After reading the first two books in the series and practically falling in love, I was super psyched to begin reading this one. When I finally got Mortal Heart in my hands, I was mentally screaming with joy. I started reading it the same day, but as it seemed to be off to a slow start, I did not finish the novel like I do with other books. At first, I thought that the reason it took so long to get through this novel was because of the slow beginning, as I mentioned previously. However, as the story went on, I figured out that it was not just the start that was slow but the entire novel. It seemed to me that the novel seemed more intent on summarizing the past two books to new readers and once more bringing attention to Ismae and Sybella, the main characters of the past two novels. For once, I did not appreciate getting a peek into the lives of other main characters.
Annith had seemed interesting from book one, so it was disappointing when I did not like her much in this novel. She was constantly filled with self-doubt, and she was always complaining about how she had never gone out of the convent to aid in Mortain's Will, and how she was so jealous of everyone who got chosen instead of her even though she could easily beat every one of them. This basically took up half the book, and to say I got annoyed would be an understatement. Also, the "adventure" Annith ended up going on was not really that interesting to me, since it was more about self-discovery than, well, killing people. That being said, Mortain was actually a huge part of this novel, though that is not realized until later in the book.
The romance to me was iffy. It started out great, but eventually I just got bored. Nothing much happened between Annith and her love interest, though it seems that they formed a deep bond of sorts. It was obviously the two were attracted but from the beginning they simply admitted their attraction to each other, which is a big no-no for me since I am more of a hard-to-get type of person (or at least a I-like-you-but-I-don't-want-you-to-know-it person). Nevertheless, there was an interesting twist at the end about the real identities of several people, and that definitely added a point to the romance aspect of the book, as well as the plot.
If there is anything good to say about the book, it is the storyline. Intense plots are rarely my thing, and so it was not very surprising when this book happened not to be my type either. Though the story seemed to progress very slowly, the overall scheme of the story was kind of brilliant, and I would be a fool not to recognize the worth of a good plot. Still, I wish I had not wasted the time reading this book since it was nowhere near what I was looking for when I picked it up.
Annith had seemed interesting from book one, so it was disappointing when I did not like her much in this novel. She was constantly filled with self-doubt, and she was always complaining about how she had never gone out of the convent to aid in Mortain's Will, and how she was so jealous of everyone who got chosen instead of her even though she could easily beat every one of them. This basically took up half the book, and to say I got annoyed would be an understatement. Also, the "adventure" Annith ended up going on was not really that interesting to me, since it was more about self-discovery than, well, killing people. That being said, Mortain was actually a huge part of this novel, though that is not realized until later in the book.
The romance to me was iffy. It started out great, but eventually I just got bored. Nothing much happened between Annith and her love interest, though it seems that they formed a deep bond of sorts. It was obviously the two were attracted but from the beginning they simply admitted their attraction to each other, which is a big no-no for me since I am more of a hard-to-get type of person (or at least a I-like-you-but-I-don't-want-you-to-know-it person). Nevertheless, there was an interesting twist at the end about the real identities of several people, and that definitely added a point to the romance aspect of the book, as well as the plot.
If there is anything good to say about the book, it is the storyline. Intense plots are rarely my thing, and so it was not very surprising when this book happened not to be my type either. Though the story seemed to progress very slowly, the overall scheme of the story was kind of brilliant, and I would be a fool not to recognize the worth of a good plot. Still, I wish I had not wasted the time reading this book since it was nowhere near what I was looking for when I picked it up.
Book Synopsis: 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...
Source: Own the ebook on my Kindle.
Title: Mortal Heart
Author: Robin LaFevers
Publication Date: November 4, 2014
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Genre: High Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 444 pages
