Death Sworn

Death Sworn by Leah Cypess 

Death Sworn has been on my TBR since I learned about it on Twitter. Leah Cypess (No, autocorrect, there is no R) posted a preview of the first page of the sequel. Just by reading that one page of the second book I knew this was something I needed to read and that I was absolutely going to adore. So when I went to the library and saw it, featured on a shelf as if it were fated that I find it, I snatched it up right away. I wasn't even at the library for books that day, I was there for the printer. It was meant to be.

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.

(Source: Goodreads) 

Personal Opinion:

This book is so very awesome! Because of the fact that I had fallen in love with the writing from the snippet of Death Marked, I didn't even read the blurb after I'd marked it as "want to read" or picked it up at the library. I just knew I wanted to read it, no matter what it was about.

Here's a funny story;

Even though Death Sworn was in my possession, I couldn't find time to read it at first, then it hit me, "Oh gosh.. When is this due back?" Cue the praying moment where I hoped it wasn't yesterday or the day before.

It's due Monday (as I write this it's Sunday) However, I realized that on Friday night, right before a busy weekend. Once I started the book however, the deadline to finish it in time didn't even matter. I couldn't put it down for more than a few minutes at a time. I finished the book just before 6am Saturday morning, which gave me about 4 hours to sleep before getting ready for work. 

I regret nothing.

Stories about me aside, There are numerous reasons why I will sing the praises of this book from the blog-tops, number one which is, and probably always will be on my lists, the first thing I notice about books; 

Characters~ 

Ileni is so great as a heroine. I LOVE strong heroines. As the story begins, we meet Ileni at the end of her long journey to the assassin's caves where she will tutor the Assassins in magic, only one problem; Ileni is losing hers and the Assassin's tutors have increasingly short life spans. However, if you think that is going to stop Ileni from doing what she came to do, you are wrong. She is there to find out what happened to the two magic tutors before her, while hiding her rapidly fading magic, and she isn't afraid to die trying. In fact, she is fully prepared to.  All my yes. A+ Character. Yes. Just yes. Give me a tough yet still feminine character and I will pledge my allegiance to you. Well done, Ms. Cypess.

Sorin, ah, gosh. I have no idea what is is about assassins, probably the danger factor, or that fact that if an assassin loves you you are the safest person in the world, I don't know, but lord I love them so much and Sorin is no exception. As an orphaned child, Sorin was brought to the Assassin's caves and raised to give up almost all of his free will in order to become a perfect assassin. He will do anything his Master tells him to. All of the young boys being trained in the Assassin's caves will. Nothing is too extreme, not even if the Master requests their suicide. Sorin's demeanor reflects that upbringing to the point where he is as hard to read for the reader as he is for Ileni. Which makes him even more appealing and the moment when the walls are finally down that much sweeter. I might have squealed out loud at 3 am. Might have.

Usually, I only focus on the main characters for my character praise, but I want to give a shout out to the rest of them in Death Sworn, too. Supporting characters are exactly that. Support. They hold up the walls of a story and I don't give them nearly enough credit as I should. Bazel and Irun especially in this case. Gosh, there is just so much I loved about the book. The fact that I was totally tricked (which I'm pretty sure was the intention) by Bazel towards the end is high up on the list of things that pleased me. I love twists that make me gasp out loud and feel actual shock.

I also enjoy the fact, that as of right now, after having finished the first book, I have no idea who the actual villain is or was. The Assassins are trained to believe that their Master, who has a way of knowing everything, has a plan to bring the Empire crumbling down so that peace can be restored. I can't seem to decide if he was really the bad guy. He was a *insert string of profanity based names here* sure, but was he really evil? I can't decide. Almost like I'm seeing him through the eyes of one of the assassins.

One more thing I loved about this book. I know enough to speculate, but I'm left in the dark also enough to know that I need more information (aka: Book #2) just like Ileni when she was sent to tutor/investigate in the caves.

I recommend this book highly! 

Favorite Quotes:

"Thank you," She said in a hiss. 

He leaned back, "For what?"

"For reminding me," Ileni said, "What you are."

Something flickered deep in his eyes, and his mouth twisted again.

"Were you in danger of forgetting?"

"Yes," Ileni said. "But it won't happen again."

 

His dark eyes searched her face. "But you love me," he said finally.

She had no reason to deny it. Ileni lifted her shoulders. "I'll recover.” 

 

"It's a good thing you didn't." she said, more harshly than she had intended. "Whatever this thing is between us, I'm certain it wouldn't survive my watching you murder someone."  

 

Overall Rating: 

5/5

I can't wait for Death Marked!