Not your average assassin book, this one invokes ancient gods and characters that can think for themselves. 
 Full review can also be found on: Paein and Ms4Tune's Book Blog 
 The fist time I read this I gave it 5 voodoos. This time around, I completely agreed! Though the first time it seems, I found all the right moments to put it down, this time around it was all the wrong moments, requiring quick return though I have read it before. 
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 I was originally drawn to this book because it was women assassins set in a time where women were thought of as nothing but 'broodmares' or if they are lucky, decoration. What I liked about it was that it wasn't simply a case of going in and killing everybody, she had an aim and she had to develop her skill set a little further to reach her end goal. The girl we meet at the start and the woman we have at the end are two vastly different people and it's not only the Convent that has changed her. I think that Ismae is perhaps my favourite for this book, because of the changes she goes through, the discoveries that shape her, not only of herself and her parents, but of those around her too. She learns how to trust herself and that's a powerful message. The Duchess is perhaps my second favourite, for she is just as strong as Ismae is, ppossibly stronger, because she is the age Ismae was when her story started and yet Anne has already weathered much. 
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 My favourite part of the story is perhaps Ismae's realisations on the battlefield and how they help her redefine herself and ultimately the path it leads her to. I cannot say down, for that is perhaps something that is touched upon in the next book. I also loved that the whole book was about her learning to think for herself. She was turned into a weapon and pointed in a direction, but after a blunder or so, she realised that she could be that weapon, simply following orders, or she could follow her instincts and her heart, given to her by Mortain Himself and deal with the situation to the best of her ability. 
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 I would have liked to see more of Francois. Though he was a secondary character, his mother doted on him so much, I'd like to know exactly how he escaped knowledge of her plots, was he purposefully ignorant? I hope to hear more of him in the future and I was sad of the few we lost along the way. 
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 There are two more books to go and Brittany is not yet safe, I hope we don't loose anyone too important. 
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 Original Review, Sept 2012: 
 Ismae is the daughter of Death in a world slowly losing belief in the old Gods. Rescued from the terrible fate her step-father sells her to by someone from her childhood, she's sent to the convent of St.Mortain (Death)for protection and to learn the ways of his Handmaidens (Assassins!!!!). 
 For the final test before she may take her vows, she's sent to the court of their ruler, the Dutchess to watch and gather information on the guilt of the dutchess' half brother, Gavriel Duval. 
 What she actually finds is a web of deceit so widely spread and deeply laid there's no end in sight and her only hope of keeping the Dutchess - and thus Brittany and the memory of the old Gods safe - is to team up with the very man she was sent to spy on. 
 I really liked this book, and part of that was because it didn't make me rush. Often, good books demand to be read, this one knew I was coming back (and what I was coming back to) so it didn't mind me doing my own thing. And that sounds totally crazy! XD 
 There weren't any sections that were hard to read and easy to put down, but the writing style seemed calm. 
 I really can't put into words what I'm trying to say. You'll just have to read it! 
 Now, where's number 2?!