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Courting Darkness Courting Darkness duology Robin LaFevers Books

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Courting Darkness Courting Darkness duology Robin LaFevers Books

Courting Darkness is a spin off book from the His Fair Assassin series, it’s been mentioned that you do not need to read the trilogy before starting this, but I’m going to disagree and say that you should read the trilogy first. There are things going on that you may feel lost and confused about.

The book is told in dual POV that goes back and forth between Sybella and Genevieve.

Courting Darkness picks up where Mortal Heart left off and we are following Sybella and Beast. Sybella and her fellow Handmaidens of Death are trying to come to terms with a world that no longer has the presence of Mortain and the mark that guided them, now they need to make choices that they see as being difficult since their training did not prepare them for this.

I was thrilled to see that Sybella and Beast were going to be back, they have an amazing dynamic bond.

We are also introduced to Genevieve, who is an initiate of Mortain. She has been undercover for 5 years in the French court and is starting to feel that the convent has forgotten about her and her mission. I did not care much for Genevieve, she seems to go through the story with blinders on and just wants to do things her way, with no consideration for others and the consequences her choices could lead to.

There is a lot of political intrigue that takes place in the book, which some may find boring and or confusing since there are several houses that are part of the book.

This book is a slow burn since there is no real interaction between Sybella and Genevieve until the end, which seems to be a build up for the second book.

I do plan on picking up the second book in the duology since I love Sybella and I want to see if Genevieve smartens up.


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Courting Darkness Courting Darkness duology Robin LaFevers Books Reviews

Courting Darkness is the first book in a new duology featuring Sybella from the His Fair Assassin Series. It can be read without any prior knowledge of the pervious series as Robin LaFevers brings you up to speed, but I think you miss some of the magic of the Daughters of St Mortain (<i>God of Death</i>) if you didn’t read the original series set in this world. The story is told from two alternating PoVs. Both are daughters of St Mortain training in the convent in all the ways of death. Sybella’s Pov is with the happening close to Anne of Brittainy. Genevieve is the other PoV and she has been a sleeper in the French court for five years with not a word from the convent, just waiting for her time to be activated.

Anne of Brittainy has been through a few possible engagements and one marriage by proxy to Maximillian of Austria trying to keep her dutchy intact. She might still be a young girl but she has played the game of politics for a long time. We pick back up with her as she is traveling to marry Charles VIII, King of France. This puts her in new dangerous territory as she will have far less direct power being married to a King. Anne will have to go head to head with Anne De Beaujeu the current regent of France, who is going to make it difficult for Anne and Charles to get close to each other in her bid to hold onto the power she currently has.

Sybella’s book Dark Triumph was my favorite book of the original His Fair Assassins series. I was so excited to continue on with the Historic Fantasy revolving around Anne of Brittiany. To say expectations were high is an understatement. I loved Sybella in Courting Darkness, she has come a long way from the broken, cynical girl she used to be before falling in love with Beast. To see how she is now the one who can find good in a situation and protect those who are innocent is a fantastic facet of her character to see.

Sybella has also made an enemy of the regent as she tries to minimize the humiliation that Anne goes through before and after marriage to the King of France. Sybella had people to protect from her brother Peirre D’Albret and making an enemy of a powerful woman could put them in even more danger.

Genevieve reminded me a little of the old Sybella in that she is adrift and alone without a friend in the world. She hadn’t even finished her training at the covenant before being placed as a sleeper in the French court and she feels lost hoping and waiting for some word that she is needed. Sybella had a way of making me like her even when she was trying to be a lone wolf, Genevieve’s character didn’t do that for me and so I found myself a little frustrated with her.

Genevieve wants to love and trust so badly but she pushes any away that try to get close to her thinking it will just make her weak. She has a connection with Marrow, a prisoner, in the castle she lives in. As they build a friendship, I had high hopes that it would lead to a deeper connection but every time it gets close, she smashes it. As we got closer to the end of the book there was a scene, I was hoping would never happen, but it did and it really hit me emotionally how much I was really upset that Genevieve carried out that part of her plan. I remind myself she is young and hasn’t been in the fold of the covenant for so long that her intentions were good, but the consequences might be dire.

The prisoner Marrow that she ends up traveling with is completely likeable on the other hand. He often carried their chapters as I really adored the man and his heart. I liked how honorable he was and you could tell that he is a good man to the core. I look forward to seeing him in the next book and wonder if we might even get a PoV from him.

Between the two PoVs we get a really good indications of the strife and challenges happening in France at this time. It is also clear that there are some big changes happening and plots a foot not only against Anne but possibly against the King as well.

I enjoyed this new book set in a world I once loved. I’m very curious to see how things play out now that everything has been set in motion and have high hopes for the conclusion. I’m not sure that I liked it as much as the original trilogy, but that has a lot to do with being frustrated with Genevieve and not liking some stuff near the end of the book. Still overall it was a satisfying tale and a good sign that I was so emotionally invested in the story.

I would still recommend starting with Grave Mercy as that sets up the world in this series so well.

Quotes

“Women like her are worse than the men they serve. They cling hardest to the very rules that cage them, ruthlessly ensuring that all other women are equally trapped.”

“You are not an apricot. You are a blade that has been brutally forged, painfully hammered, and wickedly honed. You are steel, not poison. You are deadly, not depraved. They are very different things, Sybella.”

“I had as many choices as you did. It is just that I have never seen shame in whoring nor understood the need to lie to oneself by dressing it up with silk and jewels.”

Narration

Angela Goethais is back as the voice of Sybella. She does a solid job capturing the complex emotion that Sybella is feeling in her new role and surrounded by enemies. Suzy Jackson also gives a strong performance. I really enjoyed her in Skyward and continue to find her voice fills out the narration well. While Genevieve drove me a little nuts it wasn’t due to Suzy.
As soon as I saw the blog tour announcement for COURTING DARKNESS, I jumped at the chance to take part. I had been wanting and intending to read the His Fair Assassin series since the first book, GRAVE MERCY, released in 2012, but I hadn’t yet done so. I knew this book was in the His Fair Assassin universe, so I figured it was the perfect time to binge read the series…and I’m so glad I finally did! Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and has been for as long as I’ve been reading, and these books were like a balm to my soul, filling a need I didn’t even realize I had within me. It’s been a while since I’ve read good medieval historical fiction, and the HFA series was like coming home after a long time away!

While the original HFA books each featured one initiate of the convent of Saint Mortain, COURTING DARKNESS is told from two perspectives those of Lady Sybella, from DARK TRIUMPH, and a new character, Genevieve. I really enjoy stories told from multiple points of view, and this book was no different. The sections alternating between the two characters are short and always leave you wanting more, compelling you to read “just a little bit further” to find out what happens next. The girls’ stories are independent from one another while at the same time slowly converging, and I felt myself growing more anxious as the pages flew past.

While I love each of the original trio of assassins, Sybella was absolutely my favorite (although I will admit that Balthazaar was my favorite romantic interest!), and I was so happy to hear more from her. I had no idea when I read DARK TRIUMPH just how personal Sybella’s story was to Ms. LaFevers, but I do know that Sybella just felt so special to me. Reading the author’s note at the beginning of COURTING DARKNESS helped me see that she is also special to Ms. LaFevers, and that Sybella had much more of her own story to tell. It’s fun to meet yet another of the convent’s initiates, one who hadn’t been at the convent during the formative years of Ismae, Sybella, and Annith. Genevieve’s training (or lack thereof), and her relationship to Mortain, are so different from our original trio, and it was fascinating to know, as the reader, things about her gifts that she didn’t yet know. And of course, Ms. LaFevers has written yet another delicious romantic lead in Maraud! I still heart Balthazaar, but Maraud is definitely swoon-worthy )

Even though this book is about 500 pages, I flew through it (as I did with the first three) and was absolutely not ready for it to end. I am now lamenting having to wait a year for part two of this duology! I am so glad that Ms. LaFevers went back to the world of His Fair Assassin to bring us more of the convent of Saint Mortain, badass proto-feminist assassins, delectable love interests, and incredible female friendships. I cannot get enough of this series and will, without a doubt, read as many more books in the HFA world as Ms. LaFevers is willing and able to write. I hope she continues beyond the conclusion to this duology – but for now I am content to wait (not so) patiently for the next part of Genevieve and Sybella’s adventures. I wish I could give this 1000 stars, but since I cannot, I hope I have at least conveyed just how highly I recommend COURTING DARKNESS and the entire HFA series. Grab ALL of these!

RATING 5 brilliant stars!

**Disclosure I received an ARC of this book from the publisher for purposes of this blog tour. I also purchased a finished copy. This review is voluntary on my part and reflects my honest rating and review of the book.
Courting Darkness is a spin off book from the His Fair Assassin series, it’s been mentioned that you do not need to read the trilogy before starting this, but I’m going to disagree and say that you should read the trilogy first. There are things going on that you may feel lost and confused about.

The book is told in dual POV that goes back and forth between Sybella and Genevieve.

Courting Darkness picks up where Mortal Heart left off and we are following Sybella and Beast. Sybella and her fellow Handmaidens of Death are trying to come to terms with a world that no longer has the presence of Mortain and the mark that guided them, now they need to make choices that they see as being difficult since their training did not prepare them for this.

I was thrilled to see that Sybella and Beast were going to be back, they have an amazing dynamic bond.

We are also introduced to Genevieve, who is an initiate of Mortain. She has been undercover for 5 years in the French court and is starting to feel that the convent has forgotten about her and her mission. I did not care much for Genevieve, she seems to go through the story with blinders on and just wants to do things her way, with no consideration for others and the consequences her choices could lead to.

There is a lot of political intrigue that takes place in the book, which some may find boring and or confusing since there are several houses that are part of the book.

This book is a slow burn since there is no real interaction between Sybella and Genevieve until the end, which seems to be a build up for the second book.

I do plan on picking up the second book in the duology since I love Sybella and I want to see if Genevieve smartens up.