The Serpent Called Mercy is a striking fantasy with magical beasts inspired by Asian mythology.

Roanne Lau created a lush backdrop with high stakes and enemies at every turn. Lythlet is an incredibly flawed and strong main character and I adored watching her grow as the story progressed. I felt she was well balanced with Desil and the wider cast of characters that pulled me in.

This is a rather classic gladiator style fantasy but is so well done and an excellent debut.

This was a great fast paced underdog story but wished there was more. Felt the world and characters could have been fleshed out a bit,

I thorughly enjoyed this book. as it's well plotted, fascinating world building, and entertaining. . I liked the good storytelling
Highly Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I was very hopeful with this book being a fantasy girl unfortunately it didn’t deliver. For me it lacked the world building and I didn’t click with the characters. I found the book quite repetitive at times and I didn’t enjoy the battles due to the opposition being portrayed as more animal.

The Serpent Called Mercy by Roanne Lau is a striking standalone fantasy that blends action, emotional depth, and sharp social commentary into a story that feels both intimate and epic. Set in a richly imagined world inspired by Malaysian and Chinese cultures, Lau’s debut introduces readers to Lythlet and Desil—two lifelong friends caught in the desperate grip of poverty and debt, who enter the brutal world of the conquessors: arena fighters who battle deadly, sun-cursed beasts.

At first glance, this might seem like your standard tournament-based fantasy, but Lau quickly subverts expectations. Yes, there are tense and thrilling battles, but the heart of the story lies in its characters—particularly the evolving, complicated bond between Lythlet and Desil. Their friendship is beautifully written: layered, messy, and deeply human. As they’re tested by both external threats and internal dilemmas, Lau explores themes of loyalty, disillusionment, and the cost of trying to do good in a broken world.

The pacing is slow at the start, with a fair bit of exposition and info-dumping, but once the story finds its rhythm, it becomes impossible to put down. Lau’s worldbuilding is immersive—if occasionally underdeveloped in places (especially regarding the origins of the sun-cursed beasts)—but the emotional and ethical stakes more than make up for it. Lythlet’s moral struggles are especially compelling, forcing her to confront questions of heroism, justice, and sacrifice in ways that feel both raw and relevant.

Master Dothilos, the enigmatic tournament organizer, adds another layer of tension, and the subtle political threads woven throughout highlight Lau’s interest in systemic power imbalances and exploitation. These themes ground the fantasy in something real and resonant.

While not every scene lands perfectly and some of the battles lose momentum, The Serpent Called Mercy is ultimately a smart, emotional, and refreshingly self-contained fantasy novel. It’s a story about the fight to survive, the bonds that shape us, and the quiet, stubborn hope that mercy can still matter in a ruthless world.

**⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ – Dark, Atmospheric, and Intriguing**

*The Serpent Called Mercy* is a beautifully eerie fantasy that weaves folklore and myth into a haunting story. The prose is lush and atmospheric, drawing readers into a world where danger and desire intertwine. Mercy’s complex journey keeps the pages turning, blending mystery with emotional depth.

While the pacing is a bit uneven and some plot threads feel unresolved, the novel’s mood and originality make it a memorable read.

Great for fans of dark fantasy who appreciate rich storytelling with a touch of the mystical.

The Serpent Called Mercy is an epic fantasy debut novel following Lythlet and Desil - childhood friends who have fallen into debt they are struggling to keep up the payments for. But when they hear of an opportunity to win some quick cash - by fighting deadly beasts - they cannot resist the chance to finally pay off their debts and to escape the slums. But are their promised winnings what they seem, can they trust the match master, and will the sacrifices necessary to secure the final jackpot be worth it?
Favourite Quotes:

“Hope in times of happiness isn’t hope – it’s expectation. It’s only when things are at their bleakest that you find hope unadulterated.”

“The best stories are those rooted in truth, embellished only for entertainment’s sake.”

“What a blessing it is that there remain children more scared of ghosts than of the world around them.”

“Master Dothilos. You know me better than to think I’ll believe that. Men frequently make threats they wildly intend, only claiming they never meant a word of it when it rebounds on them.”

V sad to report this was not the book for me. I was really hoping for an addictive fantasy adventure with epic world building but unfortunately this just felt flat. An amazing premise, beast trials and Malaysian inspired setting, but I just couldn’t connect to Lythlet at all as a character which made this a struggle. I did really like the the main relationship featured was a friendship rather than romantic, but that’s not enough to hold this together for me. Not a bad book, I’m sure many will love, but not for me in this moment. Tbh a struggle to finish at times but glad I made it to the other side.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for a copy of this eARC for this book.

I liked the premise of this book and the idea behind it however I found the execution of this fell short for me unfortunately.

For a debut novel I thought this was a good book and I recommend anyone who is interested in it to give it a read for themselves.

In my opinion the magic system really intrigued me and I wish we had more of it teased out in the story itself. I also felt there could have been more in depth world building to grip the reader into the world more.

There was suspense, mystery & danger. I enjoyed this book however I didn’t love this book. Looking forward to seeing what the author writes next!

I enjoyed bits of this book, but I found the matches got repetitive after a while. I could have done with there being at least half the number really.

Just a warning for animal lovers, this is not a book if you don’t like animal death. The matches are brutal and there are a few bits that are designed to tug on your heart strings. The creatures they face are very much more animals than monsters.

The religion aspect was really interesting and though I found it a bit tricky to keep track of which of the gods were which, I really enjoyed the philosophy behind it and it led to some really good reflection on the part of the characters. I enjoyed it a lot.

Overall, it was an all right read, but the repetition of the cage matches dragged it out a lot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Solaris for the arc.


I really enjoyed reading this book; it really had everything I could ask for! A great debut.

I loooooove books that center around friendship like this. The way two or more friends go through adventures and adversities and how they deal with them individually and collectively, is a really amazing topic to delve into.

I have to admit I found it hard to get into in the beginning, it was a little bit slow-paced and at times too much info-dumping was happening, but once I got into the rhythm of things, I couldn’t get enough of the book!

I loved the plot. The moral and ethical considerations were really interesting and well-handled. i.e. how Lythlet had tried to do something good in the past and to try to end some horrible crimes she stumbled on, but nothing came of it. Dothilos reminded her of that to “teach her that being a hero serves no-one especially not herself”. And countless other dilemmas she had, that I wouldn’t spoil here.

The characters were even more complex than what met the eye. And that’s all I’m going to say on this for fear of spoiling things.

All in all, it was a great read and a perfect first novel. You would enjoy it if you love fantasy (especially with lots of world building) and adventures.

A fantastic action-packed novel balancing well with themes of hard-hitting social injustice and systemic poverty. I really enjoyed this book, the characters were rich and diverse. I was also thrilled to see such beautiful representation of friendship especially between opposite genders. It was really refreshing from the usual romantic dynamic imposed in fantasy books.
Quite a few twists I didn't see coming and I loved how cleverly Lythlet managed to defeat not just the monsters (or sun-cursed beasts) but also the true enemies outside the arena.

Lythlet and Desil have been friends since childhood. Shackled by a debt-ridden life they fear they'll never escape, they sign up to be conquessors, arena combators that fight sun-cursed beasts in the seedy underworld.

The Serpent Called Mercy is a standalone fantasy, and it's no small thing that the author was able to create a world that felt real and believable within a single book. I got a good feel of who the main characters were, the setting they were in and their daily lives, but I think I would've loved a little more about the sun-cursed beasts they're tasked to defeat. I could imagine them, but there wasn't much background about how or where they were being 'summoned' from for these battles to take place.

The rounds of the tournament differed; some were fantastic, tension-filled fights and others fell a little flat and were almost glazed over. It did start to feel a little repetitive at points, but on the whole I enjoyed what they brought to the story. It did feel like the battles took a backseat towards the middle of the story, but I didn't mind that and I enjoyed the direction Lau took the book.

The real highlight for me were the relationships that Roanne Lau created between the characters. The friendship between Lythlet and Desil and how that changed throughout the story, the complexities of Lythlet's relationship with her Parents, and the tense push-and-pull she had with Master Dothilos, the organiser of the tournament. I enjoyed the politics, and the exploration of deep-rooted injustice and imbalances of power between the wealthy and the poor.

Overall, a fantastic read that I rather loved. The author's Malaysian/Chinese inspiration shone through, and whilst the story wasn't what I went in expecting it to be, I loved the direction Lau took the story even more. This is a debut novel and I cannot wait to read more of her work!

I got to about 100 pages in and I realised I had no clue what was going on and nor did I care that much to carry on, which is very sad because I was looking forward to this one!

In all honesty I didn’t get very far with this book, but I do think it’s really good. To explain briefly, I didn’t finish but I think that’s more to do with my mental space at the moment due to a close bereavement. I definitely plan to pick this book up again in a few weeks hopefully, because the bits I did read were incredible and I want to give it the fairest chance in terms of reviewing. Once I’ve gone back to it and read it I’ll post a proper review on social media and review sites though. Side note: the colours on the cover are BEAUTIFUL!!
Thank you so much for the opportunity to read, and I hope that once I’ve come back to it and reviewed that my review will do it justice.

The Serpent Called Mercy is an epic fantasy debut novel following Lythlet and Desil - childhood friends who have fallen into debt they are struggling to keep up the payments for. But when they hear of an opportunity to win some quick cash - by fighting deadly beasts - they cannot resist the chance to finally pay off their debts and to escape the slums. But are their promised winnings what they seem, can they trust the match master, and will the sacrifices necessary to secure the final jackpot be worth it?

This was a fantastic debut novel, with complex world building & a corrupt society the main characters are struggling to stay afloat in. Initially it was difficult to keep track of the cultural and religious systems referenced throughout the book, and a glossary I could have referred to would definitely have been beneficial - although the further I read the more I picked up. If Lau were to write another installment in this universe I would love to see more on these systems, as well as life outside of the city, and the political situation that follows.
I really appreciated the platonic relationship between Lythlet and Desil, and the resilience of their friendship despite the challenges posed throughout the book. And I couldn't write this review without talking about the brutal gladiator style matches, against the beasts, that require strength, knowledge, and cunning from the main characters. I really loved seeing descriptions of all the different beasts, and how Lythlet and Desil took each one on. By the end of the book - after 12 matches - they could have seemed repetitive, but the varying beasts, and ongoing side plotlines kept this fresh for me.

I rated this book 4 stars, and look forward to seeing what Roanne Lau writes next!

Thank you NetGalley, Solaris, and Roanne Lau for this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publishers for access to this ARC 📚.

🔥Quick Fire Review🔥

Genre/Themes: ⚔️📿👹🏛️💰🦹🏼‍♂️
Tropes: Antihero, Emotional Scars, Countdown to Destruction, Hidden Truth, Blackmail, Conspiracy, Corrupt Officials, Mole Within, Vigilante Justice, Hidden Enclave, Mythical Creatures, Creature Hunter, The Outsider
Positives ✅ : engaging plot, interesting main characters, intriguing universe
Room for Improvement 🔎 : some underdeveloped world building, missing plot opportunities, lacklustre ending, underdeveloped supporting characters, some unnatural dialogue
Rating: 🌕🌕🌗

✍🏻Full Review - RISK OF SPOILERS 🛑 and this is a long one, I have a LOT to say.

A really interesting debut, but perhaps a little too ambitious which left me with more questions than answers by the end. This was marketed as The Witcher meets Squid Game but take this with a pinch of salt as I didn’t make a connection with them at all while reading, but it did make some sense retrospectively. The main characters are killing mythical/mutated beasts for coin, like The Witcher, in a dangerous twisted game to clear crippling debts, like Squid Game. But these are very thin parallels. To me this was Ancient Rome with a twist, with the ‘conquessors’ basically being gladiators. But my main issue with the book is I was left feeling pretty miserable by the end. There felt like little to no resolution for our characters.

Characterisation:
The main word that comes to mind about our main character Lythlet is pride. Despite her lowly life and upbringing she is still fiercely ambitious and goes above and beyond to hide her failures and struggles from those she loves. She avoids her parents for years after feeling like a burden to them growing up because she doesn’t want them to see the poverty she has ended up in, and doesn’t tell Desil that her bosses are physically abusing her. Another word would be loyal, especially to Desil, but this is often to her own detriment. I could be way off base here, but when reading I felt the author was perhaps trying to represent Lythlet as a character on the autistic spectrum? There is a lot of mention of her being able to hyperfocus on special interests, retaining vast amounts of information and recite it with enthusiasm, recognising patterns, ‘speaking funny’ as she learnt how to communicate through books she read as a child and mirrors it, and struggling socially. She is surprised to learn the supporting characters consider her a friend, even after all the indicators and cues throughout the story. She also has a strong sense of justice, even if a little morally grey, which causes her a lot of internalised conflict and leads to her putting herself in danger to try and do something good for vulnerable people. There is a lot of mention from higher class characters of her being ‘ugly’, almost as if she is being discriminated against for being visibly disabled as well? Whether any of this was intentional or not I thought it was great and written in a really natural, organic way. It was sad yet relatable to see her battling against her loyalty to Desil, her desire for validation from others, her own ambition yet her need for justice when acting as a conqeussor. She ends up loving showing her strength and wit to a crowd of adoring fans and getting praise and favouritism from them and Master Dothilos, but she recognises that the spectators do not care for her as a person one iota and just see her as a source of entertainment and a money-making machine. Master Dothilos helps her realise that Desil often holds her back from her dreams and this building of resentment competes with her platonic love for him. While all of this was fantastic, I did struggle to find her likeable because she seemed to lack a sense of humour. While her often flowery or stilted dialogue was contextualised it did make for tough reading sometimes. I also thought it was a shame we didn’t get to see her experience any form of romantic love, even though it was great that there was such a strong focus on filial or platonic love and there doesn’t need to be romance to make a story great I just think it would have been the last cherry on top to see Lythlet start to experience everything she could have in life.
Desil was the biggest hypocrite and gaslighter I think I’ve ever come across, packaged up in an apparently pious and compassionate exterior. He grew up far more comfortable than Lythlet did, even taking her in for a while as children which led to their fierce loyalty to each other. And yet, he ends up leaning on her completely. Lythlet, the girl who grew up with parents who couldn’t care for her, who couldn’t speak for the majority of her childhood and who was relentlessly bullied when she could afford to go to school. He gets the pair into unmanageable debt with a violent loan shark when he takes Lythlet to a physic, because he was too much of a moron to get it from a reputable source, and then at one point describes Lythlet as a ‘cheapskate who loves her drink’. A CHEAPSKATE? Coming from Mr. Scrounger himself? Even though it is his debt he doesn’t bother getting a higher paid job than the tea shop, leaving brawling to become super religious and pious instead, and leaving Lythlet to get beaten up by employers or resorting to stealing from people she deems it’s justified from. All because she feels guilty that the debt was for her medical bills. At no point does he try and make her feel better about that. THEN it turns out he only left brawling because he was so good at it, it gave him a fearsome bloodlust and he ended up beating someone to death! He keeps this from Lythlet but then makes her feel bad for brutally killing the Bugbear cub in the arena because she was having flashbacks of being bullied as a child, triggered by feeling so guilty and trapped at having to kill something so innocent and young. While he just loves beating things up. HYPOCRITE. Yes, he loves her. Yes he has stuck by her side and protected her growing up. But the guy is a BUM with weaponised incompetence. He also only showed a sense of humour once. So honestly not enough redeemable qualities for me.
Master Dothilos was a great villain in my opinion, in that he is in direct parallel with Lythlet. He is ruthlessly goal-orientated, had an extremely traumatic upbringing and has his own form of vigilante justice. But he diverges from Lythlet in his callous, apathetic approach to those around him. To him, other people are simply obstacles that must be removed when necessary. He projects the fact that he is trapped under the violent, corrupt Eza onto Lythlet by blackmailing her in the same way. I can tell how warped my brain is by the dark romantasy genre because I lowkey hoped there would be a romance subplot with him, as he would have been a perfect morally grey love interest and his fascination with Lythlet could have easily been interpreted as chemistry. Alas, he was significantly older than her and ended up manipulating her as more of a mentor-like figure instead. I thought he was excellently written because I felt the same inner conflict about him as Lythlet did.
Governor Matheranos was a less interesting villain, and I was actually quite disappointed when it was revealed he was the elusive, mysterious Eza himself. While the author tried to give some backstory and motive, I didn’t really understand it. Something to do with some petty rebellion against his descendants? Not sure, but his influence and manipulation of the Courts through his watchmen and the hiding of all of his unethical and corrupt underworld dealings was scary nonetheless, I just wish he’d been more imposing as a character.
Supporting characters Shunvi, Ilden and Sarvem Arthil were criminally underwritten. Ilden was an attempt at comic relief, especially with his courting of Naya, but other than that he just seemed to exist to be part of the slapstick duo. Shunvi would have been a perfect love interest for Lythlet. He was equally nerdy and smart, very kind and the perfect sunny to Lythlet’s grumpy. Alas, it was not to be because the author clearly wanted the book to be platonic love only. Saevem Arthil was by the far the least utilised character. He is significant enough that Lythlet becomes a mole for him, putting herself in serious danger amongst Dothilos and the Eza. But we only speak to him a few times and he gives her the Beastiary. How did he obtain all this knowledge? How did he end up in the Party to oppose Matheranos? In all his mystery and shroud he just ends up feeling like a forgotten character.

World-Building:
I found it hard to visualise Setgad. For some reason I often found myself imagining it as a modern city, with the rich areas full of skyscrapers and the ‘slums’ being the depraved, cramped areas. Especially with the underground city of Inejio which was made to sound like ancient ruins with an arena almost like a colosseum. But there’s no indication that the story is set in a modern time at all, so I don’t know why I got this image. The author states it is influenced by Malaysia and China, but sometimes the characters seemed to speak with an English cockney slang? That was weird. Lighting is created by luminescent bees that live in hives. The hives have to be regularly serviced lest they develop a rot. So there’s an implication that electricity doesn’t exist, but it’s never stated for certain. This hive industry, which Lythlet works in briefly, is slowly being ousted for the use of ‘baltascar’, a stone or crystal that produces its own light. This is where things start to get confusing. At one point Lythlet and Desil are given earrings, either made with baltascar or with some other crystal, I forget, that is able to act as a microphone and receiver? The 12 Gods of Setgad’s world are also mentioned to have granted previous civilisations ‘bloodrights’, which I assume are magical powers, but they’re no longer present as far as we know. Then we have all of the ‘sun-cursed’ beasts in the arena, and the ‘cosmoscape’ that Lythlet is able to climb up to while conquessing to basically control gravity and access the universe’s powers for 8 seconds? All of these magical aspects were SO glossed over it was jarring. What is ‘sun-cursing’? Are these beasts just out and about, threatening humans? Or are they just created to live in the arena? What were these bloodrights and why are they all gone now? What is this random cosmoscape business? Who knows. What was clear was the class divide and the political corruption. The author didn’t shy away from those aspects, including ‘underground’ criminal activity which takes advantage of the ‘unregistered’, essentially people who have had to give up citizenship and life above ground because they can no longer afford it. Lythlet and Desil live in what is essentially a treehouse, and take on low-paying jobs such as bookkeepers or waiters to get by. Loan sharks are apparently a common thing, as is pickpocketing in the streets or illegal blood sports. The religious aspects were quite cool as well, with there being 12 Gods or patrons, almost like the zodiac, and all are assigned to one. Desil is quite invested in the Gods so we get to see the shrines and hear about the ‘Poetics’, which reminded me a lot of the Viking Sagas or Homer’s Odyssey. Overall, the world was under-explained and needed to be fleshed out better.

Prose\Plot:
The writing style was a little uneven, mostly because of the stunted and often unnatural dialogue. However, I thought the link between the bees, the rot, the unregistered and the highborn was genius. The tightly woven network of corrupt individuals was strongly written as well, from the owner of a child sex trafficking brothel blacklisting Lythlet for discovering her secret, to Master Dothilos running his underground realm for the benefit of Governor Matheranos while he runs around committing atrocities under the name of ‘Eza’. Add in Saevem’s undercover work with an opposing party, trying to get the courts to see Matheranos’ abuse of power, and we have an engaging story of rebellion and revolution. However, other aspects let the plot down. For a start, the beasts that were marketed as the big part of the story actually seemed to be quite the afterthought. The battles against them were pretty brief, even if they were interesting with Lythlet having to figure out their fatal flaw. I was genuinely heartbroken during the Bugbear scene. However the beastiary and all the cool sounding creatures in there were glossed over, too. As mentioned it’s unclear how much of a menace these creatures actually are to the world as a whole. It’s unclear where they came from, how anybody found them or transported them, or how any of these magical characteristics came to be. The final battle being against Shunvi and Ilden I have to admit I didn’t see coming. I was waiting for the beast of all beasts but it ended up being even more heart-racing having to fight their friends. That was a nice touch. I will say that Lythlet’s ‘suicide’ scene was… a bit much. Admittedly my dislike of Desil adds to this, as in my head why would she kill herself for that dweeb? However while I could understand the desperation she felt being trapped under Dothilos, it felt uncharacteristic for her to just give up being the fiercely determined person she is. Just because Desil had left? It’s not like he’d died, he’d have probably turned back up eventually because he relies on her so much. Then to make matters worse, this suicide is TOTALLY dismissed. Nobody bats an eyelid at it and she just goes on as if she wasn’t ready to literally end her life in the jaws of a monster. Surely that’s quite traumatic, no? It was also very predictable that it was Desil in the cloak running into the arena to save her, I don’t know why the author bothered trying to make it a mystery. It would have been more interesting had it been Shunvi or her father or something, and they’d encouraged her to carry on.
The Governor being revealed as the Eza was boring. Also a little non-sensical, as he didn’t seem like the type to do his dirty work himself and a lot of the crimes were apparently performed by him. I think it would have been cooler for them to have been a secret family member or something, or someone associated with the lady who owned the brothel Lythlet worked at. That would have linked well. Although I want to stress that I don’t think a book has to have a romance subplot to be good, I do think it would have worked really well in this novel. There is brief mention of Ilden and Naya but this doesn’t really go anywhere. And that leads me to my final qualm. Nothing is resolved for Lythlet and Desil. After helping to save thousands of unregistered from dying a painful death from hive rot poisoning, and helping to expose a murderous government official, they are still left penniless. Still left living in a tree. And it’s unclear if Setgad improves after Matheranos’ removal. It was so unsatisfying and I was left with so many questions with few answers. Yes, it was nice that Lythlet was beginning to repair her relationship with her parents, but it seemed to be that the ending relied on ‘well at least they have each other’. Who, Desil the scrounger? The one who is actually a violent ticking bomb ready to explode at any moment? So Lythlet has to throw away all of her ambition and dreams of success and just accept where she is, because at least she has her family? How depressing. Overall I think this could have been a great story if, as other reviewers have mentioned, it had been written as a duology. I respect the author’s ambition (just like Lythlet!) and I would look out for more of their work but I think there were too many aspects that needed expanding on.

3.5 stars. I enjoyed this book, there were some unique and interesting characters/ character developments, and the friendships were interesting to see come to life.

The fantasy world and creatures were probably my favourite part of this book, however it took me over a month to finish so I wouldn’t call it “unputdownable” unfortunately

Hmmmmm there was so much potential in this book and I think if it had been expanded beyond a standalone it could have fully lived up to its potential. As it is there’s really not enough world building to do that within the standalone. I’d love to learn more about the world outside the city, the monsters, pretty much everything. What saved this from a 2 star rating is the relationship between Desil and Lythlet.

Absolutely spellbinding book! I LOVED the whole concept especially the gladiator-style fight scenes. I found Desil and Lythlet a wonderfully platonic pairing who value companionship and trust above all else. Furthermore, I enjoyed the way Lythlet seemed to develop out of the relationship after being convinced of her superiority. Lythlet's character development was brilliant, she goes on a journey of self discovery and her confidence grows. Equally, Desil seems to regress. I found this to be a realistic rendition of adult relationships, how they grow and develop. I really enjoyed the world and how the author built the setting, infrastructure and society, but i think there could've been so much done with it.