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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
Overall impression:
Deathsworn is a dangerous fantasy story full of high stakes, deadly assassins, and a heroine you can't help but root for.
Read the full review on YABooksCentral.com.
Deathsworn is a dangerous fantasy story full of high stakes, deadly assassins, and a heroine you can't help but root for.
Read the full review on YABooksCentral.com.
So, I gave it 3 stars. I'm definitely conflicted about it. Short and sweet review.
Good things- it was an easy read. The plot is a cool idea and it has action and magic which is good. There's a really cool twist that left me squeaking. Some of the action scenes are really intense and cool in that sense where you feel like you're there.
Bad things- lots of damsel in distress. One of the main plot points is that the female protagonist is pretty defenseless and has to rely on her love interest guy to protect her 24/7. Literally 24/7 because she's living in a cave of assassins. She cries a lot. And I get that it makes sense w the plot but still. And it does have a sequel and ends in a way that makes you know that there's a sequel but I don't think I'm going to read the sequel because I have other books to prioritize.
Hope this helped :)
Good things- it was an easy read. The plot is a cool idea and it has action and magic which is good. There's a really cool twist that left me squeaking. Some of the action scenes are really intense and cool in that sense where you feel like you're there.
Bad things- lots of damsel in distress. One of the main plot points is that the female protagonist is pretty defenseless and has to rely on her love interest guy to protect her 24/7. Literally 24/7 because she's living in a cave of assassins. She cries a lot. And I get that it makes sense w the plot but still. And it does have a sequel and ends in a way that makes you know that there's a sequel but I don't think I'm going to read the sequel because I have other books to prioritize.
Hope this helped :)
2 stars
Death Sworn, oh Death Sworn, with your awesome blurb, I thought this was bound to go well. You reminded me of The Burning Sky, which was one of my favorite reads from last year. But sadly, it just didn't work out, at all. The prevailing emotion felt during our time together was, sadly, boredom. I ended up surprise buddy reading this one together with Christina, so it's going to be no surprise that our reviews are rather similar. We were, unfortunately for Death Sworn, in full agreement.
The plot kicks off with Ileni becoming the magic teacher to the Assassins "guild". Right from the start, I felt rather bored. Ileni lacks a personality to me. She was kind of grumpy, but that was about it. It was a simple main character in a simple plot. I missed complexity and emotion. (It doesn't help that this was the first book I read after Ignite Me, which can be dubbed the most feelsy book on the planet.) Ileni is tasked with a secret mission to find out who has been killing off the previous teachers that her sorcerer group has sent over.
Within hours of getting there, Ileni meets Sorin and already tells him what she's investigating. ...Her "secret" mission. He's an assassin who is presumably brainwashed to do whatever the master tells him and to keep no secrets from him. But whatever. It's a little thing that I'd like to call "instatrust" and I hate it in books. It's just.. no. A day or so after that, Sorin already tells Ileni his super personal and dark back story. Guys. Ugh. No. There was no build up or probable cause to this trustworthy relationship. You're trying to build a book of suspicion but then instantly contradict that.
Sorin also has rather no personality to speak of, but Ileni is of course charmed by his good looks. We all know where it's going, though apparently Ileni is still in mourning over her last relationship with Tellis. You never meet this Tellis, but Ileni will tell you at almost any occasion how much she misses him and how perfect he was. No concrete details. Just telling, no showing. It didn't impress me or get to me emotionally. It felt like the author was trying to interject a really odd love triangle, where one side wasn't even present. It was really annoying.
But fine, so Ileni and Sorin are "drawn" to each other, but even there I didn't feel the chemistry for one second. Then the actual romance happens. And... I just can't even. While Sorin was self-aware about the nature of his feelings for her, and how it may not be real exactly, he pretty much tells Ileni she's stupid. And she's fine with that. They have their moment, for which I have no facial expression at all, because I was still bored, as with the rest of this book, and then it actually fades to black, skipping the actual kissing and heavy romantic bits. Because, I mean, why on earth would young adult readers want a heavy dose of FEELS? Maybe the author knew she couldn't pull it off. I dunno. After that, Ileni reflects that "they went pretty far" and already she "feels the pang of his absence" when they're apart for a couple hours. ...I have no words.
So you'd think then, fine, this book isn't romance-centric, but the plot's gotta pack a punch then. Not... really. While the world they live in is interesting, we barely get to see any of it. Just some poor hints about the Empire that is corrupt and rules with an iron fist (hi Star Wars feels), the sorcerers who live in hiding, the assassins who are trained as mercenaries and want to bring the Empire down, and the magic. You kind of have to fill in the blanks yourself though, and a lot of it is left in the dark.
The plot itself became disjointed, convenient, and simple. After being raised her whole life as a peace-loving sorceress, Ileni suddenly has no problems becoming a murderer. She was weak, but suddenly becomes strong. She almost dies but (sadly) doesn't because of her auto-healing abilities. Then the antagonist is revealed. And suddenly a whole bunch of people apparently knew about him and everything. The ending was just a disastrous blur and made no sense to me at all.
Summing Up:
While it started off mildly entertaining, this book never managed to impress me. With cardboard characters, a feels-less romance, a pointless love triangle, and ultra convenient plot, it's not a book I would really recommend. Usually I'm all for magic and assassins but... not like this. I'm not even angry. I'm just bored.
GIF it to me straight!
**ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect the rating or contents of the review.
Death Sworn, oh Death Sworn, with your awesome blurb, I thought this was bound to go well. You reminded me of The Burning Sky, which was one of my favorite reads from last year. But sadly, it just didn't work out, at all. The prevailing emotion felt during our time together was, sadly, boredom. I ended up surprise buddy reading this one together with Christina, so it's going to be no surprise that our reviews are rather similar. We were, unfortunately for Death Sworn, in full agreement.
The plot kicks off with Ileni becoming the magic teacher to the Assassins "guild". Right from the start, I felt rather bored. Ileni lacks a personality to me. She was kind of grumpy, but that was about it. It was a simple main character in a simple plot. I missed complexity and emotion. (It doesn't help that this was the first book I read after Ignite Me, which can be dubbed the most feelsy book on the planet.) Ileni is tasked with a secret mission to find out who has been killing off the previous teachers that her sorcerer group has sent over.
Within hours of getting there, Ileni meets Sorin and already tells him what she's investigating. ...Her "secret" mission. He's an assassin who is presumably brainwashed to do whatever the master tells him and to keep no secrets from him. But whatever. It's a little thing that I'd like to call "instatrust" and I hate it in books. It's just.. no. A day or so after that, Sorin already tells Ileni his super personal and dark back story. Guys. Ugh. No. There was no build up or probable cause to this trustworthy relationship. You're trying to build a book of suspicion but then instantly contradict that.
Sorin also has rather no personality to speak of, but Ileni is of course charmed by his good looks. We all know where it's going, though apparently Ileni is still in mourning over her last relationship with Tellis. You never meet this Tellis, but Ileni will tell you at almost any occasion how much she misses him and how perfect he was. No concrete details. Just telling, no showing. It didn't impress me or get to me emotionally. It felt like the author was trying to interject a really odd love triangle, where one side wasn't even present. It was really annoying.
But fine, so Ileni and Sorin are "drawn" to each other, but even there I didn't feel the chemistry for one second. Then the actual romance happens. And... I just can't even. While Sorin was self-aware about the nature of his feelings for her, and how it may not be real exactly, he pretty much tells Ileni she's stupid. And she's fine with that. They have their moment, for which I have no facial expression at all, because I was still bored, as with the rest of this book, and then it actually fades to black, skipping the actual kissing and heavy romantic bits. Because, I mean, why on earth would young adult readers want a heavy dose of FEELS? Maybe the author knew she couldn't pull it off. I dunno. After that, Ileni reflects that "they went pretty far" and already she "feels the pang of his absence" when they're apart for a couple hours. ...I have no words.
So you'd think then, fine, this book isn't romance-centric, but the plot's gotta pack a punch then. Not... really. While the world they live in is interesting, we barely get to see any of it. Just some poor hints about the Empire that is corrupt and rules with an iron fist (hi Star Wars feels), the sorcerers who live in hiding, the assassins who are trained as mercenaries and want to bring the Empire down, and the magic. You kind of have to fill in the blanks yourself though, and a lot of it is left in the dark.
The plot itself became disjointed, convenient, and simple. After being raised her whole life as a peace-loving sorceress, Ileni suddenly has no problems becoming a murderer. She was weak, but suddenly becomes strong. She almost dies but (sadly) doesn't because of her auto-healing abilities. Then the antagonist is revealed. And suddenly a whole bunch of people apparently knew about him and everything. The ending was just a disastrous blur and made no sense to me at all.
Summing Up:
While it started off mildly entertaining, this book never managed to impress me. With cardboard characters, a feels-less romance, a pointless love triangle, and ultra convenient plot, it's not a book I would really recommend. Usually I'm all for magic and assassins but... not like this. I'm not even angry. I'm just bored.
GIF it to me straight!
**ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect the rating or contents of the review.
Death Sworn was a unique and interesting beginning for a YA series. I was pleasantly surprised and intrigued. I'm enjoying this direction of YA books lately that do not succumb to the instal-love phenomenon. There's a hint of a romance, and I assume more will develop with that farther into the second book.
Here's a female main character I liked, she was troubled and multi-layered but not fully revealed in one big character info-dump. Speaking of, the world development in this book is light, to say the least. I find myself thoroughly enjoying that. I know a lot of people complain about it with other novels, and it's been said it's forgivable in this instance because the whole of this story takes place in a labyrinthine cave system, but I rather like learning about the world as it's necessary to be told over the course of the book/series. Not every story needs a Hermione or a Dumbledore to tell the unenlightened main character about the world, especially one where the main character is not new to this world. For instance, [b:Doomsday Book|18413376|Doomsday Book|Connie Willis|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1410771006s/18413376.jpg|2439628] is one that comes to mind where the mystery of the world in which we find the characters is slowly revealed through the story-telling. Good. To me, it would be like meeting someone from another country and immediately providing them with a history lesson of the United States. It could be a rather brief lesson, if I wanted, considering the country is young, but there's not reason to delve into every country-building aspect until the topic arises.
Not only were the characters enjoyable to read and learn about, but the action was well-written. I find some authors focus too much on making the action *descriptive and interesting* which can lead to a loss of understanding of the action - where you might say: Wait, when did she jump behind him? Not the case here - even for a fast reader like myself. I found this book, overall to be well-written and having well-formed characters and a richly layered world, which I look forward to finding more about in the sequel, [b:Death Marked|18803194|Death Marked (Death Sworn, #2)|Leah Cypess|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404496159s/18803194.jpg|26731281].
Here's a female main character I liked, she was troubled and multi-layered but not fully revealed in one big character info-dump. Speaking of, the world development in this book is light, to say the least. I find myself thoroughly enjoying that. I know a lot of people complain about it with other novels, and it's been said it's forgivable in this instance because the whole of this story takes place in a labyrinthine cave system, but I rather like learning about the world as it's necessary to be told over the course of the book/series. Not every story needs a Hermione or a Dumbledore to tell the unenlightened main character about the world, especially one where the main character is not new to this world. For instance, [b:Doomsday Book|18413376|Doomsday Book|Connie Willis|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1410771006s/18413376.jpg|2439628] is one that comes to mind where the mystery of the world in which we find the characters is slowly revealed through the story-telling. Good. To me, it would be like meeting someone from another country and immediately providing them with a history lesson of the United States. It could be a rather brief lesson, if I wanted, considering the country is young, but there's not reason to delve into every country-building aspect until the topic arises.
Not only were the characters enjoyable to read and learn about, but the action was well-written. I find some authors focus too much on making the action *descriptive and interesting* which can lead to a loss of understanding of the action - where you might say: Wait, when did she jump behind him? Not the case here - even for a fast reader like myself. I found this book, overall to be well-written and having well-formed characters and a richly layered world, which I look forward to finding more about in the sequel, [b:Death Marked|18803194|Death Marked (Death Sworn, #2)|Leah Cypess|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404496159s/18803194.jpg|26731281].
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ileni is a Raegai sorceress who has lost her magic.
She is sent to the remote mountains where a group of assassins live.
She is sent to the remote mountains where a group of assassins live.
Too much romance and feelings, not enough everything else.
2.5 stars
For me, a 3 star rating is a decent book, one I'd considered to continue on with the series (if applicable). A 2 star rating is not a good book, but I don't hate it, either. I finished it and I was eager to do so. Hence, we land at 2.5 rating. I feel so very neutral about this book, and I don't think that's a good thing. The action sequences weren't entirely fleshed out and I found myself rereading passages, trying to understand. I didn't necessarily believe most of the characters and their motives, and as a result, I couldn't connect with them. The world building and politics needed more, so much more.
For me, a 3 star rating is a decent book, one I'd considered to continue on with the series (if applicable). A 2 star rating is not a good book, but I don't hate it, either. I finished it and I was eager to do so. Hence, we land at 2.5 rating. I feel so very neutral about this book, and I don't think that's a good thing. The action sequences weren't entirely fleshed out and I found myself rereading passages, trying to understand. I didn't necessarily believe most of the characters and their motives, and as a result, I couldn't connect with them. The world building and politics needed more, so much more.
Ahoy there me lovelies . . . This was a wonderful young adult fantasy book. The main character, Ileni, is a sorceress who is sent to teach assassins how to use their magic skills. Except this sorceress is about to lose her powers and have no magic at all. She has volunteered for the position knowing that it is likely going to kill her. I have a soft spot for books about assassins and for strong female characters and for magic. This book even has some romance thrown in for those who like that sort of thing. Oh and can I add murder mystery. A hodgepodge of fantasy ideas put together in a delightful way. I would say that overall though this book is character driven with Ileni figuring out what her place in supposed to be in the world when the future she thought she was destined for falls through. While not a long book (I read it in a couple of hours) it was fun and engaging the entire time. The glimpse of the overall world building, while small, is enticing. I enjoyed this author’s book and am excited for the sequel once it comes out. Oh, in looking at the author’s site it IS out. Must track it down . . .
If you liked this review and want to read others visit https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/
If you liked this review and want to read others visit https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/
My original review of this title can be found here on The Book Hookup.
**SPECIAL NOTE:** An eARC of this title was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. However, that did not influence this review in any way. All thoughts, quotes, and opinions will be of this version and not of the published edition.
♠ Initial Thoughts and Rating: Actual rating of 3.5 stars! The premise of this novel piqued my interest immediately. I mean, assassins, magic, betrayals, an all-knowing master, blurred lines between friend and foe and knowing who to trust, forbidden romances with purpose that didn’t come across as cliché… what’s not to love about some of the greatest aspects of the fantasy genre all in one book? Death Sworn was a good start to this new duology.
♠ The Lowdown: Ileni was raised within the Renegai– a powerful group of sorcerers that fled the Empire because they refused to practice black magic– with expected great promise to her people. Her magic was pure and powerful, and once she became of age, it was forethought that she would assume a role of higher position in the ranks among her community. However, as she grew older, her powers grew less and less. Now her powers were barely there and her ability to call on what little she had left was dwindling and left her faint. All but shunned from her community– losing her status, her purpose, and her secret love of another powerful sorcerer– Ileni was miserable. So, when she was asked to be the magic tutor for the most feared assassins in the Empire, Ileni accepted her new purpose with as much dignity as she had left. But she also had another mission while inside the mountainous caverns that provided shelter for her lethal students, find out what happened to the previous two tutors and whether their deaths were actually murder.
While residing in the caves, Ileni finds a different kind of strength in herself as she struggles to work out the loss of her magic and the deaths of her predecessors. She also learns to depend on a group of assassins that she never should be trusting, ones that challenge all her ideas and make her question everything she was ever taught about her magic, the Renegai’s reasoning, and what it means to be ready to sacrifice your life for a greater purpose.
♠ My Thoughts: I really liked the way Cypess pulls the reader into the story, slowly and effortlessly letting the novel untangle itself around the characters and their roles until you’re completely immersed in her world without being aware that you’d fallen in so completely. Written in third person point-of-view, it’s easy to slip in and out of the key characters in the story, and though it’s cryptic at times, you realize how integral each storyline is to the overall plot as it all unfolds. I also enjoyed the slow build of the romance in the novel between Ileni and Sorin, how it was never over-the-top or all-consuming, but rather felt natural and believable in the depth of their devotion to one another.
While I liked the plot and was entertained throughout the entirety of the story, I kept waiting for something… more. There was lack of urgency in the pacing that I felt would have been better suited for this type of book. Not only that, but when the big reveal came, it seemed to fizzle and dud rather than make me gasp with astonishment. In fact, I had suspected the surprise from very early on, though I was unclear on what the reasoning behind it was going to be. (I would make an awesome detective.) More so, my biggest grievance with this novel comes with the lack of world-building. There were so many gray areas for me on how all these things came to be and we know very little about the world outside the caves’ walls. I felt like there was some wasted potential there, and that’s likely why my rating was lower than it should have been.
All that said, I was pleasantly surprised with the direction the ending took, and I expect a few of my issues with this novel will be rectified in the conclusion of this duology.
♠ Rec It? Sure I would, for the occasional fan of fantasy. While some of the elements truly worked for me- namely the characters, the use of sorcery and assassins, and the kindling romance- I think the lack of world-building, one of the better aspects of all great fantasies, was sorely lacking. At any rate, I’m looking forward to the adventures that await us in the next and final book of the Death Sworn duology.
♥ A very special thanks to Greenwillow Books and Edelweiss for providing me with an early copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.
**SPECIAL NOTE:** An eARC of this title was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. However, that did not influence this review in any way. All thoughts, quotes, and opinions will be of this version and not of the published edition.
♠ Initial Thoughts and Rating: Actual rating of 3.5 stars! The premise of this novel piqued my interest immediately. I mean, assassins, magic, betrayals, an all-knowing master, blurred lines between friend and foe and knowing who to trust, forbidden romances with purpose that didn’t come across as cliché… what’s not to love about some of the greatest aspects of the fantasy genre all in one book? Death Sworn was a good start to this new duology.
♠ The Lowdown: Ileni was raised within the Renegai– a powerful group of sorcerers that fled the Empire because they refused to practice black magic– with expected great promise to her people. Her magic was pure and powerful, and once she became of age, it was forethought that she would assume a role of higher position in the ranks among her community. However, as she grew older, her powers grew less and less. Now her powers were barely there and her ability to call on what little she had left was dwindling and left her faint. All but shunned from her community– losing her status, her purpose, and her secret love of another powerful sorcerer– Ileni was miserable. So, when she was asked to be the magic tutor for the most feared assassins in the Empire, Ileni accepted her new purpose with as much dignity as she had left. But she also had another mission while inside the mountainous caverns that provided shelter for her lethal students, find out what happened to the previous two tutors and whether their deaths were actually murder.
While residing in the caves, Ileni finds a different kind of strength in herself as she struggles to work out the loss of her magic and the deaths of her predecessors. She also learns to depend on a group of assassins that she never should be trusting, ones that challenge all her ideas and make her question everything she was ever taught about her magic, the Renegai’s reasoning, and what it means to be ready to sacrifice your life for a greater purpose.
♠ My Thoughts: I really liked the way Cypess pulls the reader into the story, slowly and effortlessly letting the novel untangle itself around the characters and their roles until you’re completely immersed in her world without being aware that you’d fallen in so completely. Written in third person point-of-view, it’s easy to slip in and out of the key characters in the story, and though it’s cryptic at times, you realize how integral each storyline is to the overall plot as it all unfolds. I also enjoyed the slow build of the romance in the novel between Ileni and Sorin, how it was never over-the-top or all-consuming, but rather felt natural and believable in the depth of their devotion to one another.
While I liked the plot and was entertained throughout the entirety of the story, I kept waiting for something… more. There was lack of urgency in the pacing that I felt would have been better suited for this type of book. Not only that, but when the big reveal came, it seemed to fizzle and dud rather than make me gasp with astonishment. In fact, I had suspected the surprise from very early on, though I was unclear on what the reasoning behind it was going to be. (I would make an awesome detective.) More so, my biggest grievance with this novel comes with the lack of world-building. There were so many gray areas for me on how all these things came to be and we know very little about the world outside the caves’ walls. I felt like there was some wasted potential there, and that’s likely why my rating was lower than it should have been.
All that said, I was pleasantly surprised with the direction the ending took, and I expect a few of my issues with this novel will be rectified in the conclusion of this duology.
♠ Rec It? Sure I would, for the occasional fan of fantasy. While some of the elements truly worked for me- namely the characters, the use of sorcery and assassins, and the kindling romance- I think the lack of world-building, one of the better aspects of all great fantasies, was sorely lacking. At any rate, I’m looking forward to the adventures that await us in the next and final book of the Death Sworn duology.
♥ A very special thanks to Greenwillow Books and Edelweiss for providing me with an early copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.