{Blog Tour} Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers: Review & Giveaway

I am thrilled to pieces to be a stop on the Mortal Heart Blog Tour today! I've loved this series from the very beginning, reading and re-reading each book in anticipation of the next. I just can't get enough of those assassins -- those daughters of Mortain -- and their various exploits!

Mortal Heart just released into the world yesterday and to celebrate, I've got my spoiler-free review for you below, as well as a tour-wide giveaway for a copy of the book plus other awesome goodies!

MORTAL HEART

By Robin LaFevers

In stores now!!! 

Order Mortal Heart: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Here's the blurb:

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...

I went into this final book with some trepidation. I liked what I knew of Annith from the previous books, but I didn't know her yet, and if I'm being honest, I was afraid she was going to be be a little boring. I mean, they call her Saint Annith because she is so consumed with going above and beyond the convent's expectations of her. But I also didn't care much for what little I knew of Sybella's character in Grave Mercy, and her character arc really surprised me in the second installment, so I should have been prepared for a similar experience with Annith.

I wasn't, though. As much as I feared that neither of the other girls could compare to how much I loved Ismae in Grave Mercy, Annith gave Ismae a run for her money. She may be reserved, a vision of the perfect novitiate, but underneath that perfect visage, she is burning for an assignment, a chance to prove herself worthy. Annith is lethal -- touted as the best at everything among the novices at the convent -- and yet she has never been sent on assignment, passed up time and again. She is tired of being the obedient girl, the one who can always be counted to do what is expected of her. Because Annith is much more sneaky and cunning than anyone could have guessed, she finds her way off the island and away from the convent that has been her prison since she was but a babe. I have to admit, I really liked this side of Annith and I wished I'd seen it sooner so I wouldn't have been so reluctant to count her among my favorite assassin nuns. Because even though we've seen the fire that burns within Annith, she is still the same gentle soul she was when we first met her character.

Of the three daughters of Mortain that we've come to know so intimately, Annith is the one who is most balanced, and I think it was even more evident when we saw the three of them in the same confines. Ismae's temper can still be a fiery inferno and Sybella's ferocity knows no bounds, but Annith's inherent  balance of passion and calm make her the most level-headed of the three. Though the three assassins have changed so much in their time apart, it was absolutely lovely to see that their friendship had survived all the trials that they'd been through, that they'd come through their missions thicker than ever. It was nice to see some old friends and faces, and not just in passing. These girls all very much have a part in each other's stories, as do their loves.

The man who steals into Annith's life like a thief in the night carries no less baggage than the other girls' love interests, but his role is much larger than any of the others. Like the assassins, Balthazaar serves the god of death, but in a different capacity. While the daughters of Mortain delight in meting out his justice, Balthazaar seems to harbor a deep sadness for his task. And yet Annith is drawn to him and Balthazaar to her. They don't try to deny their attraction for very long, which is one of the things I love best about the romances in this series: Robin LaFevers creates these romantic leads that know exactly who and what they want and aren't about to give them up. The romances are mature in all the ways that matter and are so artfully written as to make each pairing perfectly suited for each other.

Not only were the couples suited for each other but also for what they have yet to face in the battle for Anne to keep her duchy and avoid war with France. Political intrigue abounds in this final installment, not only as tensions mount with France, but also as secrets about Annith's past and the convent come to light. I love the liberties the author has taken with the history of Brittany and France during the time period but also how much of it she has left intact. With the continued presence of the patron saints and their mythology, this world felt new and unique while also comfortable for its familiarity with the basis in real historical events.

I knew I'd love this book once I finally cracked it open. I just didn't know how much. And I also didn't expect to run the full gamut of emotions while I read it. I'm not often shocked by a story, but Mortal Heart caught me by surprise on more than one occasion. I may have predicted some of the bigger reveals, but it was the smaller obstacles that caught me off-guard. I was expecting big things from this book, and I got more than I bargained for, that's for sure. And now I'm left reeling from the loss of it. I'm afraid to really dive into another book for fear that it won't be able to compare to the beautiful story I just read. Mortal Heart was a brilliant and utterly stunning conclusion to one of my very favorite historical fiction series, and I'm going to miss those assassin nuns something fierce.

GIF it to me straight:

About the author:

Robin LaFevers was raised on a steady diet of fairy tales, Bulfinch’s mythology, and 19th century poetry. It is not surprising she grew up to be a hopeless romantic.

Though she has never trained as an assassin or joined a convent, she did attend Catholic school for three years, which instilled in her a deep fascination with sacred rituals and the concept of the Divine. She has been on a search for answers to life’s mysteries ever since.
While many of those answers still elude her, she was lucky enough to find her one true love, and is living happily ever after with him in the foothills of southern California.

In addition to writing about teen assassin nuns in medieval Brittany, she writes books for middle grade readers, including the Theodosia books and the Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist series. You can learn more about those books at www.rllafevers.com.

Find Robin:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest | Tumblr

(1) One winner will receive a rustic arrow necklace, a leather bound notebook and a hardcover of MORTAL HEART! US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Eeek! That is a fabulous giveaway...especially knowing how each piece plays into this final installment in the His Fair Assassins series!

Be sure to check out the rest of the blog tour for more awesome posts!

Week One:

10/27/2014 - Two Chicks on Books - Guest Post

10/28/2014 - Katie's Book Blog - Review

10/29/2014 - Once Upon a Twilight - Interview

10/30/2014 - Magical Urban Fantasy Reads - Review

10/31/2014 - Reading YA Rocks - Guest Post

Week Two:

11/3/2014 - Mundie Moms - Review

11/4/2014 - Tales of the Ravenous Reader - Interview

11/5/2014 - The Starry-Eyed Revue - Review

11/6/2014 - Step Into Fiction - Interview

11/7/2014 - Parajunkee - Guest Post