R. L. LaFevers

The second book in the His Fair Assassin trilogy opens with Sybella warning away the duchess and Ismae - a scene that was familiar to readers of Grave Mercy, from Ismae's point of view. Now we hear where Sybella, the broken girl we glimpsed in the first book, has been all this time. She is a member of d'Albret's household, and while her father - at least in name, if not in fact - is a traitor to the duchess and an absolutely twisted man, she is dismayed to find no marque telling her she can show more take vengeance and kill him.

I'm really enjoying these stories of historical fantasy set in Brittany in the 1400s. As we saw in Grave Mercy, the duchess has been promised in marriage to several people, including d'Albret, but she is struggling to keep her autonomy and rule, defending herself from would-be suitors and France. Dark Triumph doesn't delve into the politics in the same way, but into Sybella and her backstory which is quite grim. I found this book a bit darker and more violent than the first (though it is about nun assassins and daughters of the god of death Mortain himself, so I'm also not sure why I was surprised), but still an excellent read I would recommend to readers of young adult fantasy. show less

Ha! Ha HA!! What an exhilarating ride!!!

This book pulls together some of my most favorite things, weaving a new story with new characters and depths. As I read, I felt growing satisfaction… that THIS is what I had always hoped for and didn't even know it.

I loved so many things about this book. The concept is rich – Ismae (love the name!!) is rescued from abuse, smuggled across the country to a Convent fortress where she is trained in the arts of Killing. It’s like Cinderella + show more Graceling. What a fun combination!

I don’t don't much about history, so the setting might as well been a new fantasy world, for all I knew (or cared). The French-sounding names were exotic and the politics felt exactly like a complicated chess game, (the author's intention). There is gritty reality behind the impossible choices, which I absolutely loved. So often, especially when big, multiple kingdoms are involved, the answer is obvious & predictable, so “impossible” was refreshingly frustrating.

I thoroughly enjoyed the deities of Britain. Does anyone know if this is historical? There are 8 (9?) Gods transformed to “saints” to conform to the times. Mortain, the god of death, adds depth to the entire story. I was never certain how Ismae was literally conceived by him, but I love, LOVE the idea that she is a daughter of God. Absolutely. And that the Convent believes that only it – or specifically the Abbess – knows what Mortain wants, while the question is raised as to whether the Convent is above deception? Doubt is cast on the Convent, even while relationship with Mortain Himself is strengthened.

Ismae is a fun character. I slipped inside her skin so effortlessly, so that I still feel rather dangerous with various weapons strapped in hiding spots up my sleeves and skirts. (Ha!) I thought for sure I would learn all the in’s & out’s of her training at the Convent – like Paksennarian or The Song of the Lioness series. Instead, the story dives right into Ismae’s assignments. I can’t tell you how thrilled I was wondering how complicated this story would get if we leapt right through so much excitement so fast. She is intelligent & brave (rather than fearless). I love getting her thoughts behind each action, and I love her fast reflexes!!

Duval is also very fun. He has layers of reactions and motivations to figure out, while being at the same time, highly enticing. Suspicious and sexy at the same time!! I was right there with Ismae as she experienced new love (great budding romance!) while remaining true to her beliefs and her deep conviction to serve the God of Death. When traitors abound, everyone is suspect!!

Many of the secondary characters had surprising depth. Duval’s closest friends keep revealing greater depths, the council surrounding the Duchess holds surprises, the Convent and the handmaidens of Death have lots of secrets that they don’t give up even by the end of the story.

The Duchess & her sister felt shallow to me, but if I was in either of their shoes, I could only hope to be as brave & decisive as they were. I'd probably run away.

Grave Mercy does not have a cliff-hanger ending, but it does leave loose ends – rather loud loose ends. I wondered how the author could sleep at night without resolving these. (Ha!) Until I noted what book 2 in the series will be about… and entire book devoted to at least two of those loose ends, which gives me hope for the third, too. (Ack!! I hate not spoiler-talking!)

As I read, I kept thinking of similar books I love. The court scenes reminded me of Crown Duel, which I love! Sometimes I was reminded me of King Arthur or Robin Hood or somewhere in between ‘em (all the Britain stuff - either inner fighting or against France). I already mentioned Cinderella, Paksennarion and the Song of Lioness… not to mention Graceling. What if Katsa had a different motivation for doing her killing job? Hehehehe And yet, Grave Mercy is unique, too. Some of the best of all of 'em rolled into something new.

Cover Commentary: Love it. I love the red dress, with the windblown wild look & the suspicious back glance… especially with the castle and storm clouds in the background. The crossbow makes the picture for me, although it seems a little large for the weapon she hid in her skirts. I suppose of they’d given her a wee little crossbow, it wouldn’t have had the same effect. Lol.

My Rating: 5 - LOVE IT!! I think this is one of my favorite books. I definitely want this book on my bookshelf collection to reread when the urge hits, ‘cause it definitely will! It may be 500+ pages long, but I couldn’t put it down!! show less

And another foul book. Well-written, interesting characters, interesting setting (and apparently 90% historical, too). But between the plotting and the utterly incompetent heroine, I was slogging throughout. I did finish it, though, which makes it better than the last few of this type I've tried.

Honestly, I spent two-thirds of the book trying to figure out if the abbess was simply stupid, incompetent, or laying deep plots and lying directly and by omission to the heroine. Turns out it's show more apparently not the last, still not sure about which of the first it is. It was blatantly obvious that Ismae did not have the training or knowledge necessary to carry out her mission as directed...and the abbess' solution was - not to give her a quick review of what she should have known, not to give her extra training or a way of getting it, but to give her a knife that would kill instantly. Because that will solve her problems as she goes to court not knowing Duval's family links and trying to play mistress while having skipped all her classes on the "womanly arts".

Which reminds me - I wonder if there's a monastery teaching Death's sons how to kill? Probably not such a focus on seduction there, if it exists. Or does Death only sire daughters? If so, why?

The romance was utterly predictable, and therefore boring. And just why did she object to pretty men? Neither her father nor her husband could be described as pretty - she should have been shyer of Beast or Duval than De Lornay. But that's the traditional form, the abused girl is afraid of pretty men. I don't know.

The story itself wasn't bad, and it was interesting when I found out at the end that it was mostly historical (though the primary male character was fictional...and presumably the heroine as well, though she got no mention in the afterword) except that the plotting was toned down. But the meta questions kept jumping up and disrupting any flow of the story for me.

The convent had so many holes in its plotline that it just made no sense at all (girls only (as previously mentioned)? Girls mostly taught to seduce? The most broken girls go out first - the one that's practically sane gets locked up inside? and the biggest meta - these girls have been broken by the status quo, and then are trained to support and protect it - and none of them object). Every once in a while there would be a magical bit (the marques, the soul rush, Ismae's resistance to poison) that made it seem not entirely a scam...but again, for large portions of the book, I was trying to figure out how the convent could have been using hypnosis or drugs to simulate the magic for their tools.

Overall very nasty, as every single trustworthy person either turns betrayer, dies, or is otherwise rendered helpless to do anything. And as I said above, Ismae is utterly incompetent at her tasks (did she really go out the window? If so, she made it absolutely certain that she was linked to the death - no chance of playing innocent), either because of lack of training or because she is certain she knows what to do and ignores all reason. She pulls out more-or-less success because she's as incompetent at plotting as she is at assassination (OK, when she finally begins to _think_ about her assassination tasks I start to like her better), and she has allies, mostly against her will.

I have to remember that I do _not_ have the same tastes in books as my sister (who praised this book highly, which is why I read it). show less

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy:
allthingsuf.com

Oh, how I adore this series. Where GRAVE MERCY seduced me into this world with it’s mix of god-touched heros and mortal politics, DARK TRIUMPH is a much more personal tale. Gorgeous, damaged Sybella dominates her story in a completely different way than Ismae, making this both a fantastic sequel and something brand new.

Focused tight on Sybella’s world, experiencing both her pain, her strength, and her victories, LaFevers managed show more to wholly involve me in this new point of view. And the Beast, confident, powerful, and passionate, is the perfect foil for both Sybella’s strengths and wounds. He heals her soul without tempering her lethal nature, and may be one of my favorite heros as a result of it. Though Sybella struggles with doubts regarding her vocation, LaFevers creates details unique to this character without re-treading Ismae’s journey note for note. Even better, LaFevers did a great job intertwining glimpses of Ismae and Duval with Sybella, giving me page time with these beloved characters while helping the current narrative develop. The ugly secrets of Sybella’s past can be hard to read in places, though the abuse is more hints than explicit. But while d’Albret remains a monstrous font of evil, many of the other sources of Sybella’s misery are more nuanced characters. The interplay between her and Julian never quite touched my emotions, but I thought LaFevers did a good job developing the broken, poisonous d’Albret household in a way that garnered some sympathy.

I finished GRAVE MERCY anxious to read about Sybella in DARK TRIUMPH, but I have less of a feel for where Annith’s story will take us. However, given the excellent balance of intrigue, romance, and magic LaFevers has written thus far, I am still eagerly anticipating MORTAL HEART for next year.

Sexual Content: References to incest, attempted rape, and non-explicit sex scenes. show less