Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers, 444 pages
Perfect student and Death's number one fan Annith finally gets her due in Book Three of the His Fair Assassins series. Annith, the long-suffering and unbelievably loyal friend of both Ismae and Sybella, has long felt she has been left behind as her friends go out to serve as handmaidens of Death. No longer content to sit around waiting for her life to go the way she wants, Annith takes charge of her fate one night and flees the convent. Disillusioned with her life there, Annith breaks free only to find herself mixed up with a very rough group of hellequins (read: traveling troop of demons hunting for souls trapped on earth who need an escort to the afterlife). Shielded from the very start by the mysterious Balthazaar, Annith manages to hold her own among the demons. As affection begins to grow between Annith and Balthazaar, it is clear there is more to this demon than brooding looks and an affinity for blood hounds. Annith's realization that Balthazaar is really the one that needs rescuing makes for an unconventional romance with a happy ending relying heavily on mysticism.
While Sybella and her story remains my favorite in the series, I found myself more intrigued by Annith's story then I originally thought I might be. I thought I would be bored by her perfection, instead I found myself sympathizing with her quest to please everyone. She has done everything right, and still she is punished. She excels at every element of being an assassin, yet she is never sent out on missions. The reasons for this are all explained in a plot twist I saw coming from Book One, but it is a YA novel, so I really cannot blame it for its predictability. If the series held your interest through books one and two, Book Three is a must-read as it is over-all a satisfying read and ties up a lot of series loose ends.
Perfect student and Death's number one fan Annith finally gets her due in Book Three of the His Fair Assassins series. Annith, the long-suffering and unbelievably loyal friend of both Ismae and Sybella, has long felt she has been left behind as her friends go out to serve as handmaidens of Death. No longer content to sit around waiting for her life to go the way she wants, Annith takes charge of her fate one night and flees the convent. Disillusioned with her life there, Annith breaks free only to find herself mixed up with a very rough group of hellequins (read: traveling troop of demons hunting for souls trapped on earth who need an escort to the afterlife). Shielded from the very start by the mysterious Balthazaar, Annith manages to hold her own among the demons. As affection begins to grow between Annith and Balthazaar, it is clear there is more to this demon than brooding looks and an affinity for blood hounds. Annith's realization that Balthazaar is really the one that needs rescuing makes for an unconventional romance with a happy ending relying heavily on mysticism. While Sybella and her story remains my favorite in the series, I found myself more intrigued by Annith's story then I originally thought I might be. I thought I would be bored by her perfection, instead I found myself sympathizing with her quest to please everyone. She has done everything right, and still she is punished. She excels at every element of being an assassin, yet she is never sent out on missions. The reasons for this are all explained in a plot twist I saw coming from Book One, but it is a YA novel, so I really cannot blame it for its predictability. If the series held your interest through books one and two, Book Three is a must-read as it is over-all a satisfying read and ties up a lot of series loose ends.
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