Showing posts with label Leah Cypess (author). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leah Cypess (author). Show all posts

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Fantasy Review: Death Marked (Death Sworn #2) by Leah Cypess

Death Marked (Death Sworn #2)
by Leah Cypess

Description:
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.


My review:
Fantastic.

I loved the new setting and the tidy way everything is wrapped up. This story surprised me over and over again, even to the ending. As such, I can’t really think of more to say that wouldn’t spoil it.

The author is a masterful storyteller. I very much loved this story and have no trouble marking it as strongly recommended. If you liked the first book, you’ll love the second.

I borrowed this audiobook from the library.


About the Author:



Leah Cypess wrote her first story in first grade. The narrator was an ice-cream cone in the process of being eaten. In fourth grade, she wrote her first book, about a girl who was shipwrecked on a desert island with her faithful and heroic dog (a rip-off of both The Black Stallion and all the Lassie movies).

After selling her first story while in high school, she gave in to her mother's importuning to be practical and majored in biology at Brooklyn College. She then went to Columbia Law School and practiced law for almost two years. She kept writing and submitting in her spare time, and finally, a mere 15 years after her first short story acceptance, she sold her first novel.

Leah currently lives in Brookline, Massachusetts with her husband and children.

Author Links:
https://www.amazon.com/Leah-Cypess/
http://www.leahcypess.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2915782.Leah_Cypess

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Fantasy Review: Death Sworn (Death Sworn #1) by Leah Cypess

Death Sworn (Death Sworn #1)
by Leah Cypess


Description:
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.


My Review:
Great story.

I found it interesting that someone could have super strong magic growing up, but it only be fleeting. The fact that she’s trying to portray strength to her assassin students, but undermining her ability to keep it up the entire time added quite an edge.

The mystery aspect was also great. As she tries to figure out how her predecessors died, she cannot allow herself to forget that she is very likely the next target.

Then there’s the romance. She’s drawn to an unlikely ally, and while he seems likely to reciprocate, she knows she cannot trust him. I thought the author did a great job building characters that act true to their natures and circumstances.

Overall, I loved the book, evidenced by the fact that I immediately borrowed number 2 after reading. I think fans of fantasy will dig this.

I borrowed this audiobook from the library.


About the Author:



Leah Cypess wrote her first story in first grade. The narrator was an ice-cream cone in the process of being eaten. In fourth grade, she wrote her first book, about a girl who was shipwrecked on a desert island with her faithful and heroic dog (a rip-off of both The Black Stallion and all the Lassie movies).

After selling her first story while in high school, she gave in to her mother's importuning to be practical and majored in biology at Brooklyn College. She then went to Columbia Law School and practiced law for almost two years. She kept writing and submitting in her spare time, and finally, a mere 15 years after her first short story acceptance, she sold her first novel.

Leah currently lives in Brookline, Massachusetts with her husband and children.

Author Links:
https://www.amazon.com/Leah-Cypess/
http://www.leahcypess.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2915782.Leah_Cypess