Mortal Heart - Review

Mortal Heart (His Fair Assassin #3)

By: Robin LaFevers

Published: November 4, 2014 by HMH Books for Young Readers

 464 pages

Source: Personal Kindle Library

(Goodreads / Amazon)

Summary:

Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own.

She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn't mean she has.

MY REVIEW:
If you've read my reviews for books one and two, then you'll know I've wondered often what was going on with Annith. She, along with Ismae and Sybella, are the closest of friends from the convent and Annith is the only one of the three who has yet to be sent out on an assignment. In book one she writes letters back and forth to Ismae. But eventually there aren't any more letters coming in from Annith. The reader is left with a big hole wondering what is going on back at the convent and why Annith isn't responding to Ismae's letters. Well, this story explains the why of that.

The beginning of this story overlaps some of the time frame in books one and two. So as to not give anything away for those who have yet to read this fabulous historical fantasy story, I won't talk about the specifics of that time frame here. I will say that during the time frame of the French invading Breton, at the convent Annith begins to question strongly why she still hasn't been sent out on assignment to serve Mortain (who is one of the Nine gods) when she is the best fighter, not to mention the oldest, among the novitiates at the convent. When 15 year old Matelaine gets sent out ahead of her, she out right questions the Abbess's decision and this confrontation sets Annith on a path of self discovery. She cannot accept the Abbess's declaration that Annith is to be the next Seeress at the convent. Not to mention she has no gift for that position. She wants to serve and dedicate her life to the service of Mortain but she doesn't want to spend the rest of her life alone and kept away in some dark room, which is essentially the life of a Seeress.

Goosebumps! That's a good word for what I felt a great deal of the time on Annith's journey. And man, something happens that I never saw coming. Aren't those the best kind of stories though?

I didn't much care for the resolution coming at 95% through the book. That didn't leave much time to end the story without rushing and I really don't like my endings rushed.

A satisfying end to a enjoyable fantasy story! If you haven't read this series yet, you are missing out! This is historical fantasy so the time frame is of castles and kings and knights and princesses and wars. It's fantasy so there is magic and supernatural beings. This series is about powerful, independent women and it's about love, devotion and loyalty.

Check out my reviews of the other books in this series:

Grave Mercy (4 stars)
Dark Triumph (4.5 stars)

Favorite Quotes:
"And remember" - he flashes a grin that could only be described as morose - "I am a hellequin. I am hunting for redemption as much as for prey."

And what I want - in this moment - is to feel. I want to feel something new and forbidden. I want to feel powerful in some way - as I do when Balthazaar looks at me with heat in his eyes.

I am more drawn to him than ever, drawn to this meeting of not just our bodies and hearts, but our souls. It is an intimacy that I have hungered for my entire life yet have never been able to name.

In that moment, I realize that if I was not already besotted with him, I would fall in love all over again.

Final Rating - 4 stars