I thoroughly enjoyed reading Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett’s Havemercy. That’s not a typo, which was my first reaction when I saw the title, Havemercy, and I thought it should be Have Mercy.
Havemercy is the name of the magic metal dragon that one of the main characters, Rook, rides into war.
There are two main storylines to this story, and they weave in and out in the middle and at the end of the book. In Storyline One, Margrave Roynston is banished from the city for his affair with a royal. He’s been accused of bespelling his esrtwhile lover, although the young prince and many others know that Roynston’s talent does not make him capable of any such thing. So Roynston has been burned badly and is sent off to his brother’s estate in the countryside.
At his brother’s is a young man, Hal, who is going to be the tutor of Roynston’s brother’s children. What develops from there is a slow sweet romance. Roynston’s been recently betrayed, he’s older (35) and Hal is not only young (20), but inexperienced—so Roynston has to fight his attraction while both men fall in love. I totally loved this storyline. Lots of wonderful dialogue. It almost had the flavor of a regency romance, a really good one, I might add.
Meanwhile, back in the city in Storyline Two, a young man, Thom, has been assigned to the dragon riders. After a scandal, their “punishment” is to be educated in manners and society by Thom. While the dragons are fascinating and Rook, one of the riders, has a great voice, I did find that at the beginning of the book, I couldn’t wait to get back to Hal and Roynston. However, as the book continued, I became increasingly involved in Rook and Thom’s storyline. It becomes evident early on that their impoverished background is the one and only thing they have in common, as well as their dislike of each other.
This book is in rotating first person point of view. That’s quite rare in the books I’ve read and almost entirely, to date, unsuccessful. Perhaps I read the wrong books. Because I didn’t mind the switching point of view at all. Before Havemercy I used to find that every time there was a point of view switch, I would be reminded that I’m reading a story and be jolted out of the story. But here each section smoothly pulled me in to Thom’s, Hal’s, Roynston’s or Rook’s point of view. It was very well done.
I thought the authors balanced a lot things well, going quite deeply into the personal while still moving the plot forward. There is magic that makes sense, i.e. it never seem particularly convenient or overwhelming. The society and world-building was interesting and cohesive. I will say I thought the portrayal of the ruler (the Esar) was a bit weak, and Hal’s “solution” at the end was too obvious for no one else to have thought of.
Still, a really enjoyable debut, and I can’t wait to read their next book.
I found this book because Jia of Dear Author reviewed it and gave it a B-.
(Right now I’m actually reading a fantasy with m/m romantic elements and loving it. 
