this book had a very interesting premise: a society in which the unregistered and the poor struggle to make ends meet everyday whilst the highborn enjoy luxury and comfort. where i feel it fails most is in part due to not showing this contrast enough. we have the spectators of the fighting matches versus those who are fighting, which lets us see it for a while. we see some previous fighters who have gotten further up in the hierarchy which was an interesting pov to explore, but those characters are painfully underdeveloped and the story suffers for it. the story felt far too dragged out and the second half in particular was often boring.
most of the characters we see are underdeveloped, or one-note. i wasn't able to form a connection with any of them, and following the FMC around for 400 pages got very grating as she erred on the side of annoying oftentimes. the match-master was the most interesting by far, and his dialogue and backstory was genuinely very good.
the plot involving fighting beasts could have been quite compelling, but the world-building could be confusing or absent altogether. they are sun-cursed but we never dive into what that really means, and we don't see the wealthier parts of the city at all. it all felt very compressed, and if the characters had been compelling at all I would have found it easier to forgive some of this.
the beasts themselves were inventive and imaginative, but we don't see too much of them.
overall, a bit of a letdown, and i found myself skimming from about 60% onwards.

I feel very middle of the road about this book. On one hand I really like the premise, all the politics, and the ending. But on the other hand, I felt like the story struggled with pacing at times and it kinda seemed like the last 30% of the book had too many story lines. Instead of every thing culminating and coming together at the end, it seemed more like following and wrapping up one story line then jumping to the next one to do the same. It made the last part of the book feel a bit clunky.

Publishers really do a disservice to authors by comparing their books to amazing franchises - especially when the book is nothing like the comps.

The Squid Game meets Witcher description is not accurate at all - yes, there are monsters to kill, and there are games where you can win a lot of money, or die, but that's about it. I found Lythlet and Desil's story to be okay, but it needed more. More worldbuilding, more fleshing out, more consequences so that things don't feel so surface level.

All in all an okay effort but not a book I will be going back to.

If you see this book - READ IT!

Imagine if the Hunger Games was a team of two against legendary beasts instead of other people, and one of the team members was low-key Sherlock Holmes. Sprinkle in some essence of The Bone Season series by Samantha Shannon and some Malaysian/Chinese mythology, and you have one awesome story.

This debut novel is delightfully descriptive, with humour sprinkled throughout. I laughed out loud and cried multiple times while devouring this story. Only two chapters in, this book had its claws in me!

The scenery had me vividly imagining this new world. The trials and combat scenes had me on the edge of my proverbial seat. The friendships had me laughing and crying.

We follow the story of Lythlet, who isn’t pretty or rich. The change and growth of our main character was a joy to see. Her moral compass is such a key part of this journey and was beautifully written.

I found many powerful quotes of thought-provoking wisdom to the philosophy that will keep me returning to reference this book. I can’t recommend this book enough, even if I can only think of so many words to do so!

Clever, brilliant, unique, and a joy to read!

Thank you to NetGalley and DAW Books for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Serpent Called Mercy by Roanne Lau.

The premise and the story in general were really great, but somehow this still wasn't that good. I felt like it was just lacking real depth to the characters. Like Desil could have been literally written out of the story and I feel like I would feel the same. Most of the side characters fell flat and the story just dragged really bad 50% of the way through. Really i feel like the world felt one dimensional and the worldbuilding was lacking so bad, felt like there was only 2 places in this world, the arena and there hut they lived in. The creatures were cool but it didn't help that I never really cared if they made it out alive. The beginning was great but tge middle needs more editing.

2.5 Rounded up

“There is nothing more dangerous than hope.”

The Serpent Called Mercy had such good bones and a premise I liked but this one just didn’t feel very fulfilling for me. I really wanted to be in the group of people that enjoyed this one and gave it 4 and 5 stars. You’re following Lythlet and her childhood best friend Desil trying to find a way out of the debt that they’re in. They end up deciding their solution was to become conquessors and fight sun-cursed beats in an area for money run by the match master Dothilos.

I loved the beats in here and the deep friendship and bond between Lythlet and Desil. I also really liked that it never developed into a romantic relationship. As well as seeing the relationship between her as her parents. I think these relationships were very well written. I loved some of the magical and fantasy aspects of this as well but I felt that they would get touched on maybe a little and then were just kind of forgotten about which would really bum me out as I wanted to know more about them and the world that this was set in.

I also was drawn in on the pitched comparisons of it being The Squid Games mixed with The Witcher (I really love The Witcher) and didn’t really see them in this story. It sadly, to me, felt that the world and lore wasn’t well developed. The actual fighting felt glossed over and the politics I felt we were supposed to be learning about felt so in the background. I was also bummed about that as well. There were sooo many elements I was fascinated with that we just didn’t get to fully delve into. Some plot points felt a little weird or off at times or maybe even like out of left field a bit, but that’s my opinion.

Overall, I am sure there’s readers out there that would enjoy this but I guess this one just isn’t for me.
I would still be interested in reading something by Roanne Lau again though.

I really liked this book! It’s a very fun concept of battling in arenas and a girl exploring what it means to survive and shine and how to hold true to the person that you are deep down when you are tempted with greed and riches beyond belief. I will say some parts were a little clunky in the sense that the fights could have been a little better (the description was a little confusing) but I really liked the pace of the book and the almost innocence of it because there isn’t a hero at the end. There isn’t the happy ending we think she is going to get and I think that’s the point - we see that after all the battles Lythlet suffers and all the ups and downs, hopes and hardships, she consistently has to choose to have faith and hope in the long run- against all odds. The ending was a little meh for me but it leaves the reader to openly interpret what the future might hold. Some of the vocabulary was a little dense I think it would have been nice to have a visual of the types of gods or the structure of their religions to refer to but overall I liked reading this! Would recommend if you like the hunger games and kind of underdog coming of age stuff.

I had a good time in general, but I really wish this had been a duology so everything could've been fleshed out a lot more.

It is what it is.

It's also neither Squid Games nor The Witcher, so I don't understand the comps. It's like whoever wrote the summary never even watched any of those shows, or even bothered to watch a trailer, or even looked at the memes. (I haven't watched Squid Games, but I've seen so many reels/tiktoks/memes that I understand what it's about.)

Anyway.

I'll start with the good.

I absolutely LOVED the deep friendship between Lythlet and Desil. This is the definition of ride or die. And I really, really appreciated that it never developed into a romance. (Personally, I'm sick and tired of romantasies.) And to have a world where ride or die friendships is just as important as like, say marriages in the real world, is something really rare in the fiction world. I really wish we saw more of this!

I also liked Lythlet's relationship with her parents. It was very multifaceted, and you could feel the guilt, shame, and love that Lythlet felt as a daughter who failed her parents. I liked that her parents were actual characters with real feelings, and not just there to be used as props for Lythlet's character growth. Very well done.

And here's the meh...

The gladiator/conquessor stuff was fine. The monsters were cool and I liked that Lythlet and Desil had to use their wits instead of just brute strength. It was a good twist to the usual humans vs. monsters genre.

But after a while, it became really repetitive that I started tuning out. Then again, this might be a me thing because gladiator/arena style fantasy novels bore me after a few fights.

The little rebellion/class warfare plotline was... lacking. Like I said, I wish this was a duology so that entire plotline could actually be fleshed out and given a lot more detail. It pretty much read like Lythlet was supposed to do x, y, z, and then deus ex machina, the situation was resolved. Also, Desil was out of the picture for a while there, and I actually missed him.

One last thing. The dialogue between Lythlet and Dothilos was weirdly excessive. It was one of those infodumping through dialogue situations and had me tuned out. This also goes for some of the other character dialogue. You'd think two characters were having a conversation and then suddenly one person is giving an entire speech. It was weird.

Anyway, I had a good time reading this, and I'll read more of Roanne Lau's work in the future.

Thank you to DAW and NetGalley for this arc.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Comparing this book to The Witcher or Squid Game does it a disservice as it is so unlike them I don't really understand why it was marketed as such! The fact its a fantasy with dangerous beasts, and the characters are in debt they're desperate to pay off is where the similarities end. The world is unique, vibrant and alive with interesting culture and lore I wish could have been expanded on further - the gods and goddesses, the class system, the wider world beyond the city (especially the Wildlands). I found the fact there was zero romance in this book pretty refreshing. It was nice to have a story centered around lasting friendship and the loyalty between them. If you're not a fan of action scenes then this may not be the book for you - this is where the story really shines, in an arena pitted against dangerous magical beasts and creatures, fighting for their lives as spectators cheer them on. Overall an ambitious standalone with compelling, interesting characters and packed full of action.

The world building?? The premise??? The freaking writing style?? There was too much to love about this story.

An interesting fantasy about a female gladiator who flits with fame. Even though it was made up, I found the religious aspect heavy.

Thank you NetGalley/DAW for the e-ARC!

3.5 rounding down. This book was hard not to get excited about when I saw it was marketed as the Witcher meets Squid Game. I had imagined a high stakes deadly competition against monsters for the main character to escape debt. And that's what it is... plus a bit of other stuff. The other stuff (being politics and interpersonal problems) comes to the forefront as the book progresses, and the monster fights get to the point where they are glossed over. Not really a complaint, but just trying to set up correct expectations. The fights were interesting at first, and I loved seeing the monsters Lythlet and Desil were fighting. They were really interesting and inventive, and left me wondering a lot about the larger world.

And that larger world was so interesting. I could tell the author put a ton of thought into the history and religion especially, and I wonder how much was cut during the editing process to keep the page count down. Being a standalone, I don't really mind that not all of my worldbuilding questions were answered, but what we got was pretty inelegant. And that's a word I'd use to describe a lot about this book. Not bad, just rough around the edges. A few instances of lore dumping something that would be important in the plot 3 pages later. A lot of the dialogue felt very stilted and cartoonish, especially from the villainous characters. Many points the book is trying to make are spelled out directly on page, which I guess is fine, but does make me feel a little talked down to. This might be more of a me problem than an issue with the book itself, so keep that in mind.

And while those complaints made it so I couldn't love this story, there was a lot I liked about it! It felt very fresh compared to some of the other new fantasy I've been reading recently. There's no romance at all and the story focused on a deep friendship instead, and I loved their relationship, especially in the last chapter. Lythlet was a great main character to follow, and I thought the way she wavered through the story was believable. And, inelegant as it was, I am glad this was a story about people struggling in cycles of poverty and openly discussing the problems that cause and perpetuate it. I think this book would be a good choice for a YA reader who wants more books with social commentary.

Roanne Lau’s debut The Serpent Called Mercy is a heady mix of high fantasy, monsters and politics. Lau drops readers into a familiar fantasy setting in which there are strict social hierarchies, immigrant populations, organised crime and contested politics. And she focusses on a character at the bottom of the social pile – a “slumdog” who lives by her wits and on the edge of abject poverty. But also there is some ill-defined magic, a vague form of religion and plenty of weird monsters because… monsters are fun?
Lythlet and her best friend Desi are in trouble. Deep in debt to loan sharks, and abused at work, Lythlet resorts back to thievery to get the pair through their next visit from the heavies. Desi used to earn money as a fighter but has quit and dedicated himself to religion. But then the pair see and grab an opportunity to become “conquessors”, fighters who take on monsters in the ring while spectators watch on and bet on either their success or their death. Although Desi has the strength and fighting ability, it turns out to be Lythlet’s logical abilities that serve them best in the ring as they try to work out how to defeat a range of creatures with strange abilities and powers. The match-master Dothilos notices this and starts to groom Lythlet for greater things, including bringing her into his organised crime syndicate.
There is a lot going on in The Serpent Called Mercy and some aspects work better than others. The central relationship between Lythlet and Desi is the core and the push on pull on them as they gain success in the ring in well observed. The link between politics and organised crime has been done many many times in fantasy and elsewhere and so there is nothing really new here. The interesting slant is the view of Dothilos who has a similar background to Lythlet and uses that to “instruct” her and in doing so tempt her to the dark side.
The magic “system” is particularly weak. Early in the book, Lau suddenly introduces an ability to wield some form of magic for eight seconds by climbing to the top of a particular type bamboo pole. Later there are weapons that have different powers because they have been made using certain creatures. The monsters themselves are inventive but readers will have to hold themselves back from asking too many questions – where do they come from? who has caught them? (and how?), and, really: a monster with three heads that it can swap and give itself different powers. The monsters are cool but it all feels a little random. And then there is the tale that apparently Lythlet’s people had some sort of access to magic in the past but lost it when they emigrated to the city.
The Serpent Called Mercy is pitched as The Witcher meets Squid Game. While it has the monsters from the former and some of the very obvious social commentary from the latter in some ways it is closer to The Hunger Games and the Green Bone saga than either of these. But comparisons aside, Lau has taken these influences and delivered them in her own style and with her own vision. And while some of the elements are not well enough developed or explained to carry the story off entirely successfully, it is still an engaging and promising fantasy debut.

*The Serpent Called Mercy* is a gripping and exhilarating epic fantasy that effortlessly blends the dark, gritty world of *The Witcher* with the high-stakes tension of *Squid Game*. Set in a Malaysian Chinese-inspired universe, the novel thrusts readers into a cutthroat arena where beasts are fought and lives are risked in the pursuit of fast riches. The stakes are raised as Lythlet and Desil, two debt-ridden friends, become conquessors—fighting both literal monsters and the more insidious beasts of politics and betrayal.

The heart of this story is Lythlet’s transformation, from a desperate fighter to a calculating player in a dangerous game. Her cunning and ambition make for an unforgettable journey as she navigates not only the bloody battles in the arena but the treacherous world outside it. The intricate world-building is both vivid and immersive, drawing readers into its brutal underbelly, while the plot keeps them on the edge of their seats with twists, intrigue, and moral dilemmas that feel all too real.

What truly elevates this story, however, is the unwavering bond between Lythlet and Desil. Their friendship is the backbone of the narrative, a powerful reminder that even in the most perilous situations, loyalty and trust are invaluable. The personal stakes, both in terms of honor and ambition, make every decision feel monumental, and the emotional depth brings the characters to life in a way that makes the reader deeply invested in their fates.

Fast-paced and deeply compelling, *The Serpent Called Mercy* is a thrilling ride through a world where loyalty is tested, monsters lurk in every shadow, and the true price of ambition is yet to be fully revealed. It's a must-read for fans of high-stakes fantasy that doesn't shy away from exploring the complexities of friendship, ambition, and survival.

DNF at 60%

even though i fairly enjoyed this book in the beginning, it later became too slow for me and i stopped being invested in the story. however, it was very original and i might decide to finish it one day, but i know that for now, i can't.

the worldbuilding was good, the author explained to us how the world works, and gave us lots of more details through stories Lythel knew. i loved reading the stories since they were all well written, like the entire novel, and interesting.

the fighting of the monsters was nicely done, there were a lot of details so i could imagine quite well how the scenes looked. the monsters were creative and most of the time i truly had no idea how they're going to win.

the characters were likable, well most of them. Lythel, our main character, was very original, she was herself, and i loved the way she spoke. her friend Desil however, wasn't very likable. for me he was just a bit too religious which at times made me uncomfortable. other than that, he didn't do much, and he didn't do anything significant. the side characters were cute, i loved the way they interacted with Lythel, and i enjoyed reading about her relationship with her parents.

overall, this novel was pretty good and i think the author is a great writer, the story was just too slow-paced for my liking.

I'm so sad I didn't love it. The premise seemed to be tailor-made for me. Monster hunters, check. From zero to hero poor everyman protagonist? Check. Jaded calculating autistic-coded fmc & himbo mmc? Great. No romance, but platonic friendship stronger than love? Sign me up. Political intrigue on top of it? Why not.

But the book utterly falls apart on the technical level and fails to fulfill the promise of the thrills the blurb was selling to me.

First problem: there's no plot tension! Everything comes to the protagonist too easy. Defeating the monsters becomes a cakewalk. Even when the mc screws up and I thought there will be nasty consequences... there weren't any.

There's also no interpersonal tension. Even though Lythlet and Desil are like night and day, they never argue and everything that Desil wouldn't approve of, Lythlet does behind his back and he never has any issue with it either, and she doesn't run into problems by leaving him behind, nope, she actually praises herself for going with the other person. Same with Master Doritos whatshisface. Lythlet constantly suspects him he'll exploit her, but he just keeps helping her and even if there's some big betrayal coming later, the tension wasn't there.

Second problem: The long, boring, moralizatory speeches. It felt excessively juvenile and soapboxy. "Teaching" the protagonist a lesson should be done through actions not speeches. It feels like lecturing the readers about the cycle of poverty. If I wanted that, I'd pick a non-fiction title.

Third problem: jarring tone differences. We learn how this world is so, so cruel, lead by some criminal organization the authorities turn a blind eye to. There are brutal gladiatorial tournaments, child trafficking, animal abuse, violent debt collectors, thieves, scammers, abusive bosses and a mentally ill mother who routinely self-harms and half the days isn't even sane to talk to. But then the plot treats the characters with kids' gloves on and nothing really bad happens to them after the plot starts (initially they get beaten a couple of times but that stops happening soon after).

I wanted to dnf at around 30% or so when the characters faced the first real setback and nearly lost the match and Lythlet's reaction was... "we're quitting". No, you won't, because then the book won't happen. So let's have chapters upon chapters of convincing the reluctant hero to go back into action... I thought meeting her parents will be more dramatic and convince her she can't go back to poverty, but it was again fairly devoid of tension. I really regret I didn't dnf it there.

I kept giving it a chance because I like jaded underdog protagonists, I want to see more fantasy without romance, I love to see autistic-coded protagonists well represented (Lythlet was very analytical, developed speech late, socially awkward, didn't like crowds or being touched, and had a strong sense of justice combined with a good dose of social naivety - I really think it represented common autism experiences well), and I love thrilling battles and cunning political intrigue. I kept waiting until the book gets better, but I slowly lost hope it ever will. It wasn't thrilling and it wasn't clever either.

My reading experience was bouncing between 2.5 and 3.5 and I'm setting on 3. Just when it "was getting better" we get into yet another boring speech or skimmed-over monster fight.

It's well-written on the prose level, but the scene composition and overall structure is all messed up, it focuses on the boring parts (speeches, slice of life scenes) while skipping the interesting parts (monster fights, political intrigue, sleuthing around).

And contrary to my other recent read where I struggled with pacing / lack of tension, this one can't even pass for cozy because the world is too gritty and brutal, but the narrative feels nearly cozy with it's lack of actual palpable danger, recurrent foodie scenes in the inn, and the main cast being so lovey-dovey with each other.

"...will leave you at the edge of your seat." —Amber Chen
"...raises the stakes—and your blood pressure." —Saara El-Arifi
"a thrilling spectacle from beginning to end." —Chelsea Abdullah
Yeah, nah. I wish. This is dreadfully boring and I'm disappointed.

Dnf at chapter 21 (61%).

Thank you DAW and Netgalley for the ARC.

Lau’s protagonist Lythlet has none of the qualms about violence the protagonists of Wijesekara’s novel do. Facing a life of debt and poverty, Lythlet and her only friend, Desil, take the one path they can think of to escape: becoming gladiators in an illegal arena, where they fight monsters. But the monsters in the ring are far less dangerous than the monsters beyond it; to survive, Lythlet has to play an entirely different game, balancing politics and intrigue to get ahead. When she has to make a choice between her friendship and her ambition, she discovers how far she’ll go to claim her own power.

Readers who love the combat aspects and morally gray spaces of novels (and characters) like Arcane’s Ambessa (most recently featured in a prequel novel by C.L. Clark) are sure to gravitate toward Lau’s vividly depicted arena sequences. And the monsters are the stuff of nightmares–shadowy wolves that don’t bleed, two headed creatures that spew fire and ice–unique and inventive in a genre filled with fiends. Readers can fight alongside Lythlet when The Serpent Called Mercy arrives in March.

I really liked how this started. The world seemed interesting and it felt like there was going to be time spent building things up. There’s moments that are really good. The issue was, once in the arena, the characters and the world flattened out. It had an interesting idea but sadly didn’t deliver the way I’d hoped.

Note: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I try to be generous with debuts but this one has me a bit...miffed.

We start with them being slumrats, or slumdogs, I can't remember what they're called and I only just finished the book. We also *end with them being slum-things!* So what did I just read 432 pages for?!?!

Whatever fine. It opens with Lythlet having to rob someone and touches on her being a good thief. This is barely mentioned again until it's part of her fighter backstory. Otherwise, very irrelevant.

She and Desil, who sucks as a character btw, join this fight competition against beasts. They're called suncursed or something, again I don't remember, but our background on the world is limited so just roll with it. We actually only see like 5-6 of the matches. The rest are basically glossed over, unless they can show off how smart Lythlet is. The beasts and the wider world around them do not matter otherwise. Literally not mentioned.

In her first match she asks the match-master, or matchmaster because they can't decide if it has a hyphen or not through the entire book, about some bamboo. Apparently the bamboo has some magical properties that the people across the sea, what sea I don't know, still have access to. There is nothing really further expanded on this except a couple more mentions but that's it. "No one's been able to access the magic orb thing in centuries." Betcha can't guess what our MC is gonna be able to do!!!!

And there's some Phantom that's robbing people, but that's only relevant for like three conversations several hundred pages apart, so why bother including it?

Every character is just flat. And generally annoying. And nothing around them seems to matter because with the exception of some "bad men" going to jail, everyone is where they started on page 1. Except Lythlet and Desil learnt the value of friendship or something before religiously promising to not lie to each other anymore

The Serpent Called Mercy follows Lythlet & Desil, two down on their luck inhabitants of a slum. Burdened with an ever increasing debt, the pair decide to enter 12 rounds of deadly fights against mythical beasts to gain a chance of changing their fate.

The fights were one of my favourite parts of the book, Lythlet coming up with different tactics to the pair's advantage and seeing whether they'd win or forfeit was thrilling. However, the fights become glossed over in the future in favour of time skips and a pivot towards the larger themes of morality & classism. This isn't a bad thing and these themes are always present but the change into more political machinations of the underworld seems under developed compared to the first half of the book and the fights. I think a bit more time in the world building + non-arena times could've benefited the story.



However, I did overall enjoy the story and it was a refreshing fast paced standalone. I just don't think the comparisons to 'The Witcher' & 'Squid Game' really do it justice and might have folks expecting something quite different.

Thanks to Netgalley & DAW for this arc.