Death Sworn by @LeahCypess Review + Giveaway

Death Sworn by Leah Cypess
(Death Sworn, #1)
Release Date: March 4, 2014
Publisher: Greenwillow Books; 352 pages
Rating:

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.

This cover is absolutely stunning. I am getting that out of the way before I talk about the actual book. I'm so in love with it and I think it's pretty similar to the feel of the book. I wish more money could've gone in to the final version of this cover because it could've been so amazing. It was just lacking what could've been perfection but alas, that's not going against the actual book because the author has no control over details like that.

The book, itself, was pretty spectacular. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect but when you tell me it has magic and assassins, I'm already sold. And it never let me down. The entire time while reading this book, I was so in to the story that you could've been talking to me and I wouldn't have even realized it (but seriously, I advise against trying. You'll make me very annoyed and we don't want an annoyed Jessica...).

Ileni (whose another character whose name I'm not sure I'm pronouncing it correctly but we'll just say that I am and all be okay with that) has basically been sent to her death. She's the sorceress whose been assigned to go teach the assassins about magic and the past two sorcerers have mysteriously been murdered. She's got a rather strong head on those shoulders of hers for being put into such a position. She's surprisingly not afraid to die but wanting to fight for her life. Prove to get people and herself that she's not worthless.

Sorin, who is the love interesting and the top assassin is a mixture of scary, intriguing and sexy rolled up in to one man. He's got a past that isn't rainbows and unicorns and future that doesn't look to be much better nor very long because, let's face it, assassin's don't have a really long life span, right? He's got trust issues, which I can understand and he's got one person he listens to and that's it. That's all he's ever really known since living on the streets so you can't fault him.

The relationship build up is very gradual even if the attraction part may not be. I love this relationship not just in a romantic sense but in the friendship sense, too.

There are parts of this book that will have you cringing, wishing you didn't just imagine a certain scene. It will have you swooning here and there. It will also have you rooting for Ileni time and time again. It's full of action, humor, adventure, romance and death. It leaves you wanting more but the cliff hanger isn't unbearable which makes it a little less painful to wait.

I am giving away a signed ARC of Death Sworn to one lucky reader. This giveaway is open internationally, so everyone can enter. It will end at 11:59 PM EST on October 14, 2014. Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor!

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