Mortal Heart Review

I was able to get an e-copy of this book through NetGalley when I was at the Book Expo, and after devouring the first two books in the series, was finally able to get to this third book in the series, and it was well worth the wait. This third installment in the series follows Annith, another initiate at the convent of Mortain, and offers readers a few glimpses into Ismae and Sybella's stories following Grave Mercy and Dark Triumph.


Mortal Heart Summary:
In the powerful conclusion to Robin LaFever's New York Times bestselling His Fair Assassins trilogy, 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.

Mortal Heart Review:
You don't really learn much about Annith during the first two installments of the series, so it's exciting to have the chance to learn so much about her character in Mortal Heart. Unlike most of the girls at the convent, Annith has no idea who her mother was, or any idea how she got to the convent when she was an infant. She's been raised by the convent, and has done everything the Abbess and the convent have asked of her. Until one day the Abbess tells her she must serve as the convent's Seeress and spend the rest of her days locked up in the convent, never able to leave.

Annith struggles with the idea of her new future, and ultimately decides to rebel against it by sneaking out of the convent in search for answers. Along the way she quickly meets the Hellequin--the lost souls who must earn their penance by serving Mortain and guiding lost souls to the Underworld. And of course, in true YA fashion, Annith begins to fall in love with Balthazar, one of the Hellequin. Which in a weird way, feels perfect for her character.

But being delayed long enough, Annith sneaks out during a skirmish and sets out to find the Duchess. Along the way, she encounters a group of Adruinna's followers, who help her escape the Hellequin, and ultimately help her find the Duchess. Once at court, Annith must deal with the Abess's wrath for sneaking out of the convent, and do her best to help the Duchess out of her predicament with the French troops invading the small country of Brittany. And all the while, she's able to sneak out at night to have romantic rendezvous with Balthazar.

While I was reading the novel, I had a few guesses as to Annith's true parentage, so the surprise of who her mother was didn't come as a super huge shock. But I was blown away by Balthazar's true identity. I probably should have seen it coming, but I didn't. Looking back on it, the author hinted at his true identity, but having missed the hint, I wasn't expecting it at all. It changed everything in their world.

This novel wraps the series up neatly, but leaves it open to the possibility of another spin-off series, which the author alludes to in her author's note at the end of the book (or maybe that's just my wishful thinking reading too much into it). Everything ends happily for Annith, Ismae, and Sybella, and even the Duchess. It's been a long journey since the beginning of Grave Mercy, and I've loved every minute of it.