Delving back into the world of the assassins of Saint Mortain was something I'd been looking forward to ever since I heard about this book. I was worried I'd be unsure of who was who, but it wasn't hard to join with the characters at the stage they were in. Truly, Sybella had been my favorite, even if her book wasn't my favorite. The other main character in this book, Genevieve, took me a little bit to come around to. But once I did, I was rooting for her, and hoping that she could have a romance herself, with Maraud, the prisoner she'd rescued from the dungeon, even if the rescue was only to serve her own purposes. Now when something happened in the book, I kind of assumed it was going to be the prisoner, I won't say what happened, so maybe you won't expect what I did. So when we did find out who he was, well, all the little puzzle pieces started to fall into place.

The author is great about keeping certain details from coming out until moments that will have the reader gasping in surprise! The other thing I love is all the history that is interwoven throughout the plot. The author has a note at the end that does clear up what is actually true and what she had to adjust and tweak to fit her story. Not only is there an afterward talking about the history of the story, but there is a letter at the beginning to the readers, talking about what motivated her to write further in this world. It was a touching note, with some deep topics and worth reading.

The ending of the book left me on the edge of my seat, satisfied with this reunion of some of my favorite characters, but sad that I'll be waiting until 2020 to see what will happen with where we left off.

This review was first posted on Lisa Loves Literature.