Review: Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Release Date: April 2nd, 2013
Series: His Fair Assassin, #2
Pages: 385
Format: eBook
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Genre(s): Historical Fantasy
Synopsis from Goodreads:

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…

Special thanks to Houghton Mifflin Books for Children and NetGalley for providing me with a copy for review!

Oh. My. Goodness. Everything that I loved about the first book, Grave Mercy, was elevated and taken to a whole other level in Dark Triumph. The title is ever so fitting in that this book was definitely dark. But it was also perfectly emotionally and even more personal than the first book.

At first I wasn’t sure whether I was going to love Sybella as much as I did Isame, and in the beginning I didn’t. She was a character that really grew on me throughout the book, and her story is one of such sadness (and I have a feeling I’ll be using the word quite a lot in this review) and darkness that you can’t help but feel for her character and root for her! The way in which Robin LaFevers weaves Sybella’s history into the current one was perfect. It made many of the revelations and events that happened to be even more exciting and surprising! There was of course lots of action, and Sybella didn’t disappoint as another amazingly strong female heroine and assassin.

The relationship between Sybella and Beast was adorable, but extremely well-written and fitting for everything that was going on. The development between the two characters was strong and the events and history that tied them together made them a perfect match in my eyes!

The ending had the perfect amount of closure for me, but there were also hints at where book three may take us with it’s new heroine, Annith.

All in all, Dark Triumph did not let me down, even with my extremely high expectations. Robin LaFever’s is a master at writing historical fantasy that will entertain and enthrall you up to the very last page!