Book Blurb:
COURTING DARKNESS (Courting Darkness Duology #1) by Robin LaFevers
Pub. Date: February 5, 2019
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
Pages: 160
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!
Goodreads | Amazon | Audible | B&N | iBooks | TBD
My Review:
4 Out Of 5 Stars
Genre: Heart-Wrenching, Historical, Royal-Court, Supernatural, Suspense, Teen--
What a twisty read this was. Not only was there danger, death and battles, but both the main characters had to be proficient in all things dealing with the evils of court politics, which really seem like they might be more danger than the actual fights. I was not sure the direction the book was taking or how the two characters were going to intersect (I went into the book blind, having read the synopsis forever ago and basically forgot what I read and just dove into the story, which I think is the best way to start a book!) Sybella is my new hero, just saying, that girl can kick ass and make it look so easy.
So confession time, I have never read the Grave Mercy series but I have always wanted to and I have only heard good things about it. That being said, when I saw that there was going to be a new duology by Robin set in the same world but basically independent of the original series, I was thrilled to jump in finally to this world. Well, I read Courting Darkness and I would not call this a standalone series. It felt more like a continuation of an ongoing issue that I had to piece together as I read, like I was in the middle of the story-line without really any backstory, just dropped on my head in the story during the backlash of Death's death. The world was already created and the characters already established, just a new mystery to solve, which I then lost myself in trying to figure it all out as I read.
Hands down my favorite part of the book was the fighting scenes. They were intense and engaging, having me completely immersed in the battles and danger and I felt like I was there watching it. These ladies are impressive, no doubt. I also loved learning about the death gifts that the girls possessed, each an unusual aspect surrounding death and at times a complete surprise. I found it intriguing how Robin made death manifest in so many ways, be it the grace of a compassionate ending for the wounded to the ability to hear when death is coming to a person- and the amazing fighting skills the girls trained for (making it seem so easy as if it too was a gift of bringing death).
Courting Darkness was such an interesting, dark and complicated read that I really enjoyed. And I have a total case of cover love- check out the new covers for the Grave Mercy series, they are all just so gorgeous. Courting Darkness is listed as a YA novel, but I would not really call this YA (yeah, the content ranged from mistresses, pregnancy complications and lots of gory death which you usually do not see a ton of in YA), more just a historical fantasy. Who would have thought nun assassins would be so cool? Reading this reinforced for me the fact that I am even more excited now to get my hands on the Grave Mercy series, which I already ordered and I will attempt to patiently await their arrival in the mail. I give mad props to Robin for creating this world, these characters and this whole concept for me to enjoy! I will try to contain myself will I wait for the next book in Death's journey.
I reviewed a complimentary copy of this title.
Author Bio:
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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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
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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
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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
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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
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Review tour provided by Rockstar Book Tours
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