Review: Death Sworn by Leah Cypess

[KAV]

The main character, Ileni, is slowly losing her magic and with that, she will lose everything that has ever mattered to her. So when the elders of her people volunteer her to go under the mountain to teach a secret group of assassins she willingly accepts even though her two predecessors mysteriously died. She made it her new purpose in life to find out who killed her predecessors before she becomes the next victim. Being surrounded by killers she doesn’t know who to trust and how she will stay safe once someone finds out her own secret that she doesn’t have enough magic left to even defend herself.

Through her feeble attempts to find the killer without depleting her magic supply she finds an unlikely ally that is kindled into something more. Even though Ileni has somehow fallen in love, despite her better judgment, with a murderer, I liked how she wasn’t willing to give up everything that she believes in and neither is he. Both of them made slight compromises in their opinions and choices, but neither of them completely gave up themselves. Their morals that fueled their actions stayed true to their character.

The ending gave a twist to the plot in more ways than one and left me confused at certain deaths and actions, yet satisfied. Ileni’s purpose was fulfilled and she sets off at the end of the book looking for more answers that were left open for another novel.