Courting Darkness
Series: Courting Darkness Duology, #1
Author: Robin LaFevers
Pub. Date: February 5, 2019
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
Pages: 160
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Audible, B&N, iBooks, TBD
Synopsis:
Death wasn’t the end, it was only the beginning…
Sybella has always been the darkest of Death’s daughters, trained at the convent of Saint Mortain to serve as his justice. But she has a new mission now. In a desperate bid to keep her two youngest sisters safe from the family that nearly destroyed them all, she agrees to accompany the duchess to France, where they quickly find themselves surrounded by enemies. Their one ray of hope is Sybella’s fellow novitiates, disguised and hidden deep in the French court years ago by the convent—provided Sybella can find them.
Genevieve has been undercover for so many years, she struggles to remember who she is or what she’s supposed to be fighting for. Her only solace is a hidden prisoner who appears all but forgotten by his guards. When tragedy strikes, she has no choice but to take matters into her own hands—even if it means ignoring the long awaited orders from the convent.
As Sybella and Gen’s paths draw ever closer, the fate of everything they hold sacred rests on a knife’s edge. Will they find each other in time, or will their worlds collide, destroying everything they care about?
See where it all began! Grab the His Fair Assassin Trilogy now! You don’t need to read these to read Courting Darkness but they’re amazing!
Grave Mercy- Amazon, Audible, B&N, iBooks, TBD
Dark Triumph- Amazon, Audible, B&N, iBooks, TBD
Mortal Heart- Amazon, Audible, B&N, iBooks, TBD
I need to start off by saying that I hadn’t read the His Fair Assassin trilogy prior to picking up Courting Darkness. I just really loved the way that this book sounded, I loved the cover, and I really wanted to read it. It sounded like my cup of tea, and I knew I was going to enjoy it (and now that I’ve read it, let’s just say that I’ll be going back and picking up the books in the His Fair Assassin trilogy, too), and wow, was I right to assume that! This book is amazing!
First off, I love the cover! It’s gorgeous – I love the way the black complements the gold and silver of the sword on the cover. I have always been a fan of these three colors together so I was so excited to see them here. This book is just so pretty, guys!
Next, the whole plot of this book sounds like something out of a dream. It just sounds so good! A fantasy about Death’s daughters? Yes, please. This original novel is unlike anything else that I have ever read, and I flew right through it because it just had so much to offer. Like I said, I thought that I was really going to like this, but I was surprised by just how much I did. I love plots that are incredibly original, and this definitely fits the bill.
The author’s writing is also so beautiful. It’s almost lyrical and it really draws you into the story. There were a few times that I had to put the book down just to remind myself that I was actually reading, and I had a hard time putting it down and getting back to reality. That’s such a sign of an amazing read! The world building in this book was so off the charts that I honestly couldn’t focus on real life once I had been reading for a while – I just wanted to get back into reading.
The characters in Courting Darkness were also really well written. Their personalities were so well done and it ended up really feeling like I knew them personally. I cared about both the main characters equally and I was waiting to see how their stories would play out.
If you have read the His Fair Assassin series and enjoyed it, this is definitely a book that would be perfect for you. If you haven’t read the series yet (like me), you will still fall head over heels in love with this book, so no worries there. I can’t wait for the second book in the duology!
Note: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
Robin LaFevers was raised on a steady diet of fairy tales, Bulfinch’s mythology, and 19th century poetry. It is not surprising she grew up to be a hopeless romantic.
Though she has never trained as an assassin or joined a convent, she did attend Catholic school for three years, which instilled in her a deep fascination with sacred rituals and the concept of the Divine. She has been on a search for answers to life’s mysteries ever since.
While many of those answers still elude her, she was lucky enough to find her one true love, and is living happily ever after with him in the foothills of southern California.
In addition to writing about teen assassin nuns in medieval Brittany, she writes books for middle grade readers, including the Theodosia books and the Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist series. You can learn more about those books at www.rllafevers.com.
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20 winners will receive His Fair Assassin character card sets, US Only.
Week One:
1/21/2018- The Pages In-Between– Review
1/22/2018- Fiction Fare– Review
1/23/2018- YA Books Central– Excerpt
1/24/2018- Two Chicks on Books– Excerpt
1/25/2018- Tales of the Ravenous Reader– Review
Week Two:
1/28/2019- Colorimetry– Review
1/29/2019- Here’s to Happy Endings– Review
1/30/2019- A Gingerly Review– Review
1/31/2019- Moonlight Rendezvous– Review
2/1/2019- Novel Novice– Excerpt
Week Three:
2/4/2019- Lisa Loves Literature– Review
2/5/2019- Flyleaf Chronicles– Review
2/6/2019- Smada’s Book Smack– Review
2/7/2019- A Backwards Story– Review
2/8/2019- Jena Brown Writes– Review
Week Four:
2/11/2019- Nerdophiles– Review
2/12/2019- Book-Keeping– Review
2/13/2019- Eli to the nth– Review
2/14/2019- Do You Dog-ear?– Review
2/15/2019- Book Briefs– Review
I really loved the His Fair Assassin trilogy – definitely want to read this one!
I just read His fair assassins, and can’t wait to read this!