Mundie Moms

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Death Marked by Leah Cypress, Blog Tour: Book Review



Welcome to the last stop on the Death Marked blog tour. I am so thrilled to be apart of this tour, and feature the second book in Leah's Death Sworn series. Originally my review and post were scheduled to go up yesterday, with being over seas and traveling literally all day yesterday, I sadly didn't get this post up when I was suppose to, and I apologize to Leah, RockStar blog tours and to all who were following the tour for that. Though this is up a date late, I am still thrilled to share my review, and help promote Leah's book. You can read my 5 star review for Death Sworn here

ABOUT THE BOOK 



By: Leah Cypess
Published by: Greenwillow Books
Released on: March 3rd, 2015
Series: Death Sworn #2
Source: arc from author in exchange for my honest review
Rating: 3.5 stars - It Was Really Good
Purchase it from: AmazonBarnes & Noble
Add it to Goodreads Goodreads
A young sorceress’s entire life has been shaped to destroy the empire controlling her world. But if everything she knows is a lie, will she even want to fulfill her destiny? The sequel to Death Sworn is just as full of magic and surprising revelations, and will thrill fans of Leigh Bardugo and Robin LaFevers.

At seventeen, Ileni lost her magical power and was exiled to the hidden caves of the assassins. She never thought she would survive long. But she discovered she was always meant to end up, powerless, in the caves as part of an elder sorcerer’s plan to destroy the evil Empire they'd battled so long. Except that Ileni is not an assassin, and she doesn't want to be a weapon. And, after everything, she’s not even sure she knows the truth. Now, at the very heart of the Empire—its academy for sorcerers—the truth is what she seeks. What she finds challenges every belief she holds dear—and it threatens her fledgling romance with the young master of assassins.

Leah Cypess spins an intricate and beautiful conclusion to Ileni's story. In the end, it may not be the epic decisions that bring down an empire, but the small ones that pierce the heart.

I loved Death Sworn, and have eagerly awaited to jump back into this intriguing world Leah Cypress has created, with Death Marked. Many of the things I loved about this book's sequel, were as I had hoped they would be. The intrigue, the danger, the plot twists, and the betrayals were so well crafted and developed. I really enjoyed trying to figure out which side of all that is going on, Illeni should be on. There are so many secrets and new characters that are introduced to the story.

I loved this story's unpredictability. From characters to plot twists, there was so many things that were happening that it was hard to figure out what would happen next, until things were happening. I loved the way Leah weaved previous characters and new character's storylines, and tied them together, whether for good or bad. One of the things I liked, was seeing the different sides to those I thought previous were bad, and seeing how some characters were able to twist certain aspects of what was going on, so that not only does it throw the reader off, but it also makes it hard to figure out where I wanted Illeni to stand in all that was going on.

While I loved the plot twists, and getting to see and understand more of the world within this series, I had a few issues with Ileni. Ileni was a character I really liked getting to know in Death Sworn. This time I often times felt really annoyed with her. While I at first understood the nature of her actions given the situation she finds herself in, after awhile I couldn't help but feel frustrated with how naive she ended up being through out much of the book. I think that's due in part to the fact I felt she was a much smarter previously and should have been able to figure certain things out. I also find her to be selfish at times. The biggest issue I had with her, was her being so hung up on Sorin. When you read the book, you'll know why.

Despite my frustration and lack of liking IIeni in this book like I did in Death Sworn, I really liked the introduction to some new characters. I wouldn't say there's a romance, but there's definitely a possibility of one to come if there's a next book. I'm really hoping there is another book. While some things were wrapped up, there's enough of an open ending that would lead nicely into another storyline. Overall I loved being back in the world, and I'm really hoping I don't have to say good bye to IIeni, and the rest of the characters just yet.
About Leah


I wrote my first story in first grade. The narrator was an ice-cream cone in the process of being eaten. In fourth grade, I wrote my first book, about a girl who gets shipwrecked on a desert island with her faithful and heroic dog (a rip-off of both The Black Stallion and all the Lassie movies, very impressive).
After selling my first story (Temple of Stone) while in high school, I gave in to my mother’s importuning to be practical and majored in biology at  Brooklyn College. I then went to Columbia Law School and practiced law for almost two years at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, a large law firm in New York City. I kept writing and submitting in my spare time, and finally, a mere 15 years after my first short story acceptance, I sold my first novel to Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins).
I live in Brookline, Massachusetts (right outside of Boston) with my husband Aaron, a researcher and doctor at the Joslin Diabetes Center, and our three children.
Visit Leah via her Website, Facebook or Twitter!

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