Review: Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

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?

MY TAKE:
If I could give this book six stars, I would.

In Dark Triumph, Sybella is a handmaiden of Mortain, sent to the householf of d'Albret to spy and do the bidding of Mortain and to protect the duchess' interests. When she is ordered to free a prisoner from d'Albret's dungeons, she discovers a great many things about the people around her, her God, and herself.

For those who haven't read the first book in the series and want to get an idea about the series and the world of His Fair Assassin, I would describe it as historical fiction meets Percy Jackson meets Tamora Pierce's The Song of the Lioness series.

There are many things I like about this book. One of them is the many plot twists that are written with such a deft hand that it feels like a natural turn of events. There's plenty of action here, and even in the quiet moments of the book, there's always an undercurrent of tension that makes the book interesting.

Another I liked was Sybella. As much as I loved Ismae, who was the narrator and focus of the first book, I think I adore Sybella even more. She's badass and tough, but not so cold-hearted as to be unsympathetic. She has gone through some unbelievable scarring things, but she emerged from everything, as we see in the book, as strong on the inside as she appears to be on the outside.

I absolutely loved the romance between Sybella and Beast. Their love springs up slowly, naturally and believably. Their chemistry practically seeps through the pages. I also liked that though they weren't completely alike, they weren't completely opposites, either. They were, in a word, complementary.

I would like to read more about Sybella, but since Mortal Heart is told from Annith's point-of-view, I can only hope that it is as good as the first and second books in the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Books for Children for the e-copy.

THE GOOD:

1. There's plenty of action here.
2. The romance is intense but not distracting.
3. Unlike with a lot of YA books, I did not, for a single second, want to yell at Sybella for acting like an idiot.

THE BAD:

1. The third book isn't from Sybella's point-of-view.

FAVORITE QUOTE/S:

I no longer feel as if I dance on the edge of madness. 

READ IT IF:

1. You like strong, intelligent heroines.
2. You like intense romance between two well-matched characters.
3. You like action and adventure. 

RATING:


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