Review 298. Robin LaFevers – Mortal heart.

Title: Mortal Heart.
Author: Robin LaFevers.
Pages: 480.
Published: November 4th 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Sort: His fair assassin #1.
Review 1. Grave Mercy.
Review 2. Dark Triumph.
Source: My blogging friend Christina reads YA let me borrow her copy. THANK YOU! <3

Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own. She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn't mean she has. But across Brittany, the tides of war are drawing ever nearer, with France pressuring the beleaguered duchess from all sides. Annith’s search for answers threatens to rip open an intricate web of lies and deceit that sit at the heart of the convent she serves. Yet to expose them threatens the very fabric of her existence and risks an unforeseen chance at love, one that she can no longer deny. Annith must carefully pick a path and, gods willing, effect a miracle that will see her country—and her heart—to safety.

Rating:

I am speechless. The best feeling in the world: when one of your most anticipated books of the year exceeds your expectations. Robin did it again and this series holds it's rightful place on my favorite list of all time. I must admit that I wasn’t blown away in the beginning, but that changed soon. While Sybella will always be my favorite, I really liked Annith. So now I'm extremely happy and sad, because it was amazing and I don't want it to be over!

This review is spoiler free for the entire series and book, but if you still want to be careful I will give you one sentence to describe it: This series is the perfect blend of sweet romance, kick-ass yet flawed females, action and history. I know I can’t do this book justice with my words, but I will try.

My reaction when I started:

Annith is an unique nun assassins, because she grew up in the covenant. She has trained all her life and she excels in every training. She is frustrated that everyone is send away on a mission, while she is stuck with guiding new girls. When Annith finds out that the Reverend Mother is planning to make her the new seer, she is tired of being obedient. She leaves the covenant to travel to the abbess in Guérande, but on her road she comes into the presence of Balthazaar and his group of hellequins.

I wasn’t a big fan of Annith in the beginning. I could understand her jealousy, but I was getting tired of her whining. She already showed intelligence, but it was a bit overpowered by her frustrations. It was amazing to see her develop through the story and how she hunts for answers. It's good that she breaks free from her blind faith in the covenant. She turned out to be a wonderful character with her own flaws and strengths. I especially admire the way she dealt with the life-changing information she gets when the abbess finally confesses what is going on.

Her reunion with Sybella and Ismae was wonderful. I love how Robin connected all the stories and that we can see our previous assassins again. These three form a great cast and I can’t get over how perfect this conclusion is to everyone’s story. We finally get all the answers to the Duchess problems and this political/historical aspect has always been something I enjoyed in this series. I’m happy to announce that Robin created a satisfying solution.

The romance is, yet again, a very good part of the book. Robin has a gift for writing balanced stories. It never takes over the plot, but it’s essential for the story and important for Annith’s development. Their mutual feelings are based on respect and friendship. It has enough time to make it feel realistic and it brought a smile to my face. I was surprised by Balthazaar and while it might be a bit cliched, I was very pleased with their happily-ever-after. They aren't my favorite couple in the series, but you can't stop shipping them.

My advice: put everything down, run to the store and grab yourself a copy from Grave Mercy + Dark triumph and devour them before this pretty conclusion is published. You NEED to read this series. You want it in your life, trust me. You can thank me later.