Mortal Heart

Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own.

She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn't mean she has...

*May Contain Spoilers*

Robin LaFevers ends the His Fair Assassin trilogy with Mortal Heart. It's time for Annith's story, a young girl who has appeared in both prior books. She's always lived at the convent and no one knows the story of her parents or her innate talents. But the time has come to reveal all secrets and atone for all crimes. 

Annith knows nothing of her own history. She was raised by Mortain's own, trained to be an assassin like her sisters. She's loyal, incredibly skilled, respectful, and tired of walking on eggshells. Due to her upbringing, Annith always tries to keep everyone around her happy. As a child, she was punished frequently for making simple mistakes or because the convent's headmistress desired it. Thus, Annith grew up to be pliable and obedient. Readers will sympathize with Annith and understand why she wishes to escape the convent. Throughout the novel, more and more of Annith's history is revealed and readers will become closer to her as she learns more about herself. Annith's non-judgmental ways and persistence, as well as her unfaltering hope and innocent heart, will undoubtedly win readers over. 

The plot continues to focus on Brittany and the Duchess Anne. Annith's story overlaps with the previous two books, but continues past the adventure of Sybella and Beast. Annith travels to confront the Abbess and meets up with the Hellequin riders and Arduinnites along the way. When she finally reaches the Abbess, Ismae, Sybella, and the Duchess, the French have invaded and are closing in with no help coming to save the country of Brittany. I'm no history buff, but this fictionalized version makes it all quite intriguing to me. LaFevers has intricately altered the timeline and the facts but has kept the main story line consistent with actual events. The whole plot is highly entertaining and the writing style is detailed, focused, and a study of itself. Viewpoints, understanding, and beliefs are malleable as the story evolves and it's an quite an enjoyable ride. If only it would never end... 

Rating: 4.5/5 Cups

     

Dark Triumph

When Sybella arrived at the doorstep of St Mortain half mad with grief and despair the convent were only too happy to offer her refuge - but at a price. The sisters of this convent serve Death, and with Sybella naturally skilled in both the arts of death and seduction, she could become one of their most dangerous weapons.

But her assassin's skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to the life that nearly drove her mad. Her father's rage and brutality are terrifying, and her brother's love is equally monstrous. But when Sybella discovers an unexpected ally she discovers that a daughter of Death may find something other than vengeance to live for...

*Contains Spoilers*

Sometimes I commend myself on not catching onto a series until all of the books are out because that means one important thing: no wait! And with the His Fair Assassin series, the struggle would have been quite real. Robin LaFevers continues the series with book two, Dark Triumph, which focuses on Sybella, a character briefly introduced in Grave Mercy. Though she seemed wild and completely insane in book one, that changes drastically in this installment, giving readers a very deep look into the complexity that is Lady Sybella D'Albret. 

That's right. She's a D'Albret. One of the main villains (if not the biggest villain) is the father of Sybella of Saint Mortain. Though I use the term 'father' loosely as readers of the series know that Death's Handmaidens are all sired by Death himself. Immediately, Sybella is torn between good and bad, right and wrong. Through many trials and recounted tribulations, readers will slowly but most certainly come to see her as an incredible, resilient character. Sybella has a past that 'haunted' doesn't even begin to describe. She was not only molested by her brothers, she was beaten, tortured, and somehow managed to live through it all. Both sympathy and empathy will allow readers to fully connect with Sybella while at the same time, her love story with the Baron of Waroch, also known as Beast, will give readers hope that she can have a happily ever after. 

The story line picks up a few pages before book one ends. Readers see Sybella going to warn Ismae of the trap she and the Duchess's entourage have just waltzed into. Following which, Sybella's story truly begins. Readers discover that Sybella was sent to the D'Albret household for two reasons. The first being, obviously, to spy. The second would be to deal the killing blow to D'Albret, but he remains unmarqued for death, forcing Sybella to stay her hand. When she receives direction to save the Baron of Waroch, who is trapped in the dungeons, Sybella decides that after freeing him, she will kill D'Albret no matter the consequences. Instead, she is accidentally knocked out and taken with Beast to the countryside. A quite humorous and happy kismet. 

Now, on the run for both of their lives, Sybella must transport Beast across the country while nursing him back to health. The love story in this second book is much like the first, slow burning. The background love story adds to the intrigue of the fictionalized history while remaining as a subplot and allowing the fight for life, liberty, and the country of Brittany to take the main stage. Though revenge does play a large role. With the first two books in this trilogy being so engulfing, I absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on the final one. No matter how much I don't want the assassin nun trilogy to end. 

Rating: 4.5/5 Cups

Book One

Grave Mercy

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly 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?

*May Contain Spoilers*

I'm a little bit behind on this series, as I've been wanting to read this for some time. So, now, let me jump on the bandwagon and say -- Assassin nuns! The idea alone is completely and absolutely wonderful. Robin LeFevers uses historical events and details to weave her own story about the country of Brittany and a convent of sisters who serve Saint Mortain, the saint of death, in her novel Grave Mercy. 

This first installment focuses on Ismae, a girl scarred from birth and claimed as one of Mortain's daughters. Saved by an herbwitch and a priest, Ismae is hidden and taken to the one place she can be safe and learn to survive (and more). She's taken to become an assassin for Death himself. Ismae is a quiet creature, very reserved. She's so unsure at the beginning that it's difficult to assess her personality. Ismae is incredibly self-conscious. She's also nervous yet eager to prove herself as a skilled, competent assassin. Her loyalty and dedication to her gift is remarkable. Her ability to survive any type of poison is impressive. Readers will enjoy these little characteristics at the beginning. The connection between Ismae and readers will start to thicken as Ismae becomes a key player in the plot of Brittany politics. Her seemingly emotionless stature is replaced by a woman who is learning that life is more complex than ever imagined, and serving Saint Mortain isn't as black and white as the convent made it seem. As Ismae starts thinking for herself and using her own judgement, not to mention falling in love with Gavriel (!), readers will see her open up. 

The plot of Grave Mercy loosely follows real historical events. The band of Saint Mortain's assassins serve their country first. When they learn that Gavriel Duval, the duchess's half-brother, may be in cahoots with France, they send Ismae to keep an eye on him and to gather information by pretending to want to help him. Soon Ismae starts to believe the traitor is someone other than Gavriel and she is determined to flush them out, but her heart serves as a distraction making the assignment more difficult than it first seemed. The story line completely captivated me. I love historical fiction and this was absolutely delightful. I think readers who enjoy tales of royal betrayal and slow blooming love will devour this book, much like I did. I absolutely do not want to wait to get my hands on the next one. This is definitely a trilogy for the book shelf. 

Rating: 4/5 Cups

WWW Wednesday (159)

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

          

01. Currently Reading:
The Elite by Kiera Cass. Sequel to The Selection, America has two men fighting for her. One is the Prince and the other is the first love who broke her heart in the first book.

02. Recently Finished:
Finding the Rainbow by Traci Borum. Holly Newbury has been taking care of her sisters since their mother passed away. Now her idle life is about to shift into drive when a film company comes to town, bringing a rather nice American writer with it. Such a slow sweet story of falling into friendship before love.

03. Reading Next:
Grave Mercy by Robin Lafevers. A girl named Ismae escapes a marriage and seeks refuge in an assassin training convent. Excited to finally read this one!

Teaser Tuesday (166)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers



Grave Mercy (p.57)
   - Robin Lafevers

For one brief moment I fly through the air. The painful landing on my back forces all the breath from my lungs, and I gasp like a caught fish.