Book Review: The Dark Triumph

Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin #2)

Robin LaFevers

Review of Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin #1)

Publication Date: April 2nd 2013

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

Pages: 385

Genre:  Fantasy, Historical, Adventure, Romance, Young Adult

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...

Sybella's journey in Dark Triumph is a much different one than Ismae's in many ways, yet similar in the way that she also comes to terms for what it means for her to be Death's Handmaiden.

Dark Triumph picks up the story before Grave Mercy ends with the moment of Sybella's warning. We are then pulled into the dark twisted world that is her family, and it becomes very obvious why she was so crazed when she had appeared at the abbey. Sybella's story is much, much darker than Ismae's.

Once again LaFevers storytelling and characters are compelling. We deal less with intrigue and more with family politics this time around. We explore a household held hostage by fear of the patriarch. We see how abuse is internalized and how even good things can become twisted.

The romance does not disappoint as well. I found our two hero enjoyable with how compatible they are. Beast's need to save people is important to impart Sybella with belief in humanity again.

I am more than ready to devour the final book in the trilogy, our final Handmaiden's tale.

The story of her baby killed me. This entire book is a spiral into hell as we uncover more and more of Sybella's secrets. I felt for her as a character. After finishing her story, Ismae's tale felt so fluffy and happy just because Sybella's is so twisted and dark.

I am also quite fond of the character Tephanie, who showed a great amount of courage in her budding need to help keep Sybella safe. I hope that she will continue to follow Sybella around and be another friend to her.

If you enjoyed Grave Mercy, don't hesistate to pick up this next book. It is a slightly different sort of book from the first one, but it is written just as well.

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