Review – Courting Darkness (Courting Darkness, Book 1) by Robin LaFevers (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 512 pages
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Release Date: February 5, 2019
ISBN-13: 978-0544991194
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Courting Darkness duology
Source: ARC from Amazon Vine
Rating: 5/5 stars

“When Sybella accompanies the Duchess to France, she expects trouble, but she isn’t expecting a deadly trap. Surrounded by enemies both known and unknown, Sybella searches for the undercover assassins from the convent of St. Mortain who were placed in the French court years ago.

Genevieve has been undercover for so many years, she no longer knows who she is or what she’s supposed to be fighting for. When she discovers a hidden prisoner who may be of importance, she takes matters into her own hands.

As these two worlds collide, the fate of the Duchess, Brittany, and everything Sybella and Genevieve have come to love hangs in the balance.”

This is the first book in the Courting Darkness duology by LaFevers. This book is set in the same world and deals with many of the same characters as the His Fair Assassin series but is set later in time. I would definitely recommend reading the His Fair Assassin series first. This book was amazing. I loved both of the characters we followed and the writing style was beautiful. The world here is lush and intricate, the intrigue complex.

This book alternates between two different heroines. The first is Sybella (who we know a lot about from the previous series). She is serving as handmaiden and bodyguard to the Duchess of Brittany. The second is Genevieve, she is serving in France undercover. However, she’s been undercover for many years and has no idea what she is supposed to be doing or who she is supposed to be serving.

I really enjoyed this a ton. This book is full of lush descriptive writing that is beautifully done and really makes the world and characters come alive. It is a long book and it took me a bit to read, it never felt long though. It was incredibly engaging but does require some concentration to get through. Both Sybella and Genevieve are equally engaging characters and I loved them.

This book is fairly dark in tone. The situations Sybella and Genevieve (and the women around them) are forced to deal with are raw and dark and will make you cringe at points. This was a very intense read and never really let up.

The only thing I was kind of disappointed in was how the book wrapped up. There’s no closure on anything…it just stops. Hopefully the second book in the duology comes out soon.

Overall this was an amazing, if very dark and intense, historical fantasy read. It is pretty much a masterpiece in my opinion and is just written with such amazing beauty and care. I loved it, but was a bit disappointed about how abruptly the story ended. I can’t wait to see how things wrap up in the second book and really hope some of our characters catch a break and get some happiness in their lives.