Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Houghton Miffin Books

Pages: 385pgs

The Story

Sybella's duty as Death's assassin in 15th-century France forces her return home to the personal hell that she had finally escaped. Love and romance, history and magic, vengeance and salvation converge in this thrilling sequel to Grave Mercy.

Sybella arrives at the convent’s doorstep half mad with grief and despair. Those that serve Death are only too happy to offer her refuge—but at a price. The convent views Sybella, naturally skilled in the arts of both death and seduction, as one of their most dangerous weapons. But those assassin's skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to a life that nearly drove her mad. And while Sybella is a weapon of justice wrought by the god of Death himself, He must give her a reason to live. When she discovers an unexpected ally imprisoned in the dungeons, will a daughter of Death find something other than vengeance to live for?

The Review

I adore pretty much anything fantasy or historical-like, so I knew from the get-go that Robin LaFevers had something really special with her new series, especially after reading the author's book, Grave Mercy, which was such a brilliant, brilliant read. So while this sequel might not have necessarily be my all-time favourite book (really nothing I think can beat my profound love of the first book), but I have to say DARK TRIUMPH certainly knows how to push everything to the ultimate limits and when you combine great writing, a great plot and some pretty great - not to mention kick-ass - characters together and wrap them all into one, then you're definitely going to get an awesome read which this was all the way through til the end.

After finishing the book, straight up I thought DARK TRIUMPH was such a great book and such an enjoyable one as well. While I may not have connected as well nor as deeply with the characters in this particular sequel (at least not like I did in the first book of the series) but I still definitely loved reading about Sybella's new journey and figuring out for myself with how different she is compared to our first leading heroine in Grave Mercy, Ismae, which was a pleasant surprise indeed because I like seeing these differences in different main characters. I mean, Sybella is a lot different compared to Ismae's character and personality, and yet she also possesses this very strong essence and build much like Ismae did in the first installment of the series. Sybella, I found, is yet again another girl so capable of . . . well . . . pretty much anything and really what's not to love about that? I like it when these girls are not holding back but rather fighting back with everything they got no matter the hardships they soon come to face.

Overall, DARK TRIUMPH was another strong installment coming from the author and I'm looking forward to reading more from her in the future and from this series.

The Rating

4/5 stars

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Andersen Press Ltd

Pages: 496pgs

The Story

Young, beautiful and deadly. Trained as an assassin by the god of Death, Ismae is sent to the court of Brittany, where she finds herself under prepared - not only for the games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death's vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

The Review

GRAVE MERCY was a total win for me right from the very beginning. With such a kick-ass and promising premise, all it really needed was a great and a badassery, variety kind of protagonist and the author, in this case, delivered in every way imaginable, even to my own surprise. I've been waiting for a book like this one for quite some time now in the YA genre and it definitely came at the right time too because I loved it to pieces from the heroine all the way down to its dark, itty gritty side of the 15th century!

The story's main heroine, Ismae, was one of my favourite characters by far this year. With very little effort on the author's part, I was instantly drawn to this deadly, stubborn, strong-willed young woman and I loved every single thing about her. Ismae may have had an awful upbringing and you hated her family for treating her the way they did, but as Ismae is shipped off to a covenant and introduced to the world of assassins, and soon figuring out what kills her makes her stronger to become the person she was always meant to be . . . she became everything that I love in my heroines: A a fiery passion to survive. The thing that separates her from every other heroine I know of today is that she never questions her loyalties and never allows anyone to make her feel weak - not even for a second - she was just being Ismae and let me tell you this Ismae will kick your ass any day if you get in her way!

As far as romances go in YA historical books, this romance was beyond AWESOME and one of the best romances I've read yet this year! I wholeheartedly adored Isame's love interest, Duval, not because he was mysterious and handsome from head to toe (okay, maybe it was part of it), but rather I loved his relationship with Ismae because it was an uneasy alliance between them and it was all about their mission rather than it being about love, love, love. At least at first, which is why I loved these two main characters so, so much. They just clicked together, you know? On a whole other level. Passion and all. With his desire to protect his charge, with his half-sister being the Duchess and with him having this unseemly desire to protect Ismae when his heart is always telling him otherwise, I'm sure many readers will fall for this guy and melt your insides. He sure had that affect on me.

But when you overlook the characters, what I truly loved the most was the historical aspect of the book and the detail it offered to me. Whether you're a fan of history or not, I thought Robin LaFevers painted the perfect picture of the 15th century of Brittany - the whole feel I got from the book gave me chills as if I was right there with the characters. The writing, the attention to details, the clothing people wore and even the mannerisms, and the way people spoke to each other, just felt so real to me in this past setting and it was so easy for me to visualize what people were like back then so . . . I just loved it! But of course, it certainly helps me already being a fan of this certain period so kudos to the author for writing such a book for me to enjoy!

Overall, with a book containing a strong-willed heroine, secret societies, an in-depth storyline and a well developed young romance, along with some classic action and magic and all sorts of political drama that sets things on very high stakes, GRAVE MERCY will definitely appeal to historical readers and even readers of the likes of A Game of Thrones, Shadow and Bone and Graceling! Trust me here: You DON'T want to miss out on this book!

The Rating

4 1/2 / 5 stars