When Sybella arrived at the doorstep of St Mortain half mad with grief and despair, the convent was only too happy to offer her refuge - but at a price. The sisters of this convent serve Death, and with Sybella naturally skilled in both the arts of death and seduction, she could become one of their most dangerous weapons yet.
But her assassin's skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to the life that nearly drove her mad. Her father's rage and brutality is terrifying, and her brother's love is equally monstrous. But when Sybella discovers an unexpected ally she discovers that a daughter of Death may find something other than vengeance to live for . . .
Action, courtly intrigue, supernatural and a beautifully written romance to bewitch fans of Sarah J. Maas and Holly Black.
In a galaxy far, far away. Wait. No. That's not how it goes. In March of 2012, I read Grave Mercy, the first book in this series. (March 2012 may as well be another galaxy, so you understand my confusion.) That's 18 months between books. While I didn't necessarily need to remember everything that went on in the first book (which was good, since I didn't), the lack of my memory frustrated me. Dark Triumph would have been more deeply layered, had I read these closer together.
Which is to say, it IS deeply layered, and I missed it because I couldn't remember what happened in Grave Mercy. Bits and pieces of the world---the handmaidens of Death and the convent's role---were frustratingly unfamiliar and just out of my grasp. Too much recapping would have weighed this already long story down, so it's more my problem than anything.
Despite all that, I was intrigued by Sybella, who has so many secrets and hardships to bear. There are a lot of dark and ugly issues here, many of which are never explicitly stated, but rather left to the reader to fill in the blanks. Sybella isn't a heroine you want to be. Perhaps be on her side or her friend, should she let her guard down long enough.
Even though Dark Triumph is technically YA (Sybella is only 17), the characters and situations feel adult-ish. But it's never graphic; the fight scenes are quick and efficient, and the love story takes a back seat to Sybella's struggles. It was a nice break from all the historical romance I've been reading, and I hereby resolve not to let 18 months pass before I pick up the third book in this series.
