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...
Goodreads Rating: 4.19 with over 15,000 ratings
Genre Listing: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Romance, Paranormal, Adventure
Get the Book: Amazon (Paperback), Book Depository
My other reviews of Robin LaFevers' books: Grave Mercy
Review:
Edited 12/1/2016
Dark Triumph starts where Grave Mercy left off, but instead of following Ismae around, we follow her dark and troubled friend Sybella. Let this be a warning, Sybella's story is not for the faint of heart. Her story is dark, twisted, and mortifying. Sybella has some demons.
I felt that this book had so many plot twists and turns that it made me dizzy- in a good way. I was continually shocked by a new turn of event. Then I was disgusted with what Sybella had to go through. I think what's most impressive is that despite what she went through, she still finds a reason to live. If you thought that Ismae's story was dark, you haven't seen anything yet.
With Sybella's story, you get to see a lot more of Beast (sorry, I guess that's a spoiler.) On the one hand I find them sweet. I enjoy that they are polar opposites, but also very similar. They have a unique bond to them. The one thing that I didn't like that to "save" Sybella, Beast had to hit Sybella so she'd pass out.
I keep wanting to say things, but then I keep going back to how disgusted I am by the things Sybella had to go through. I gasped a lot, and at one point, I clapped my hand over my mouth in shock. Something I liked was that we still got to catch up with Ismae and Duval for a bit.
I'm just going to say this flat out; the Abbess is a bitch (Sorry for my swearing). I was rooting for her to get punched in the face, but alas she does not. I didn't like her in the first book, and now it's just gone to hating her. I feel like the third book is going to put her near Dolores Umbridge level from Harry Potter. Okay, maybe it's no big deal. I still want her punched in the face.
I think one of the most interesting parts for me in this series is we get to encounter a lot more of the other convents. While it's still primarily focused on serving Mortain, it was nice to get a glimpse of the other Saints. I hope that continues in the third book.
Overall, I liked it. I'm not obsessive about it like I am Grave Mercy, but it was still a good read. I'll read the third book at some point and time.
Dark Triumph starts where Grave Mercy left off, but instead of following Ismae around, we follow her dark and troubled friend Sybella. Let this be a warning, Sybella's story is not for the faint of heart. Her story is dark, twisted, and mortifying. Sybella has some demons.
I felt that this book had so many plot twists and turns that it made me dizzy- in a good way. I was continually shocked by a new turn of event. Then I was disgusted with what Sybella had to go through. I think what's most impressive is that despite what she went through, she still finds a reason to live. If you thought that Ismae's story was dark, you haven't seen anything yet.
With Sybella's story, you get to see a lot more of Beast (sorry, I guess that's a spoiler.) On the one hand I find them sweet. I enjoy that they are polar opposites, but also very similar. They have a unique bond to them. The one thing that I didn't like that to "save" Sybella, Beast had to hit Sybella so she'd pass out.
I keep wanting to say things, but then I keep going back to how disgusted I am by the things Sybella had to go through. I gasped a lot, and at one point, I clapped my hand over my mouth in shock. Something I liked was that we still got to catch up with Ismae and Duval for a bit.
I'm just going to say this flat out; the Abbess is a bitch (Sorry for my swearing). I was rooting for her to get punched in the face, but alas she does not. I didn't like her in the first book, and now it's just gone to hating her. I feel like the third book is going to put her near Dolores Umbridge level from Harry Potter. Okay, maybe it's no big deal. I still want her punched in the face.
I think one of the most interesting parts for me in this series is we get to encounter a lot more of the other convents. While it's still primarily focused on serving Mortain, it was nice to get a glimpse of the other Saints. I hope that continues in the third book.
Overall, I liked it. I'm not obsessive about it like I am Grave Mercy, but it was still a good read. I'll read the third book at some point and time.
I finished Grave Mercy a couple days ago, and I can't wait to start this one! I've heard that this one is much darker than the first. Great review! Old follower!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment! It's definitely a lot darker. I can't really even explain how much darker it is. It really makes me wonder how Mortal Heart is going to be.
DeleteThis was definitely the darkest of the trilogy, and my favorite. I didn't like Mortal Heart as much, probably because I read it immediately after Dark Triumph.
ReplyDeleteGood review!
Thank you for the comment! I haven't heard anything about Mortal Heart that makes me instantly want to read it. I probably will eventually, but it's not something I feel like I need to read right away. I get the impression it's going to be a lot lighter of a story, and I think the darkness is what really pulled me into the first two.
Delete