Dark Triumph by R.L. LaFevers

Title: Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin #2)

Author: Robin LaFevers

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Books

Pages: 385

Genre: Historical Fiction

"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. Naturally skilled in both the arts of death and seduction, the convent views Sybella 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. Her father’s rage and brutality are terrifying, and her brother’s love is equally monstrous. 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?

 

This heart-pounding sequel to Grave Mercy serves betrayal, treachery, and danger in equal measure, bringing readers back to fifteenth century Brittany and will keep them on the edge of their seats."- Goodreads Book Description

 

 

This book is pure bliss. With a cherry on top. I didn't think it possible but LaFevers has outdone herself.I knew from chapter one that I was going to love this book and I did a wiggly happy-dance in my seat while reading it.I have to say that this is my favorite book so far in 2013. It was that good.

 

Like I said, I was enraptured from the start and for a reason. Sybella has a dark past, a past so dark that Ismae might as well have grown up with Barney. And her past has come back to haunt her. After suffering through a childhood of abuse, her escape to the convent proves temporary when she heads back to her twisted abusers on an assignment. But she's not a scared little girl anymore. She's an assassin. And this time she's playing the game her way. The entire book enthralled me. There wasn't a bored moment even once in 385 pages which explains how I started and finished Dark Triumph in less than a day.

 

Years of torture left mental scars on Sybella, ones she was constantly attempting to cover and pretend they din't exist. Sybella was a dark character. She loved her job as an assassin because she excelled at it and it gave her control, after a childhood of being controlled. I bonded with Sybella from the start, mostly because I understood her pain. I recognize that being on the receiving end of terror leads to horrific results. If it hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to relate to Sybella in the slightest. Sybella is frequently on the verge of insanity and even near suicidal at timesbut that's what made me love her to such a great extent. I just wanted to give her a big hug because despite everything she suffered through, she kept standing.

 

Sybella's relationship with Beast fit into the story perfectly. It wasn't a main part of the story but it wasn't a small part either. With everything that was happening, their love for each other wasn't instant, it actually developed over time. Beast was charecterized as ugly because of his physical scars but Sybella had no qualms in loving him for who he was and neither did I. He was a really easy person to like. He was that person that always puts others first and helps others. He was also funny, witty, and, most importanly, accepted Sybella for who she was. In fact, he supported Sybella's career despite it's danger. He was truly a good person and his relatonship with Sybella certainly gave Ismae's and Duval's a run for their money.

 

The writing literally blew me away. You know those moments during books where you just want to squeel in excitement because a sentence or a paragraph was that stunning? This book had moments like that several times every chapter. The writing described moments, feelings, and thoughts in such a way that it was almost like a sirens call. I couldn't tear myself away from this book and fortunately I didn't want to.

 

This book is unique and managed to break through the unspoken ya checklist and ignore the entirety of it. And it worked for Dark Triumph. Hopefully future authors will take notice of this and write some terrific books for me to read. One complaint I do have is that the ending felt a tiny bit rushed but thankfully there's a sequel that I cannot wait to get my hands on. Robin is easily one of my favorite authors and I would recommend this trilogy to almost anyone. Just take notice that this book deals with some serious issues but if you don't mind that then this is the book for you.