Series: Death Sworn #1
Pages: 344
Received: Received a copy from the publisher through Edelweiss
Release Date: March 4, 2014
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Goodreads Synopsis:
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.
Series: Death Sworn #2
Pages: 400
Received: Received a copy from the publisher through Edelweiss
Release Date: March 3, 2015
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Goodreads Synopsis:
A young sorceress’s entire life has been shaped to destroy the empire controlling her world. But if everything she knows is a lie, will she even want to fulfill her destiny? The sequel to Death Sworn is just as full of magic and surprising revelations, and will thrill fans of Leigh Bardugo and Robin LaFevers.
At seventeen, Ileni lost her magical power and was exiled to the hidden caves of the assassins. She never thought she would survive long. But she discovered she was always meant to end up, powerless, in the caves as part of an elder sorcerer’s plan to destroy the evil Empire they'd battled so long. Except that Ileni is not an assassin, and she doesn't want to be a weapon. And, after everything, she’s not even sure she knows the truth. Now, at the very heart of the Empire—its academy for sorcerers—the truth is what she seeks. What she finds challenges every belief she holds dear—and it threatens her fledgling romance with the young master of assassins.
Leah Cypess spins an intricate and beautiful conclusion to Ileni's story. In the end, it may not be the epic decisions that bring down an empire, but the small ones that pierce the heart.
My Review:
I was very excited for these books when I heard they about them, magic and assassins together in one, everything about it seemed so intriguing. I expected the books to be very action packed and full of adventure for readers, sadly I was a bit disappointed with what I ended up getting from these books. The covers of these books offers up a dark story with a fantasy feel to it (I kind of thought Lord of the Rings when I saw these covers to be honest lol).
Death Sworn is the first book of this series and introduces us to Ileni who has grown up in the world of magic, but as she has gotten older she has started to lost her magic and she ends up being sent to be a tutor of magic to the assassins. Ileni begins her own mission, now that she is stuck in these caves, to find out what happened to the last two tutors that were there before her. With this I was expecting a lot of action to happen, especially with such a dark idea behind the book, but sadly I was left a bit disappointed, it seemed that the magic and action kind of fell by the wayside (though there was a bigger story that did keep me somewhat interested). I wanted to know what really happened to the tutors, and to find out what the assassins are really after, Ileni soon learns that everything she was taught may not actually be the whole story.
I enjoyed Ileni's insistence on finding the truth and that is what kept me going through this series. Ileni is strong and she is devoted to making a difference, even if it means giving up everything she loves. Ileni learns very quickly that not everything is true and her whole belief system comes crashing down around her.
Death Marked picks up a little while after the events of Death Sworn and this book gives readers a view of the other side. This is what really makes this series so hard for me, this one had a bit more of the magic aspect and yet it wasn't really the main focus. The main focus is the rivalry between the assassins and the Empire, but which side is truly right and which side is the villain? I will say that I liked how this one had a little more action to it and readers are able to learn a little more of how the Empire works. It was great to see both sides of the coin in this series because it really gives Ileni (and readers) a lot to look at and have them make the decision of what is actually right. I also felt that this was still similar to the first book, Ileni is learning a new culture and everything she has been taught is being turned on it's head.
The biggest disappointment for me was actually the ending... I felt like nothing truly got resolved and it left so many questions up in the air. Where do Ileni's loyalties truly lie, and what exactly happened between the assassins and the Empire. This series had a lot of potential I think for me though it really missed the mark, despite some interesting storylines, there was sometimes a bit too much focus on the romance than other things. It just did not end up working for me.
Ehhh yeah, I decided not to continue with this series after reading the first one and also being let down by what should have been a story with lots of potential. I guess on the one hand it's good to hear that the sequel had more action at least, but on the other hand I hate unresolved endings :S
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