Dark Triumph

Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Dark Triumph is the second installment in the His Fair Assassin trilogy. This story picks up a little bit before Grave Mercy ended, and is told from the perspective of Sybella, the dark and secretive priestess of Saint Mortain. Sybella resides undercover in the household of D'Albret himself, as she uncovers his secrets and eagerly awaits the day she is commissioned to kill him. As the story unfolds, she becomes unlikely allies with the Beast of Waroch, and soon learns that in order to be Death's true daughter, she must first learn to heal herself from within.

I love love loved Dark Triumph! Honestly, my only complaints could be that there wasn't more of it, and that perhaps the cover model didn't look like my image of Sybella. If those are the only problems here, then you've got a good book in your hands.

I was so glad to get into Sybella's story. While I felt that Ismae's story was very important in setting up, not only the convent and the mythology of the Nine Saints, but also of the world of 15th-century Brittany and the court intrigue. I also felt that, while Ismae's characterization was incredibly strong and a great read, Sybella's left a deeper impression on me. Indeed, I sometimes found myself forgetting Ismae's name, though that might have just been because it wasn't used as often on the page.

Sybella was an inredibly strong woman. I was glad that she wasn't simply the angry girl who lashes out at the world because of her dark past. Instead, she was someone trying to heal and endure that darkness which still surrounded her, as well as her conflict of faith, which was not seen with Ismae--which is to be expected, as these two women are night and day to each other. I empathized with her fear of letting herself be vulnerable with others.

I also loved the romance between her and Beast. I loved Beast from the moment I first met him in Grave Mercy, and I was so glad that his character stayed strong as he was more closely observed. I felt like the romance between them formed more naturally and believably than Ismae and Duval's--I love them together, but it felt a bit as though it happened purely for the purpose of there being romance in the story. Beast and Sybella formed themselves around each other, and became better versions of themselves for it.

I can't wait to read Mortal Heart, whenever it comes out. I'm interested to see where Annith will end up, and if there will be any romance between someone new or someone we've already met.

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Grave Mercy

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Grave Mercy is about a girl named Ismae, who's had a hard life in fifteenth-century Brittany. At fourteen, she is adopted into the convent of Saint Mortain, otherwise known as the God of Death. It's there that she learns the skills to be an assassin, in order to serve her god and country. Once she finishes her training, her debut mission takes her all the way up to the seat of Brittany's power, where she learns that court intrigue is far more deadly than idle gossip, and entire kingdoms hang in the balance. This is the first in the His Fair Assassin trilogy.

I was so glad to finally sit down and take in Grave Mercy. I was a little confused by the presence of a fictional country (I think) in the real world, but Robin LaFevers' world building skill ensured that I didn't get lost. I loved the mythology, especially since polytheism had all but does out in Europe by this time. The fact that they were drawn parallel to the devotion given to saints in Catholicism made my analyzing academic heart go all aflutter.

But enough about practicalities. Ismae was a fantastically wrought character, dynamic and complicated. She has assassin's confidence, yet is self conscious about her body. She also knows how strong she is, and refuses to let the male dictated society she has to work with cast her aside. As Duval says, she is in a "class of her own."

I loved Duval's devotion to his sister and family, even with its complexities. His sense of honor drew me in, and the romantic in me loved his and Ismae's relationship. LaFevers took courtly love, a trope nearly a thousand years old, and breathed life and originality into it.

Her characters were amazingly written, from the housemaids to Beast and De Lornay. I can't wait to read Sybella's story next.

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