, however I could not get into this book and only am giving it 3 stars
-Definitely suffers from Second Book Syndrome and was as exciting and interesting as book one
-The ending was good though

this was… enjoyable but not nearly as much as the gilded ones. i was kinda disappointed or let down because it really had so much potential as a sequel.

With Otera in turmoil, Deka is forced to determine just who she is and whether she is the key to freeing her people… or if she is their greatest threat. But with a dark, merciless force growing amongst her enemies and secrets being shielded by her allies, the real battle has only just begun.

The Merciless Ones is every bit as action-packed, suspenseful, and breathtaking as The Gilded Ones with a beautifully built world, admirable prose, and a thrilling plot. Forna transports the reader back to Otera and refuses to let them go until the final page is turned. Deka remains a formidable narrator with an undeniable voice and compelling journey. As she navigates both allegiance and betrayal, she carries the reader with her, perfectly showcasing how even your most trusted allies can deceitful. Forna’s use of Deka as an unreliable narrator is everything I love from the trope and keeps you on your toes with plot twists.

Beyond an exciting read, Forna maintains her ability to write relationships of all kinds. Not only is the central romantic relationship swoon-worthy, but she doesn’t let that detract from strong female friendships and a classic case of a found family. Being able to deliver both with equal weight is something I really respect and found one of the best parts of the book. Speaking of diversity, I appreciate Forna writing about LGBTQIA+ characters in a casual, normalised way. The Merciless Ones presents transgender representation and a wlw couple in a way where no one even bats an eye which I think is incredibly important to establish in YA literature.

All in all, The Merciless Ones is certainly a must-read addition to the Deathless series.

The Merciless Ones proved to me that a book could be well developed in its continuation and maintain the primordiality of the first, as in the books by Leigh Bardugo and in the stories by Brandon Sanderson. The cultural issue and all its development while within an engaging writing and an exciting story made me love reading it.
4.0 stars

Fabulous, flawless, everything a sequel should be but rarely is. Thank you so much to Namina Forna for these incredible books.

Yet again I love to see this high fantasy books with black female main characters. I have to say for some reason it was hard for me to get into this book. I think I should have re-read The Gilded Ones, I had forgotten more than I anticipated had to really claw back into my memory to remember who people were and what Decka's relationship to them looked like.

This dragged on a bit, but without spoilers, the end of the book was amazing.

I can't say this was a favorite book for me but I can imagine handing both the Gilded Ones and the Merciless Ones to an avid fantasy reader. Maybe it'll read better if you can read then back to back.

I'm not sure. I'm still a Namina Forna fan, but this wasn't my favorite book.

This book continues where the first left off successfully and seems to start an intriguing new account in Deka's story. I found myself unable to continue past the first 15% partially due to what may be a looming book slump but also because I may have been fine with where book one ended.