Review: Kushiel's Mercy

#ThrowbackThursday

Kushiel's Mercy by Jacqueline Carey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Book three in this trilogy is a bit of a letdown for me.  This third one is about Imriel and Sidonie finally able to come out in public with their taboo relationship.  Yet, they still cannot be left alone because of Imriel's seductive and traitorous mother, Melisande.  Imriel and Sidonie are no Phèdre and Joscelin for me.  Imriel's quest in this final book for him is a bit anti-climatic. He meets with his mother and perhaps realizes she is not all bad.

What I enjoyed about this story is still the high fantasy.  I also like how Sidonie is not a helpless female that needs to be saved.  The underlying erotic tones is always appreciated.  Seeing Melisande again is delicious.  She is the perfect anti-hero who is completely amoral and I love her for it.  I do wish that Melisande would have her own book.  It would be interesting to see Melisandre and the erotic shenanigans she would create.

This ending is not surprising and it left me a bit unsatisfied.  Overall this trilogy didn't seduce me as much as the original trilogy.  The worlding building here is still fantastic.  The melding and reinterpretation of different cultures from Ms. Carey's perspective is impressive.  I just didn't have the same yearning and bittersweet angst for Imriel and Sidonie as I did for Phèdre and Joscelin.  I think it's because Phèdre and Joscelin are supposed to not work and yet they do, even when they hurt each other over and over again.  Love as thou wilt.