Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin #2) by Robin LaFevers Narrator: Angela Goethals
Published by Recorded Books on 19 April 2025
Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
Source: Purchased through Audible
Goodreads
Sybella arrives at the convent’s doorstep half mad with grief and despair. Those that serve Death are only too happy to offer her refuge—but at a price. The convent views Sybella, naturally skilled in the arts of both death and seduction, as one of their most dangerous weapons. But those assassin's skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to a life that nearly drove her mad. And while Sybella is a weapon of justice wrought by the god of Death himself, He must give her a reason to live. When she discovers an unexpected ally imprisoned in the dungeons, will a daughter of Death find something other than vengeance to live for?
Thoughts:
This is one of those books that I’m not sure how to review, because I loved it so much. I don’t think you have to read Grave Mercy to enjoy Dark Triumph, but I do think that it will help. There were a few times I was confused about the world, though rarely for long. The story starts so quickly that I actually had to check that I hadn’t started my audiobook on the wrong track. I hadn’t, the story just starts off with a ton of action that also happens to be emotionally complex. I was close to tears or crying most of the way through this book. I just loved Sybella so much and it was hard to see her so broken from years of abuse.
While I cared about the plot, I was much more invested in watching Sybella learn to love herself again and then to let someone else love her. Beast is wonderful and his love helps her grow into a place of strength. I loved that he wasn’t there to save her. They were equals and violent and they made even the hardest parts of this book delightful. Like Grave Mercy, Dark Triumph explores a crisis of faith-this time Sybella doubts her god’s very existence. This book gets very dark, but it never took away my hope. Even when I was crying, it would make me laugh, and I was left needing more for Sybella and Beast.
Favorite Moment: I’d like to say any moment with Beast, but there are so many. Let’s go with the very, very last scene. Beast makes my heart swell.
WTF Moment: How Beast’s sister died. Everything about that reveal… I was sobbing.
Overall: I loved Grave Mercy, but Dark Triumph is even better, because it is more emotionally intense with a love story that will stay with me for a long time. I have no idea how LeFevers will ever top this with her third book.
Narrator: Goethals did a fantastic job of conveying Sybella’s complicated emotions. This story constantly had me on the verge of tears and part of this is because the narrator made the story real.
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Samantha @ Reading-AndCoffee says
30 September 2025 at 11:17 amYES YES YES! I’m am so happy you loved it. This book is seriously in the running to be my favourite of the year. Everything about it was amazing.
Jen @ YA Romantics says
1 October 2025 at 9:00 pmAHHHH — so happy you loved this. Why haven’t you texted me about it? I thought it was a fantastic book….
Lauren @ Love is not a triangle says
3 October 2025 at 1:12 pmThere’s been a rush of series this year that just keep getting better and this is for sure one of them. I agree with all that you said, especially: “While I cared about the plot, I was much more invested in watching Sybella learn to love herself again and then to let someone else love her. Beast is wonderful and his love helps her grow into a place of strength. I loved that he wasn’t there to save her. They were equals and violent and they made even the hardest parts of this book delightful. ” YES! It’s definitely Sybella’s personal journey that struck me the most, and of course Beast stole my heart.
Also, you definitely have to be careful about audio book tracks! My sister read one recently and her player was accidentally on random, so she got incredibly confused about what was going on since the story kept jumping in time. She was like “this author made some bold choices about narration.” Then she had to start all over when she realized the problem. Anyway, so glad you loved this one too!
Christina @ Allodoxophobia says
9 October 2025 at 8:23 amThis book, gah! I loved it so so much! I was a puddle of emotion, trapped on a plane when I read it. I can’t wait to see where RL takes us with Annith 🙂