DEATH MARKED BOOK TOUR + GIVEAWAY!
I'm really excited to be a part of this book tour! I loved DEATH SWORN which I read as a Cybils judge and let's just say the sequel will not disappoint!
Title: DEATH MARKED
Author: Leah Cypess
Pub. Date: March 3, 2015
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Pages: 400
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
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 YA Books Central review:
One of the best parts of being a Cybils judge has to be having the opportunity to read amazing YAs. One such book DEATH SWORN caught my attention with it's story of a girl raised to topple an Empire and then being forced to live among assassins. When I heard the sequel was out? I had to read it!
What worked: Once again we follow Ileni on her quest to kill the powerful magicians in the Empire. What I really loved had to be the struggle Illeni goes through on infiltrating the so-called enemy and looking for their weakness(in this case the source of the magician's power) and finding out that maybe everything she'd been raised to believe, might be a lie.
Another whole plus is the twists and turns throughout the plot which includes Ilena finding out who in fact might be a friend or someone out to kill her. The betrayals and surprising reveals kept me turning the pages. No, sorry, no spoilers, but let's just say the ending totally took me off guard.
The world building in this series is nothing short of amazing from the claustrophobic underground caves which house assassins, to how the magic is harvested, to the betrayals, and finally to the bustle and secrets of a city in the Empire. Magic bristles everywhere. Everyone thinks they are right in how they either use or avoid magic. There's lots of gray in this world. Nothing is clear cut which adds to the suspense and conflict within Ilena.
The only problem I had was the beginning which was a tad bit slow with Ilena helping two twins that gives a whole new meaning to sibling rivalry. Then when Ilena finds the source of the magic in the Empire? The pace speeds up as does the surprising reveals.
Action packed with a strong protagonist who struggles to find the truth behind her so-called destiny and purpose, along with following the truth of her heart.
YA Books Central review link: http://www.yabookscentral.com/yafiction/17786-death-marked
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.
Giveaway Details:
1 Grand Prize pack signed copies of all 4 of Leah’s books (Mistwood, Nightspell, Death Sworn, and Death Marked), plus signed SWAG! US Only.
Tour Schedule
Week Two:
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