Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers Series: His Fair Assassin #3
Published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children on 4 November 2014
Genres: Fantasy, Historical, Young Adult
Pages: 464
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Purchase
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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...
Mortal Heart rounded up His Fair Assassin series beautifully! With much more mythology, and the big mystery of why Annith was being left behind, I was up half the night because I couldn’t sleep until I had finished reading.
My Mortal Heart review:
The setting was awesome, the character development of Annith was really good, and I loved learning more about the mythology of Mortain and the other nine my favorite assassin nuns and others worshipped. Annith finally showed her backbone, and she acted according to her own beliefs rather than blindly following the abbess. And let me tell you, the abbess really pissed me off in Mortal Heart – not that I actually liked her in Dark Triumph or even Grave Mercy, but here she really showed the lengths to which she was willing to go to further her own will, and make sure she and Annith would stay safe in the process.
As Annith listened at doors, prepared her saddlebag and got ready for leaving the convent and the island behind, my heart was speeding because I was so afraid something would happen so she wouldn’t make it. I loved seeing how strong Annith truly was, and learning much more about Mortain during her journey made it all the better. Finding her own way, and also discovering people she could seek help from showed that she was also very smart – nobody can do it all alone. On the road, she not only got to participate with the hellequin’s hunt, and she stayed with them for several days, until she discovered something in their leader’s, Balthazaar, saddlebag. Cunning and courageous, she managed to leave them behind, and she had a dream vision that led her to warrior women the next day.
On the road to confront the abbess, Mortal Heart also showed the road to Annith’s self-discovery. And it sure wasn’t all pretty, even things she was sure she knew about herself ended up being different form what she believed. Between doubting her faith, her strength, her friendships and even her future and then also being strong, always moving forward, and thinking about others first made Annith an extraordinary character to follow. When she finally arrived at her destination, she met up with Ismae and being with her dear friend helped her find the courage she needed for her meeting with the abbess. It took several confrontations and quite a bit of verbal abuse before she was finally able to come to the bottom of the dark secrets hidden by the one person who was supposed to be Mortain’s most fervent follower, though.
Several plot-lines were followed in Mortal Heart, but the main story was all about Annith and her faith. All the important characters from the first two books were present, and I loved seeing Sybella, Ismae and Annith together again. The young Duchess continued to impress me both with her wisdom and her strength, and the strong side-characters helped move the story forward as well. The romantic side of Annith came out as well, and I loved how she used all of her own experiences to look into her own heart in order to find the answers she needed concerning that.
While I am sad this series has come to an end, I’m completely satisfied with the way things were tied up.
Some of my favorite Mortal Heart quotes:
It is a habit I developed when young, collecting secrets like a miser collects coins.
No, I do not need to wonder. I know – she would never have considered such a thing. It would be like fashioning a weapon and using it to stir a pot.
In the real world, assailants will not hold back or soften their blows, so how will my doing so teach the others anything except how to be weak and die young?
It is not the first lie I have ever told her, but it is the first one that I do not feel any guilt or remorse for having told.
About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.
Rich world-building, detailed mythology, and kickass characters—you can’t really ask for more than that! Ooh, except for maybe an amazing story, and it sounds like this book had that in spades too. What a way to go out!
Yes, this series has it all – apart from shifters 😉 So well done, and it’s one where I’m on the lookout for the audio version – that’s my way to re-read.
Happy Monday, Carmel.
I have heard about this one but haven’t really pinged radar until your review and description of Annith along with good setting and action
It’s so well done, Brandi! The whole series was amazing, and while I’m sad it’s over, it all worked out well.
Happy Monday.
I still haven’t started this series but now that all the books are out i’m debating on just binge reading all three books back to back one of these days. I’ve heard so many good things about this series and I love that the characters in this one are fully developed and that the world building is done well. Lovely review Lexxie 🙂
I binge-read the first two a few weeks before the last was released, and it was a treat! I hope you’ll enjoy it as well, Lily. Happy Monday.
I’ve been so interested in this series. I think it’s one that I would love. I’m so glad that it ended on a high note with you. It says a lot to me when you just can’t put the book down for wanting to read it all at once. I hope you are doing well! No snow here, just getting ready for Thanksgiving and family coming in.
I think you’d really enjoy His Fair Assassin series, Jaclyn. The mythology is really well done, and the mix of fiction and actual historical fact makes it very interesting, too.
The characters are so well done, they made me feel as if they were real people.
Happy Thanksgiving, Jaclyn! I hope you’ll have some great times with your family 🙂
Twitter: talksupeblog
Im in this plan where I’m starting to read book 1s of series that I want to try. This is on the shortlist, I’m excited!!
I hope you’ll enjoy it, Braine! It’s a good idea to start with the 1st book of a series you’re interested in. I think you may feel the need to get book 2 and 3 in this one as soon as you finish with the first, one, though 🙂
I like stories where the main character changes, they seem to have more real characters. I haven’t started this series yet, but you sure make it sound good. World building and Mythology are some of my favorite parts of a fantasy novel.
Me, too, Molly. I love character driven stories, but world building and mythology needs to feel ‘right’ as well.
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Glad to hear you enjoyed this book! I own the first book in this series, but haven’t read it yet. The covers of these books are so pretty and it sounds like the contents are just as good :). And I am glad to hear the ending was done well!
The contents are actually even better than the covers. Lola. I loved all the books, the characters, the story, everything was so well done.
Wonderful review, Lexxie! Now I’m even more glad that I picked up the first two when they were on sale.
YAY! I read the first two back-to-back, and I was so happy the third came out shortly after that. I could hardly wait!
One of the things that keeps grabbing my attention in this series is the strong heroines (love them of course) and the mix of the historical and myth that seems to run in them. Glad this ended up being a great conclusion. On my wishlist for sure. Great review,
Lexxie 🙂
I totally agree, Kim. The strong heroines are really great to read about, and the mix of fiction and historical facts is really well done. I hope you’ll enjoy it, too, when you get to it.
Oh, Lexxie, this sounds like it was an amazing end. I like the sound of the mythology used and the strength of all the female heroines. You know i like character growth and the obstacles faced by these young women, and the inner strength they exhibit makes it easy to see why you loved them all so much. *sigh* I will read this on 2015! Lovely review! I hope your week is off to a great start. We made it to Texas. 🙂 *big hugs*
I will be waiting to see you enjoy this series, Brandee. It’s right up your alley, the writing is really good, the characters are so fleshed out they’re almost real, and the whole set-up is awesome!
I’m glad you made it safely to Texas, my dear. Enjoy your Thanksgiving with family *BIG HUGS*
Twitter: BerlsS
I’m glad you’re continuing to enjoy these Lexxie! I actually broke down and requested the first one from NetGalley and since I was approved I’ll be reading it real soon. I just like the sounds of the female characters and the growth your seeing, that makes me feel like I did the right thing grabbing the first one!
I hope you’ll enjoy it, Berls! It’s so well done. I got the first two through Netgalley, and I just breezed through them. I loved everything, the characters, the world-building, the way the story unfolded. It was great.