Seen at Scott Reads It 
 Recently I read my ARC of Grave Mercy and it was such a pleasant surprise that I enjoyed it so much. My ARC pile is the size of a mountain and it seems to grow larger each day so I had been avoiding getting books at the library. When I saw Dark Triumph on the shelf there, I knew I had to check out this book. I had so many ARCs to read but I just couldn't resist getting Dark Triumph. 
 Dark Triumph, in my opinion is a stronger novel than Grave Mercy. Dark Triumph is a faster paced book with tons of action scenes that I just loved. The romance in this book is done extremely well and I loved reading about Sybella and Beast's relationship. The politics in this book are still a big aspect in this book but I think the political aspects are done much better in Dark Triumph. In Grave Mercy, there was a bit too much politics for me to handle and I felt like it needed a tad bit more action. Thankfully Fevers answered my distress signal and mitigated the politics in this book and focused more on battle sequences. Though the plot and romance were terrific, I think the biggest achievement of Dark Triumph is the characters. 
 Robin LaFevers is an expert at creating characters that are flawed but extremely loveable. When I read Grave Mercy, one of the things that bothered me was how little Sybella was in that book. I was extremely glad to hear that Sybella was the protagonist of Dark Triumph when I finished Grave Mercy. Sybella is even more kick-ass and likeable in this book than in the previous installment. My love for Sybella didn't wane at all while I read Dark Triumph and I hope she makes an awesome cameo in book #3. Beast, the love interest is well developed but I kind of wanted to know a bit more about his past. I loved Duval and Ismae's cameo and it just worked so well as a part of Dark Triumph. LaFevers does a spectacular job of helping the reader empathize with her characters. I just hope that in Mortal Heart, I love Annith just as much as I love Ismae and Sybella. 
 Another perfectly executed aspect of this book is the historical setting. LaFevers uses the setting to her advantage and crafts a well-executed story around the Brittany duchy. Truthfully, I had never even heard of Brittany before reading this series because I had never even learned about it in school. Lately I have been reading lots of historical fiction and yet Dark Triumph feels like one of a kind. 
 His Fair Assassin is quickly becoming one of my favorite series and I'm so proud that this book debuted on the NY Times Bestseller List! Dark Triumph is yet another addicting and compelling book by Robin LaFevers that I would highly recommend. It's going to be interesting to see how LaFevers concludes Ismae, Sybella, and Annith's stories. I'm so excited for Mortal Heart and I hope I love it as much as I enjoyed Grave Mercy and Dark Triumph.