Igniting Darkness

July 1, 2020
Two daughters of Death test their faith and meet their fate. Rife with labyrinthine plotting, swoonworthy romance, and endless intrigue, the 500-plus-page conclusion to LaFevers' Courting Darkness duology resumes in medias res. Sybella, an assassin trained by the convent of Saint Mortain and attendee to the former Duchess of Brittany, now Queen of France, makes contact with Genevieve, a fellow novitiate foundering five years into her infiltration of the French court. Surrounded by manipulators and shrinking in his father's shadow, the king struggles to find his footing as a ruler. Meanwhile, France's regent seeks power at every turn; Pierre, Sybella's bloodthirsty brother, pursues malevolent ends of his own; and the enforced monotheism of 15th-century Europe grinds in tension with the Nine, a set of pre-Christian deities Sybella and Genevieve serve. Can Death's own daughters survive the ceaseless scheming, much less while preserving France and Brittany, their chosen families, and the old gods? LaFevers' dynamic, fully realized protagonists once again shine in alternating first-person accounts--and, better still, are afforded love interests every bit their equals. Though most readers will have no trouble following the narrative's central thread, only the fully entwined will stitch together a tapestry on par with the five-volume arras begun in the His Fair Assassin series. Unfortunately, all characters adhere to the myth of a lily-white Europe. A thrilling ride and dazzling denouement--but to a pentalogy, not a duology. (map, dramatis personae, author's note) (Historical fantasy. 14-adult)

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July 1, 2020
Grades 8-12 Having revealed the existence of the St. Mortain monastery, devoted to the god of Death, Genevieve has endangered not only herself but also her sisters and Brittany's queen, just as a contact from her convent has appeared with news of a long-awaited assignment. While the regent, the king's sister, schemes to take the throne for herself, Genevieve and her sisters must continue their protection of the monarchy. Here is more engaging and masterful storytelling that builds on the His Fair Assassin trilogy and is the second book in the Courting Darkness duology. The writing in this installment, really the fifth book in an unofficial series, holds up beautifully, and the court intrigue and the undercover work of political females of all ranks and privileges continue to delight. Stakes have never been higher, and the author skillfully ratchets up the tension with short chapters and narrator shifts, primarily between Genevieve and familiar character Sybella, with additional voices added for impact. Readers need the backstory, so start them with Grave Mercy (2012) and then get ready for the demand.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: LaFevers' beloved world of Grave Mercy made her a best-seller, and her many fans have been waiting for this series installment.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

August 7, 2020

Gr 9 Up-This sequel to Courting Darkness completes LaFevers's retelling of the political nightmare that was 1490s France. The Regent, aided by the evil General Cassel, attempts to undermine and ultimately wrest power from her brother King Charles; however, the quick wits and dark magic of Genevieve and Sybella, daughters of Mortain (aka Death) manage to foil her efforts. Aided by their lovers Maraud and Beast, the women manage to prove Queen Anne's innocence, put down a rebellion, and even show the monarch "the rot in his kingdom and in his and their families." The Order of Nine-which the two sisters once served-is reinstated, and the King promises to use their skills to help keep his kingdom secure. Reimagining the true tale of Anne of Breton with women at the center, LaFevers enchants readers with the adventure, intrigue, and romance of the provincial French Court. Strong female characters manage their dangerous predicaments with intelligence and cleverness, their prowess accepted and applauded by their male counterparts. Characters, events, and unfamiliar vocabulary, (e.g., ribauldequins, menhir) from the author's previous books are clarified in context. Fast-paced dialogue and varying viewpoints (expressed in alternating chapters) maintain the tale's rhythm, and, despite one anachronistic line: "too strange...to wrap my brain around," readers are immersed in a violent and unjust 15th-century world, with heroines who are determined to make it safer and more equitable for women of all strata. VERDICT A marvelous mix of swashbuckling history and spiritually centered fantasy.-Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, formerly at LaSalle Academy, Providence

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2021
In the second book of a duology (Courting Darkness, rev. 1/19) set in an alt-historical world of fifteenth-century Brittany and France (also the setting of several of her other novels), LaFevers returns to the tangle of intrigue and danger in which she last left Sybella and Genevieve, both trained assassins of the convent of Saint Mortain, patron saint of death. Ensconced as attendant to France's new queen, Sybella fights to keep her young sisters safe from her half-brother, a powerful and sexually predatory viscount. Meanwhile, Genevieve has become a sometimes-trusted lover and friend to France's king, but has endangered the convent she serves by telling him of its nature. And, pressed as he is on all sides by seditious, power-greedy advisors, the king's indecisiveness and insecurities are the greatest threat of all. LaFevers wraps up the romances and story lines of escape and treachery first set in motion in the previous volume, in part through a broader arena of rebellion and national misalliance, which culminates in the (literal) pyrotechnics of Sybella, Genevieve, and their band of friends and allies. Aside from their formidable efficiency in killing and routing much larger forces -- skills the novel values highly -- Sybella and Genevieve are characterized as finding healing and resolution from traumatic pasts through romance and through their own sisterly solidarity.

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2021
In the second book of a duology (Courting Darkness, rev. 1/19) set in an alt-historical world of fifteenth-century Brittany and France (also the setting of several of her other novels), LaFevers returns to the tangle of intrigue and danger in which she last left Sybella and Genevieve, both trained assassins of the convent of Saint Mortain, patron saint of death. Ensconced as attendant to France's new queen, Sybella fights to keep her young sisters safe from her half-brother, a powerful and sexually predatory viscount. Meanwhile, Genevieve has become a sometimes-trusted lover and friend to France's king, but has endangered the convent she serves by telling him of its nature. And, pressed as he is on all sides by seditious, power-greedy advisors, the king's indecisiveness and insecurities are the greatest threat of all. LaFevers wraps up the romances and story lines of escape and treachery first set in motion in the previous volume, in part through a broader arena of rebellion and national misalliance, which culminates in the (literal) pyrotechnics of Sybella, Genevieve, and their band of friends and allies. Aside from their formidable efficiency in killing and routing much larger forces -- skills the novel values highly -- Sybella and Genevieve are characterized as finding healing and resolution from traumatic pasts through romance and through their own sisterly solidarity. Deirdre F. Baker

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)