Genre: YA Historical Fantasy
His Fair Assassin Series, Book 1
Expected publication date: April 3, 2012
|
Description (taken from Robin Lafevers' website):
Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?
Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.
Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?
This is the perfect book for those looking for a historical time period in a fantasy setting. In other words, it's my kind of book! Ismae trains in a convent that serves Mortain, the God of death. She then takes on assignments which means killing people. This begins to entangle her in Brittany's high court web of lies. Once Duval enters the picture, her world goes a little topsy-turvy as she is thrust into the middle of the high court.
What did I enjoy about this book? I loved the language: the olden-days language. I loved the fantasy aspect and how Ismae used Mortain's gifts. I loved the waltz of death/intrigue that Duval and Ismae played together. I really enjoyed this book! However, I don't really see this as being a young adult book as it dances around a few adult themes. Plus, back then, teenagers were considered adults and not given a chance to grow up. So I guess that's why I disagree with the young adult listing (but that's my opinion).
Even though I had the plot guessed fairly early, I was definitely counting down the minutes before I could open the book and read again. So will I read the next book (when it comes out next year)? Absolutely! In fact, I've already got a few guesses to the plot (because I love guessing). And I would recommend this book to anyone who likes paranormal/fantasy and is looking for a historical read.
A special shout out goes to Mindy from Magical Urban Fantasy for letting me participate in this ARC tour.
Challenges: Young Adult Reading Challenge
No comments:
Post a Comment