Book Review: Dark Triumph

Dark Triumph - Robin LaFevers

Release Date: April 2, 2013

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 385

Buy the Book: Amazon

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?

Synopsis and cover taken from Goodreads.   

My Review:

In Grave Mercy, we met Sybella, Ismae's mysterious and a little unhinged friend and fellow Handmaiden of Death. In Dark Triumph we get to see Sybella's story as she fights with both her inner demons and others she thought she would never have to face again.

The Convenants orders sent Sybella to the place of her nightmares and only the promise of redemption is keeping her there. Living under d"Albert's roof once more, Sybella is dancing with Death as she tries to get close enough to see his mark. It's conspicuous absence the only thing keeping her from delivering the killing blow, until a new order is received. Sybella is to help a prisoner, non other than the mighty Beast of Waroch, escape from the dungeon. 

As a die hard fan of Grave Mercy, I simply could not wait to read this one and for good reason. Dark Triumph not only did Grave Mercy the justice it deserved but took the story and made it more personal, dark and dangerous. While Grave Mercy included these themes it was more about the political intrigue while Dark Triumph went deep into the characters hearts and pasts.

Sybella was a wonderful protagonist she was strong and courageous. I was hooked onto the book trying to find out what it was that shaped her into the person she had become. At the same time I saw the events of the book shape her once more into a new woman. Robin LaFevers is very talented in this way as she is in all the other aspects of her writing. 

Beast was fantastic as always, I'm so glad that we got more of him in this book! I love how for once the male interest isn't handsome and swoon worthy, instead Beast is blatantly ugly and he acknowledges it.  A fact that made him even more endearing to me and Sybella, if I do say so myself. His brave and caring nature was a perfect match for Sybella.

The plot and writing were gripping and interesting. I was sucked into the story instantly and the action sequences only helped keep me even more engrossed. Also, I loved how Ismae continued to be present in the plot as an important side character, if no longer the main character.

Overall, it was a fantastic read. I'm really loving the female assassins and the historical fiction / fantasy books. So if your are into those kind of books make sure to check this series out! Can't wait for the next instalment in this series.