Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers

Dark Triumph is the second book of the His Fair Assassin trilogy, but it feels like a very different book from Grave Mercy. While both books are set in the court of 15th century Brittany, Dark Triumph deals mainly with the D’Albret household instead of the queen’s entire court. The change in main character and the change in setting means that the reader is in for a book that is distinct from the first of the series.

Sybella is tasked with a mission she never thought she would receive. The convent that she used to run away from the twisted household of D’Albret insists that she return in order to act as their spy and weapon within the noble house. She only agrees to the mission when the abbess of the convent agrees that Sybella will be the one who kills the head of the D’Albret household, for he is sure to have a mark if he is a traitor to the duchy of Brittany. And thus Sybella returns to the court filled with snakes. Her father is an abusive, violent tyrant who bears no mark. Julian, the brother to who she is closest with, has an unnatural love for her. One of her maid servants is supplying her father with information about her habits. Sybella is trapped and left idly waiting for her convent’s next orders. Eventually, those orders come. She is to find a way to release the Beast, the soldier captured during D’Albret’s failed attempt to capture the duchess. With the help of the Beast’s jailor, Sybella is able to free the Beast from his cell. However, her attempt to free the Beast goes awry when the brute of a man knocks her out and takes her with him instead of leaving her at the D’Albret household. In hindsight, Sybella finds it was a good thing that the Beast ended up taking her with him. Even with his jailor accompanying him on the run, the Beast will not survive the trip to the duchess without Sybella’s meager knowledge of the healing arts. The Beast can’t keep himself upright and, though he is useful in many ways, his jailor is a cripple. There is an almost nonexistent chance they will be able to cross through miles of D’Albret’s territory undetected, but Sybella must get the Beast back to the duchess’s side.

Unlike Grave Mercy, Dark Triumph lends itself more to fiction or fantasy than it does to historical fiction. While there are some politics that take place during the book, the focus of the book is more on Sybella; her struggles, her backstory and her growing love for the Beast. Robin does include some history into Dark Triumph, but not enough that I would actually consider this installment of the trilogy a historical fiction. Personally, I would have preferred a bit more history added into the book, but I do not think it takes away from the book to stray away from the historical aspect.

Sybella’s story shows a very twisted side of court life. She is the result of years of abuse from various people in her life, but she comes out of it as a very strong character. Her skill set contains both the lessons she learned in court and the lessons she was taught at the convent of Saint Mortain. Many of her relationships are twisted, rotten things, so there is relief when she is able to have the budding relationship with the Beast. I enjoy reading things from her perspective. I find her more relatable than Ismae, who I simply find annoying.

The book is a solid 3.5 for me. I enjoy it and I would recommend it as long as the reader isn’t expecting the same heavy politics that are in Grave Mercy.