"Dark Triumph" by Robin LaFevers

Release Date: April 2, 2013
Publisher: Houghton
Pages: 385

From Goodreads: "Sybella arrives at the convent’s doorstep half mad with grief and despair. Those that serve Death are only too happy to offer her refuge—but at a price. Naturally skilled in both the arts of death and seduction, the convent views Sybella as one of their most dangerous weapons.

But those assassin’s skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to a life that nearly drove her mad. Her father’s rage and brutality are terrifying, and her brother’s love is equally monstrous. And while Sybella is a weapon of justice wrought by the god of Death himself, He must give her a reason to live. When she discovers an unexpected ally imprisoned in the dungeons, will a daughter of Death find something other than vengeance to live for?

This heart-pounding sequel to Grave Mercy serves betrayal, treachery, and danger in equal measure, bringing readers back to fifteenth century Brittany and will keep them on the edge of their seats."

This book... This book is one of those books that sneaks up on you. Admittedly I hadn't expected too, too much of it- only being a fan of "Grave Mercy" (rather than an uber fan), but after having finished it, all I can do is kick myself for having second guessed it. This book was one of the most satisfying that I can recall reading in an extremely long time and, after having done so, all I want to do was reread it (something which I only allow for my most favourite books).

The biggest strength of this book? Beast and Sybella. Have a favourite literary couple? After reading this book I can guarantee that you will be hard-pressed to not want to kick them to the curb, replacing them with these two. Why I think that Beast and Sybella work so well together is that they compliment one another to a tee- Sybella is extremely broken, bitchy, and bad-ass and Beast is light, loveable, and lonely. While they are both strong characters individually, together they could literally take over the world. Furthermore, the build-up to their relationship is second to none, it had the perfect pacing- never feeling too insta-lovey or too long-drawn.

All in all, I know that I will never tire of rereading this book. I thought that there was a perfect balance of politics and romance (whereas I had found that the political aspect of "Grave Mercy" had far, far overshadowed the romance). I think that with each book in this series Robin truly grows as an author- therefore I, obviously, cannot wait to see what she has in store for us in the third (and final) book in this series, "Mortal Heart"!

Rating: 5/5

I received this book from the publisher to read and honestly review. I was not compensated in any way for said review.