by Leah Cypess
ebook, 352 pages
Published March 4th 2014
by Greenwillow
ARC from Netgalley
Goodreads | Amazon| B & N | TBD
When Ileni lost her magic, she lost everything: her place in society, her purpose in life, and the man she had expected to spend her life with. So when the Elders sent her to be magic tutor to a secret sect of assassins, she went willingly, even though the last two tutors had died under mysterious circumstances.
But beneath the assassins’ caves, Ileni will discover a new place and a new purpose… and a new and dangerous love. She will struggle to keep her lost magic a secret while teaching it to her deadly students, and to find out what happened to the two tutors who preceded her. But what she discovers will change not only her future, but the future of her people, the assassins… and possibly the entire world.
But beneath the assassins’ caves, Ileni will discover a new place and a new purpose… and a new and dangerous love. She will struggle to keep her lost magic a secret while teaching it to her deadly students, and to find out what happened to the two tutors who preceded her. But what she discovers will change not only her future, but the future of her people, the assassins… and possibly the entire world.
Leah's previous book; Mistwood still lingered in my mind to this day so I was indeed quite happy to be given the chance to receive an ARC for her new YA series. However as a previous fan of her work, Death Sworn just left me wanting more.
Don't get me wrong. Her writing is still exquisite. Truly she has a talent in writing a complex epic fantasy with intricate world building and ingenious witchcraft. And I'm loving the combination of assassins and magicians in this one. Unlike other female YA fantasy writers, I also appreciate that she do not concentrate so much on unnecessary love triangles, instant love or any other teen mushiness that is so rampant in the genre these days. Her characters are there for very specific purpose and they tend to stick to their objectives whole heatedly which I found quite satisfying. And eventhough the cavern of assassins are all male, none of them even bate an eyelash when Ileni arrived. Characters with discipline. Finally!
And Ileni who desperately clings to the last of her magical abilities humbly accepts her fate to teach the assassins. She expects to die in their hands but before she die, she was hoping to solve the murders of the tutors before her. Such grim prospect would definitely drive other YA protagonists to do crazy things. But no, our dear Ileni sticks to her plan. Even Sorin who is assigned to protect her is shocked to discover her grim acceptance to her fate, and is the one who forced her to learn how to protect herself just so she won't be such an easy target. And their relationship builds so-so slowly that you might just blink and miss it when it actually turned into a romance.
I was however very disappointed with the setting. The cavern seemed so claustrophobic and dull. I was expecting for more background about the magical system and the world outside but sadly the tiny bits explained in the beginning is all I got. And the pacing is just so so slow sometimes that it just kills me. Even the so-called explanation in the end did not quite satisfy me. I'm just expecting more from the series and am really hoping that the next book will not disappoint.
Don't get me wrong. Her writing is still exquisite. Truly she has a talent in writing a complex epic fantasy with intricate world building and ingenious witchcraft. And I'm loving the combination of assassins and magicians in this one. Unlike other female YA fantasy writers, I also appreciate that she do not concentrate so much on unnecessary love triangles, instant love or any other teen mushiness that is so rampant in the genre these days. Her characters are there for very specific purpose and they tend to stick to their objectives whole heatedly which I found quite satisfying. And eventhough the cavern of assassins are all male, none of them even bate an eyelash when Ileni arrived. Characters with discipline. Finally!
And Ileni who desperately clings to the last of her magical abilities humbly accepts her fate to teach the assassins. She expects to die in their hands but before she die, she was hoping to solve the murders of the tutors before her. Such grim prospect would definitely drive other YA protagonists to do crazy things. But no, our dear Ileni sticks to her plan. Even Sorin who is assigned to protect her is shocked to discover her grim acceptance to her fate, and is the one who forced her to learn how to protect herself just so she won't be such an easy target. And their relationship builds so-so slowly that you might just blink and miss it when it actually turned into a romance.
I was however very disappointed with the setting. The cavern seemed so claustrophobic and dull. I was expecting for more background about the magical system and the world outside but sadly the tiny bits explained in the beginning is all I got. And the pacing is just so so slow sometimes that it just kills me. Even the so-called explanation in the end did not quite satisfy me. I'm just expecting more from the series and am really hoping that the next book will not disappoint.
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