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    Mortal Heart
    Mortal Heart
    Mortal Heart
    Audiobook17 hours

    Mortal Heart

    Written by Robin LaFevers

    Narrated by Jennifer Grace

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateNov 4, 2014
    ISBN9781490632902
    Mortal Heart
    Author

    Robin LaFevers

    Robin LaFevers, author of the New York Times best-selling His Fair Assassin books, was raised on fairy tales, Bulfinch’s mythology, and nineteenth-century poetry. It is not surprising that she grew up to be a hopeless romantic. She was lucky enough to find her one true love, and is living happily ever after with him in California. Visit her online at robinlafevers.com and on Twitter @RLLaFevers. 

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    Reviews for Mortal Heart

    4/5

    226 ratings17 reviews

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    • 5/5
      The next moment I am flying over his shoulder in a dizzying rush. I brace myself for my landing on the hard rock floor, knowing it will knock the wind out of me.
      Except I never reach it. Instead, Balthazaar catches me and eases me back to my feet, almost as if we were dancing. My breath is coming fast now, but the bastard is not even breathing hard. And his arms are still around me. “If you wanted them watching you, they are,” he whispers in my ear. “Every move, every breath that passes your lips, has their full attention.”
      I bring my arms up suddenly to break his hold, then leap away, annoyed that I am only able to do so because he let me.      It takes a talented author to write a book about war, politics, historical Brittany vs. France intrigue, and shape it into something so charming and idyllic. Even during wartime, the characters stayed rational and a lot of the characters were actual figures that appeared during the time period. It's sometimes harder to write about real people because of information accuracy (especially back in 1489) and fact-checking but LaFevers pulled it off.

      Pros:
      Annith demonstrated great strength of character and resilience and I loved learning about her past and how it actually connected to shaping the way she is. She's ferocious and it's interesting seeing her display of intelligence through her deliberate actions and interpretations of people. She's very emotionally tuned and has learned to distinguish between the truth and lies in voices and facial expressions. It's entertaining and great to get her insights on the various casts of characters and see dynamics in the relationships.
      "There is a whisper of movement to my left as I feel Balthazaar unfold himself from the shadows, and I wonder how long he has been there. He leans close enough to whisper in my ear. “Let me have him.”
      Scowling, I turn my arrow on him. “He is mine.”"
      Balthazaar holds his hands up in a placating gesture and slips back into the shadows.
      Balthazaar. BALTHAZAAR. oh my goodness, he literally takes the center stage and pulls the rug out from everyone. I don't know how LaFevers does it but he doesn't even show up that frequently or long enough to count as a main character but HE IS a main character. UGH. He dominates and has one of the best backstory I've ever read so I'm gaping in awe just thinking about him.
      "Instead of grabbing me or attacking me, Balthazaar barks out a laugh, the sound cutting through the darkness like a blade. “I have asked myself that a thousand times, calling myself a fool for every one of them, and yet, here I am.”
      The plot pacing is iffy on some parts but it never feels boring and I'm always so engaged. Of course, I savor certain passages over others but it was a thorough enjoyment through and through. Please, I need to learn how to write like this and of course, be an archer. I just loved how it was a simple enough story to understand but it had many layers and digestible politics that made sense. Even if I hated the characters (which is impossible; the romance is so worthy to root for), the story line would've redeemed and pulled the whole book through.
      Before I can respond, Balthazaar butts in. “Or we could play the game my way: If you do not simply answer her question, I will run you through with my sword.”
      It's so difficult to find an intelligent well-researched novel in the YA industry and I know that it's trite but this is a gem! GOOOOOOOO read this. GO NOW.

      Cons:
      If the author is not writing any more books, no matter if they're part of The Fair Assassin series, I'll be so disappointed.
    • 4/5
      Much preferred the other two books in the trilogy but this one was a fitting finale tying all the loose ends up very neatly.
    • 4/5
      “I am beginning to think that love itself is never wrong. It is what love can drive people to do that is the problem.”

      Annith's been left behind, watching younger and younger girls leave the convent to begin carrying out their missions in the name of Death. When an even younger girl, nowhere near the end of her training, is given a mission, Annith confronts the Abbess -- and learns that she is destined not to be an assassin, but to be the seeress for the convent. But without an ounce of gift for sight and a terror of being stuck within the walls of the convent for the rest of her life, Annith is horrified at the prospect, and strikes out on her own.

      I've really enjoyed this series. It is dark, and based on actual historical events, with characters I have come to love over three books. I don't imagine that, with this ending, there will be any more in the series. I'm glad that this book focused on Annith, who has been a major character over the previous two, but passed over in favor of her younger sisters. And the romance in the book? Satisfying. I ended up starting this book around 11 p.m. last night, and finished around 3 a.m., darn my need for sleep.
    • 5/5
      His Fair Assassin is my favorite series of all time! This was my third read and my first time trying the audiobooks. 10/10 would recommend.
    • 5/5
      The web of lies and deceit are so amazingly woven! its was as if the author was part of the court herself! I love it! The world needs more books like these!
    • 4/5
      I was so interested in this book, I actually started it before I'd finished the second book. Unfortunately, though it was a good read overall, it didn't quite meet my expectations. Though the first two books contained an element of romance, this one was almost exclusively a romance from almost the beginning, and the big plot twist concerning the abbess was telegraphed rather early on, so that didn't work all that well for me. But I did enjoy the interactions between Annith and Balthazar, and oddly, the part of the story that centered on the Hellequins was the part I found the most interesting. I could have happily spent a few more chapters running around the woods with them on the hunt.
    • 4/5
      Strong end to a very entertaining series. Much heavier on the spiritual fantasy elements - finally some backstory to the cast of gods & goddesses the series features - and perhaps a bit overdone on the love story, but in general highly entertaining. I enjoyed the series very much.
    • 4/5
      I read this as an ARC and since it doesn't come out for real until November, I won't include any details or spoilers. But I will say that this works very well with the other two in this series, some beloved characters reappear, and I'm so glad to learn more about Annith.
    • 3/5
      I didn't care for this one as much as the others. I didn't care for Annith falling in love with Mortain himself. If he had been some aspect of the god, or if somebody else (one of the other hellequin) had become death to replace him after he became a mortal I would have liked it more. I didn't care for the fact that the sisters would just fade out and end after this.

      I enjoyed the fact that Annith was really one of Arduinna's and so was the abbess. This made for a satisfactory resolution to the other two books.
    • 4/5
      Annith has so much more going on than the others ever thought and just wow *hugs her*. It took me a while and the twist to get into the romance, but then I was convinced ;). I love what we found out about the other Nine, but wasn't quite satisfied with the ending. I wish we could have a daughters of Mer companion series >.>.
    • 4/5
      Summary: Annith has been at the convent of St. Mortain since she was a baby, training to serve the god of Death as an assassin. She is the best at every skill she can master, but she watches as one by one the other trainees, including her friends Ismae and Sybella, are sent out on assignments while she remains at the convent. Finally, she learns the abbess's plans: to train her as the convent's seeress, a job that will keep her locked inside the convent for the rest of her life, rather than out serving Mortain and the duchess of Brittany, where she belongs. So Annith has no choice but to run away from the convent, but before she can barely strike out on her own, she runs into the Hellequin - a wild hunt of the damned, condemned to hunt down fugitive souls and return them to Death's domain. Annith is strangely drawn to Balthazaar, their leader, but she won't let him - or anything - keep her from doing her duty to protect her country and her friends.Review: While I really enjoyed this book, it's different enough from the first two books in the series that it took me some getting used to. For example, while I complained that the first two books didn't have enough scenes at the convent itself, this one spends a decent chunk of the book at the convent (although it is after Ismae and Sybella have already been sent out, so their close friendship still has never felt entirely believable to me). But more importantly, while the other two books felt like straight-up historical fiction with just a tinge of the mystical (Ismae's resistance to poisons, the power to see Mortain's marks of imminent death), Mortal Heart brings that mysticism front and center, to the point where it almost becomes historical fantasy rather than historical fiction. Because I was expecting the realism of the previous books, when Annith runs into the Hellequin, and is explaining how they can't go out in the day and camp in caves near the entrances to Death's realms, and how they are collecting souls, etc., I thought she was being metaphorical and the Hellequin were just a band of rough-around-the-edges do-gooders… but no, they're actually damned souls serving penance on Earth before they're released to Death. And there are several other equally important elements that make this book much more fantasy than its predecessors - not that I mind, at all, but it was a big enough change from what I was expecting that it was wrong-footing for a little while.Other than that, though, this book was just as good as the two previous. I like the world that LaFevers draws, of political intrigue and political danger, and of the occasionally tumultuous relationships between the Christian church and the old gods, of passion and service and duty and honor and romance. The romance in this book is believable and just generally nicely done; an interesting take on the "captive taken by brigands with a heart of gold" trope. I didn't get quite as involved with Annith's relationship as I did with Ismae's or Sybella's in the previous books, but I still found this book a totally engrossing read. 4 out of 5 stars. Recommendation: This book picks up after (or maybe slightly overlapping) the end of Darkest Mercy, and all three really need to be read in order. However, the series as a whole is definitely worth picking up if you like historical fiction, teenage girl assassins, and the fantasy in the flavor of gods touching mortal life.
    • 5/5
      Is it over? Is it really over? I'm not ready to be done with this series. Please, I just want more. These books are my favorites and now that the series is over I don't know what to do with myself other than wallow in my book related depression for a while. Despite wanting more, this book did end satisfyingly. Although, I would still like to know how the lives of Ismae, Sybella, and Annith were after the events of this book. Beast is still my favorite love interest of the three. I have to mention him. Annith was a really good character. I was surprised to learn those 'certain things' about her, which did make her very different from Ismae and Sybella than what she had originally believed. I had my suspicions about the Reverend Mother, but never could have guessed what happened in particular. That just really impressed me. And the love interest in this one.. I don't know how to feel about him. Let me just consider Annith the luckiest, and undeniably deserving, woman alive.
    • 3/5
      This book ends the series with more of a wimper than a bang, unfortunate considering how strong the previous two books were.
    • 5/5
      The third book in the His Fair Assassins trilogy focuses on Annith, one of Death's handmaidens that has been left behind at the convent while Ismae and Sybella and other, less well-prepared girls, are sent out on assignment. Why does the Reverend Mother want Annith to become seeress and stay behind, when it's the last thing that Annith wants when she's prepared all her life to be an assassin? She must escape the confines of the cloister to find her true life's purpose.Annith's story starts a little slowly, telling us her perspective on events that we've seen through Ismae and Sybella's eyes already, but once Annith leaves the convent things pick up tremendously. Though the unfolding of some events didn't truly surprise me, I really enjoy the world-building of a 1489 Brittany divided between the new church and the Nine saints (Death included) that had once taken eminence in their religion. Each book carries a different flavor that suits the main character, and this one is in some ways softer than Dark Triumph, though still dealing with topics such as war and redemption. All the previous story lines, such as the politics between duchess Anne and the French, must come to a head in this heart-pounding conclusion to the series.
    • 4/5
      This mix of historical fiction and fantasy is set in Brittany, in 1488. Annith, 17, has spent her whole life at the Brittany Convent of Saint Mortain. Mortain is the god of Death, but those who follow him do not see Death as the grim reaper, but as a positive force forming part of the inevitable circle of life. As Annith explains:"I was raised to see Mortain as the first among the Nine [lesser gods], for without Death, there could be no life. Just as the roots of living trees must reach down past the loam and soil to find sustenance from the Underworld, so too are we sustained by Death. …others have forgotten this side of Him, forgotten that without Death, there would be no life. Without an ending, how can anything begin anew?”This, she continues, is the beauty and promise of Death. And Annith wants nothing more than to be a worthy servant of Mortain.Mysteriously, the Abbess of the Convent refuses to send Annith out on any assassination missions, although Annith is more qualified to go than anyone else. When the Abbess leaves to go consult at the Court of the Breton Duchess at Rennes, a frustrated Annith decides to follow the Abbess and confront her. On the way, Annith encounters a large group of hellequins - dead "hunters" who collect the souls of the wicked or lost and help these souls find their way to the Underworld. Hellequins have volunteered for this job in an effort to atone for their darkest sins. Their leader, Balthazaar, takes personal charge of protecting Annith and rescuing her from harm. But who is really rescuing whom?Discussion: This blend of history, fantasy, and romance will appeal to fans of Diana Gabaldon. It is Book Three of a companion book series, so that one can read it as part of the series or as a standalone. It is hard not to adore all of these characters as they struggle to figure out who they are, and if there is room for love in their lives. Even the hellequins - these men of the shadows - are full of subtleties. As Annith muses at one point:"We are all of us, gods and mortals, made up of many pieces, some of them broken, some of them scarred, but none of them the sum and total of who we are.”And as for good female role models, these daughters of the Convent of Mortain are full of courage, intelligence, warmth, and humor, as well as spit and fire and the determination to make their own decisions about their futures. I also like the fact that in spite of injecting a lot of fantasy into the action, the author really doesn’t mess with the historical data at all, except for some compression of the timeline of events. The fantasy not only adds interest and excitement, but serves to set into relief what it means to be human. Evaluation: This is a very good story, with an interesting historical background and plenty of “swoony” moments. It’s too bad the series won’t be continued. (It has an “ending” and doesn’t really need to be continued, but I liked the characters enough not to want to see them go.)
    • 5/5
      I got a copy of this book to review through NetGalley. This was a wonderful conclusion to this historical fantasy trilogy, I absolutely loved it!Annith has long awaited a mission from St. Mortain, she wants her chance to join her sisters and serve Death. However it is not meant to be. Instead Annith is left to take care of the initiates of St. Mortain. Then Annabeth finds that she is being groomed to take the place of the old seeress and cannot bear the thought of being locked away forever. Annith also suspects that the girls going out on missions and her appointment to seeress are not the will of St. Mortain but from a more mortal source. Annith flees the Covenant of St. Mortain to confront the Abbess.This whole series was wonderful. This is a long book but it doesn’t feel long; I breezed right through it.Annith is different from a lot of other of St. Mortain’s daughters. She didn’t have a horrible start, in fact she’s been at the Covenant since she was a baby. Annith really shows strength in this book, and it is a strength that is not at first apparent.We also get to see Ismae, Duvall, Sybella, and Beast and it was excellent to see these characters again and see what has happened to them as time has passed. Additionally we get to spend quite a bit of time with the Duchess as well. There is a lot of war, intrigue, and adventure in this novel and also some romance. I am not going to give away Annith’s romantic interest because it was just so awesome and I don’t want to spoil it. The writing is beautiful, full of excellent imagery, and very lyrical. The ending was just perfect, I loved it so much. I also enjoyed the afterward which goes into which elements of the story were historically accurate and which were not. It also talks about the Nine Gods and how that ties into mythology of the region.Overall this was a beautifully written book full of intrigue, war, and romance. I loved it. Annith is a wonderful heroine that I really enjoyed reading about. The story is fast-paced and flows well. The ending provided fantastic closure for this series. I highly recommend this trilogy to fans of historical fantasy.
    • 5/5
      Thanks to Edelweiss for early access to this title.

      Review to come.