Saturday Pages: Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers!!!

Hello there!

The weekend has arrived and I'm actually highly awaiting Tuesday next week cause it'll be my first day off since last Tuesday!

But since I work on the 3 to 10 pm shift, I'm still managing to read and keep up on the blog, more or less! To start this week's Saturday Pages I have one of my most awaited final books in a series (a trilogy in this case) and thankfully it was yet another that didn't disappoint it at!!

Also, this one has been in my list for my 2014 Series Challenge, so I'm gonna do a bit better than I expected, since I have done rather poorly with that particular challenge as of late!

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I fell in love with the first book in this trilogy within its few first pages, and that love has only kept on growing with each book and this one was not the exception.

Mortal Heart is the story of Annith, the girl that has been at St Mortain's convent longer than anyone else, the one that helped Ismae and Sybella when they first arrived, and the one that keeps being the one left behind while her sisters are set out on missions to serve Mortain.

Annith always seemed like the perfect student, quiet, hardworking, and ready to help whenever and whatever is asked of her, but when she discovers that she is losing the freedom she always dreamed of and always trained for, she decides there's a rebel in her and leaves the convent.

I was quite surprised about the direction the book took and in a very good way! I loved seeing how the author protrayed the leyend of the Wild Hunt/Santa Compaña/Dance of the Dead and how Annith was such a fighter and so resilient, and even when she was a bit reckless, I couldn't help but continue to cheer her on!

I wasn't sure what I was expecting for Annith in terms of the romance, but for sure it wasn't Balthazaar. But boy, was I shipping this two like mad since the moment he walked into the page! It was slow on developing and exactly how it should be!

As with the previous books, there's the internal struggle and the discovery of who you are, what you want to do really, and there's the political and historical fight going on. The history lover in me continued to jump up and down in happiness with the progression of the story and some of the new things we encountered, how the world of the gods/saints was expanded...

We also get quite a few unexpected twists in this book, one of the I didn't see coming at all and literally jaw dropped when I read it "WAIT, WHAAAAT!?!" and others I wouldn't have imagined before reading the book, but started suspecting as I was reading. Still, very well mastered!

I don't think I can continue to be coherent any more... I simply adored this book and I love this series to bits. It simply seems to have everything I love so very well mixed! 5 and all the stars to Mortal Heart and to the series as a whole! READ IT NOW!!



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Tell Me Tuesdays #18!!

Tell Me Tuesdays is a meme/feature created by the awesome ladies of Please Feed The Bookworm and La La In The Library where we can share how we choose the book we are currently reading from our TBR pile!

I'm always curious about that, cause as much as I tend to make myself a rough schedule for books to read and the like, I'm quite a mood reader and sometimes I just HAVE to ignore my schedule and read something else!

 Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers

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...

 A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

(sneak peek)

From V.E. Schwab, the critically acclaimed author of Vicious, comes a new universe of daring adventure, thrilling power, and parallel Londons, beginning with A Darker Shade of Magic.

Kell is one of the last Travelers—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes—as such, he can choose where he lands.

There’s Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, ruled by a mad King George. Then there’s Red London, where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London, ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne—a place where people fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London...but no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see—a dangerous hobby, and one that has set him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations, who first robs him, then saves him from a dangerous enemy, and then forces him to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive—and that is proving trickier than they hoped.


 Continuing with my current trend, I'm really more than one book at a time, even if this time is a full size book and a sampler, but I'm simply loving both! Mortal Heart I've been dying for since I finished reading Dark Triumph, and I feel that I'll be able to say I adore the whole trilogy. And A Darker Shade of Magic is my first V.E. Schwab and I'm loving the pacing and the world building and I'm sorely tempted to preorder it already!

So what are you all guys reading and how and why did you decide to pick up that book? Shiny new ARC? Comfort read? Scheduled for review? Must have new release? Tell me!! 

Waiting On Wednesday #66!!

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted at Breaking The Spine  that spotlights those can't-wait-to-get-my-hands-on-them books that we are eagerly awaiting!


And this week I have one of those aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah-I-want-this-book-now-already-pretty-please books that I haven't been waiting for as long as other people but still the wait is a killer! Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers!!!

Goodreads 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..."


Why am I eagerly awaiting Mortal Heart? I've always been a great fan of historical fiction and earlier this year I finally decided to read Grave Mercy and Dark Triumph and loved them to bits! So now I just cannot wait to read the final book and Annith's book at that!!

What are you all (im)patiently awaiting this week?

Saturday Pages: Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers!!!

Hey everyone!

This week I'm gonna start Saturday Pages with a sequel for a book that I loved and that I have to thank Alyssa from The Eater of Books for the recommendation of Grave Mercy, cause this sequel is fantastic and I'm now very much impatiently awaiting book 3!

I'm getting a bit of way into my 2014 TBR Pile Reading Challenge, adding this book there, as well as to the 2014 Series Challenge!

Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I loved Grave Mercy and it was a fantastic discovery that I have to thank Alyssa for (thanks girl!) and once I got back to reading the sequel, I think I managed to fall in love with this one even more!

Where Grave Mercy was our introduction to this rich world, one that is historical fiction at its core with a few touches of fantasy and a new mythology added. Dark Triumph continues more or less where Grave Mercy left us, even if the beginning is a different POV for scenes we already experienced in the first book.

Sybella was one of Ismae's convent sisters, and one that started extremely wild and unhappy but that ended up feeling like the convent was her home, the place to feel safe. But once she was deemed to be prepared to undertake missions in St. Mortain's name and will, she is sent back to d'Albret's household, the very same she wanted to run away from.

She has to deal with d'Albret who claims her parentage, and Sybella has no small number of issues with her family and with herself, doubting her faith on Mortain, her own intentions and character and fears if she is tainted by her d'Albret legacy. Despite all that, and despite the mission the abbess of St Mortain has entrusted her, Sybella's main focus is trying to kill d'Albret. But then she gets an assigment to rescue Beast (one of Duval's friends and main ally) from the dungeons, and in the process she ends up having to go with him to Rennes.

The plot in this one is more focused on the personal side, not so much on the bigger political issues going on. Since a big part of the book is about Sybella and Beast's journey to Rennes and how their relationship develops and Sybella starts seeing herself in a slight different way. Then once they reach Rennes, Beast joins the Duchess' council and we rejoin the bigger political picture.

Sybelle is such a complex and flawed character, I have to say that I might love her even more than I did Ismae! She has such a long journey to self acceptance and discover all through the book! But once we see her grow into the woman she's meant to be, it is a fantastic feeling to see this Sybella as a formidable enemy and an even more formidable ally and friend to have on your side!

Beast is quite the unusual love interest, since he isn't one of those stunning and striking heroes, but he simply seemed the right match for Sybelle. Their relationship stems from respect and admiration from each other's talents & character, and acceptance of each other's darkess. I really loved how it developed all through the book, and how unsure both of them were but how much power accepting it gave to them both.

I absolutely love the world building in these books, the fantasy aspects of the mythology are brilliant and the complexity of the historical plot weaved into the story is stunning. Full of details and with a fantastic pacing that never lets your attention waver from the story.

This was a fantastic sequel, with no hint of middle book syndrome whatsoever and very much deserving of 5 stars! Now I cannot wait for book 3!



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Saturday Pages: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers!!!

Hello everyone! I'm starting this week's Saturday Pages with a series that I'm adding to my 2014 Series Challenge because it's ending this year but that it wasn't part of my original list for the challenge. The first two books had been in my TBR list for quite a while, so this one is also part of my 2014 TBR Pile challenge!

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I had heard quite some good things about this book, but after having Alyssa from The Eater of Books tell me how it was her favourite book of 2012 and continue to sing its praises, I decided to take a break from the ARC I was reading and take a peek at it. Big mistake! From the moment I read the tagline in the cover: "Why be a sheep, when you can be the worlf" I was well and truly hooked!

This is a wonderful fantasy with historical fiction touches book, with a world full of details, with its own mythology that reminded me a bit of Celtic mythology. The world building it's just stunning, full of layers of intrigue and politics and alliances and very much complex in the society created, even if based on the 15th century, it still feels wholly original!

One of the things that I truly adored about this book was how in a world so dismissive of women as any medieval society would be, here some women were trained and educated to protect themselves in a world ruled by men. They were trained and protected and given enough power to hold their own in a men's world.

Ismae is a survivor at heart, she survived attempts on her life before even being born and she survived scorn and hate after being born. When she's taken to the convent, she finds somewhere she can belong to and she can be appreciated, so she takes to the life of an assassin like a fish takes to swimming! Serving St Mortain as his Handmaiden requires a lot of training but Ismae seems to truly enjoy most of it, and she makes some great friends with some fellow novices, Sybella and Annith. I really liked Ismae, how she always tried to do what's right, how she ended up having to deal with learning who or what she should trust, her own judgement or the orders of those she owe obedience to.

I was wondering how much romance there would be in this book and sort of dreaded it, but I should have not worried. The romance was ideal, started from mistrust and confrontation, and little by little working together with a common objective, a certain trust is built and then it progresses to attraction and love. I loved how they become allies and comrades too!

The political intrigue was always very much part of the plot but was never boring, and I have to say I had my suspicions about the traitor but very much like Ismae, I wasn't too sure about motive.

I was very happy that the main plot point is resolved in this book and it is a story that can get closed on its own by the end of the book, but still I cannot wait to hopefully see more of both Ismae and Gavriel in the next books, and I very curious to see how the bigger plot of those will tie with the plot in this one!

An extremely satisfying and gripping read, very much deserving of 5 stars!



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