Thursday, March 6, 2014

Death Sworn Blog Tour Review: Review and Giveaway




Death Sworn by Leah Cypess
Available Now
Published by Harper Teen
Reviewed by:  Middle Sis Jenn
The Sisters Say:  Unique setting, yummy alpha male, but slow paced at times

When Ileni lost her magic, she lost everything: her place in society, her purpose in life, and the man she had expected to spend her life with. So when the Elders sent her to be magic tutor to a secret sect of assassins, she went willingly, even though the last two tutors had died under mysterious circumstances.

But beneath the assassins’ caves, Ileni will discover a new place and a new purpose… and a new and dangerous love. She will struggle to keep her lost magic a secret while teaching it to her deadly students, and to find out what happened to the two tutors who preceded her. But what she discovers will change not only her future, but the future of her people, the assassins… and possibly the entire world.

It seems that High Fantasy is the new big thing in ya literature lately, so, like many other readers, I have jumped on the bandwagon.  I will admit, I’m not usually a huge fan of high fantasy, but there are some worlds that really catch my eye.  Leah’s world (at least the part of it we see) is unique and suspenseful, and while it lacked in the romance (cries), it was still a fun and quick read.

I liked that the story dives right in from the first sentence, no dull and drawn out world building.  Now many of you might complain about this, but so many high fantasies just seem to drone on and on and on about the world and the setting.  Leah doesn’t waste her time with this and jumps right in to the good stuff.  Now, at the same time, I do wish we could have seen a little more of the world.  The entire book takes place inside a mountain.  It’s dank, dark, and deliciously scary—but at the same time, I wanted to see a little bit more.

Ileni is our main character, and while she didn’t bug me, she didn’t really wow me either.  I liked her confidence and her determination to not let the all the assassin students get the best of her.  She stands her ground and even though her magic is fading, she manages to hold her own.   Then we have Soren, supposedly the best of the assassins.  He comes off as ill-tempered, but there is just something sexy about his alpha tendencies.  If only there was more romance!!!  This is my major complaint with ALL high fantasies—romance takes a back seat.  Romance is my absolute favorite part of ya, so I seem to have a difficult time with the lack thereof.
Most of the book is written in 3rd person limited, where we just see Ileni’s pov.  However, we get brief glimpses into the “Master.”  Let’s just say, those brief glimpses will make you want to rear back and knee him straight in his magic place.  He’s just so cruel, and he makes it a point that everyone in the cave sees him as the ultimate power.  As far as villains go, he’s pretty good.


Overall, this is an interesting read, although lacking in a few key places.  Still, if you are a high fantasy fan, you should definitely check it out.

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Tour Schedule and Buy Links:

Week One:
2/24/2014- Two Chicks on BooksOriginal Content
2/25/2014- Mundie Moms-Original Content
2/26/2014- BookishOriginal content
2/27/2014- FiktshunOriginal Content
2/28/2014- Magical Urban Fantasy Reads-Review or Original Content

Week Two:
3/3/2014- Supernatural SnarkOriginal content
3/4/2014- Page Turners - Original Content
3/5/2014- Tales of a Ravenous ReaderOriginal content
3/6/2014- YA SisterhoodReview
3/7/2014- A Backwards StoryOriginal content      

DEATH SWORN
Author: Leah Cypess
Release Date: March 4, 2014
Pages: 352
Publisher: Greenwillow Books

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