Review: Mortal Heart (His Fair Assassin #3) by Robin LaFevers

Mortal Heart (His Fair Assassin #3)

by Robin LaFevers

November 4, 2014

444 pages

Goodreads  Indigo

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...

Review

I plowed through the first three quarters of this book when I first got my hands on it back in November. I didn't want it to end so I told myself to slow down. Then when I got down to the last ten pages, I stopped. I just wasn't ready to say goodbye. Now I've finally finished it. I LOVED IT ALL.

Annith has been training all her life (literally since she was a baby) to serve Mortain. She patiently awaits her turn to do so. However, without explanation, the abbess informs her that she will become the next Seeress. This hits Annith hard since she never wished to stay at the convent in the first place, let alone for the rest of her life. The abbess refuses to answer her and denies all of her accusations. So feeling angry and betrayed, Annith leaves for the outside world in search of the truth. Her anger and curiosity was more than justified. I loved seeing how the secrets fueled her eagerness to learn the truth. She also had quite the adventure after she left the convent! First encountering and riding with the hellequins then with the Arduinnites. We get dropped small hints here and there and it was beyond satisfying to see them all come together.

Every scene involving Balthazaar and Annith were my favourite! He was broody and mysterious but Annith was fierce and held her own against him. I suspected the truth about him. Even after I was proven right, it didn't bother me very much. But I can understand the reservation some people have. From a purely romantic relationship point-of-view, it was absolute perfection! From another perspective it was sort of....disturbing. The more Annith revealed about how much Mortain played a role in her childhood and growing up, the uneasier I felt about their relationship. It sure took a big twisty turn. Ignoring that, I was so touched when Balthazaar chose to give up his godhood to fight alongside Annith, even saying he'd die for her. Major swoons. I ship these two very hard ;)

I love how the story ran parallel to Grave Mercy and Dark Triumph. Annith reunites with her sisters, Ismae and Sybella. They all try to aid the duchess to the best of their abilities. In the end, it was Annith who comes up with an outrageous but brilliant plan. It was the most ideal way to create peace. I guessed a few twists beforehand but it didn't take away from the overall plot. If anything, it made every discovery, every realization juicer. From the richly-framed myths to the politically-tied world, every part was flawless.
 

Even though I am very sad to see this trilogy end, I am comforted that it ended on a beautiful note. Any future works of Robin LaFevers, count me in!!