Published:
April 2nd, 3013 by Houghton Mifflin Books
Source:
Library
Format:
Hardcover
Group age:
Young adult
Genre:
Historical fiction / Romance / Paranormal
Challenge(s):
Grade rate: A+
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?
My Review
I’ve always loved historical
romances, in fact, I read it for years before discovering YA. It was with great pleasure that I read Grave Mercy, book one of the series (see
my review here),
which I loved. Dark Triumph was, as the title alludes, darker still, but even
better than the first one.
Dark Triumph starts about a few weeks before the ending of Grave Mercy
and finds poor Sybella in the D’Albret’s household. We don’t know much about Sybella from the previous
book, only that when she arrived to the convent, she was kind of crazy and
tried to kill herself, and that she excelled at her classes and was a close
friend to Ismae and Anith. That’s all we
knew. A lot is explained in this book,
but most of it is disturbingly heartbreaking and so sad. Sybella
is a mess. She’s had a really hard and
horrific life and somehow came out of it with her sanity (almost) in place. I can honestly say that I’m not sure I could
have done the same. She so scared, but
at the same time, she is so brave; she is fiercely loyal to those she cares
about, she’s smart, and an expert assassin.
She tries to do the best for her god, the convent, her friends, and
those she loves, but it’s really hard to do.
What can I say about
Beast? As you can imagine by the name, the man not only is of gigantic
proportions, but he’s as stubborn as a mule and quite ugly. In fact, Sybella takes every opportunity to
tell us just how ugly he is. But she also realizes that he is good to the
core. Beast has a protective instinct that
is a mile long and he cannot avoid wanting to help those weaker than him. Beast also had a painful past and understands
Sybella better because of it. I am extremely happy that they found each
other, that they managed to find a ray of light in all the darkness.
We get to see some of the
characters we came to love in the first book. Ismae and Duval are still with
the Duchess and trying very hard to hold on to the kingdom. The Abbess is also
in this book and I have to say that I don’t like the lady one bit (and no one else
seems to like her either). D’Albret is a
devil; he is one of the worst ‘bad guys’ ever! Seriously, he is so nasty and scary!
The plot is a little less
political, but more dangerous and deadly.
The facts in which the story is based on are true, but some things are
altered to accommodate the story line. The
religious undertones are also a crucial part of the story and Saint Mortain is
never too far, but unlike Ismae, Sybella takes more liberty with her victims
and more pleasure in the act of killing.
Darkest Triumph is fast paced,
full of intrigue, twists and turns; it’s a thrill to read and it kept me on the
edge of my seat. The writing is flawless, deeply descriptive, and at times
lyrical. The characterization is
outstanding, LaFevers manages to create a host of flawed, imperfect characters
that are in different end of the scales, either so endearing to the reader that
he or she overlooks everything else; or so evil that they are very easy to
dislike.
Even if you are not a fan of historical fiction, I urge you to give
this series a chance. It is so
incredibly good, that you will not regret it!
I cannot wait for Mortal Heart,
book three of the series, due to be published next year.
Some quotes for you:
“Hate
cannot be fought with hate. Evil cannot be conquered by darkness. Only love has
the power to conquer them both.”
“And
just as love has two sides, so too does Death. While Ismae will serve as His
mercy, I will not, for that is not how He fashioned me.
Every
death I have witnessed, every horror I have endured, has forged me to be who I
am -- Death's justice.”
“In
the distance a wolf howls. Let it come, I think. Beast will most likely simply
howl back, and the creature will either turn tail and run or fall into line
behind him, like the rest of us have.”
“For
all that I have kissed before, I have never felt anything like this. It is as
if I have swallowed a tiny piece of the sun, its warmth and light reaching into
every corner of my soul and chasing away the shadows.
I
surrender to that kiss - surrender to the strength and the courage and the
sheer goodness of the man.”
About the cover: I liked the cover of Grave Mercy a lot more,
but I understand why this cover is so much darker and mysterious; it matches
Sybella and the story better.
