FICTION: Death Sworn by Leah Cypess

Image from Goodreads

 
At a glance: YA, fantasy, romance


From Goodreads

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.

Luna comments

I've read Leah Cypess's Mistwood & Nightspell, & I liked the plot for both of those. So I was quite keen on this one.

I liked the idea that Ileni used to be a powerful sorceress, but then is in the process of losing her power.

However, in terms of characters, I don't feel there's anything particularly interesting about the characters. I get the feeling that the typical YA characters are:

• (for females) a slightly hot-headed, impulsive, has immature/overly emotional moments despite their very dire situation, clever, skilful, carrying a bit of a burden or mental obsession, has a bit of anger or angst because of that burden or obsession, but has the tendency to not apply their cleverness or skills until something they really care about forces them to do it; & 
• (for males) silent, broody, outwardly unapproachable, skilful, clever, carries another sort of burden that makes them so taciturn & broody & unapproachable, is always cool-headed & calm but then pulls off an out-of-character risk or act of stupidity when something they care about (i.e. the love interest/protagonist) is threatened.

Ileni & Sorin (love interest) fit that mould pretty well.

However, having said that, I don't think it's fair to 'penalise' them for having typical YA characteristics. They're characters in their own right. But anyway, there's a low-down of who they are.

I did, however, like the master of the assassins. I like how he doesn't make much of an appearance, but his presence is always felt because everyone's so scared of him. The only thing is that sometimes I think he acts a bit too overconfident for someone of his experience & reputation, but this is one of those things where I think it could have gone either way.

The plot...I enjoyed seeing how it played out & how everything eventually fit together. So upon reading the ending, I could go, "Oh yes, I enjoyed that book", in a sort of detached way (actually, I can't think of anything I particularly liked, except the premise). But during the process of reading, I didn't feel that. In a way, that could be testimony to how well Cypess has managed to work the undercurrents seamlessly into the narration. But what kept me reading wasn't so much that I was enjoying every moment as that I wanted to find out what on Earth was happening.


Closing

So, upon finishing, I was satisfied. I got a bit impatient in the middle, though. I'm still keen on the sequel & seeing how the rest of the story plays out.

However, I feel that this book has the sort of feeling that successful YA books give off, so perhaps its intended demographic (i.e. young adults) would enjoy it a lot more.