The Exiled Blade (The Assassini #3) Review

Cynthia Ayala ’16/ Emertainment Monthly Writer

By: Jon Courtenay Grimwood

Published: April 2, 2013

Publisher: Orbit

Series: The Assassini

Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Historical Fiction

Jon Courtneay Grimwood
Jon Courtneay Grimwood

Venice stands victorious, winning battle after battle. Duchess Alexa’s party in court is stronger than ever and Lady Guiletta, her niece, will be the next Regent with her lover Lord Tycho at her side.  However the fury of exiled regent and traitor to his city Prince Alonzo catches everyone unprepared, and winter is coming.  As the Millioni family continues to war with itself, Tycho must ask himself one question: how much is he willing risk to keep Guiletta and her city safe?

Dark, thrilling and a book you simply cannot put down, Grimwood concludes his masterful trilogy and the life of turmoil here in The Exiled Blade.  Tycho, Lord of the Assassini and lover to the Lady Guiletta, is waiting to marry his love.  Her uncle, the damnable Alonzo, has been sent into exile and at first everything was perfect, but everything was deceiving.  It was a majestic piece of interweaving action and plot.  Character development in the novel was amazing.  Lady Guiletta has suffered much in her time through the novels, becoming a virgin mother by treacherous actions and then a widow.  Her suffering continues but also continues to strengthen her character.  A strong ambitious woman who also has the morals that have lacked in her family, Lady Guiletta has grown so much as a character and is incredibly powerful.  She’s masterful and strong, a pure vision of a woman in charge.  This is the type of woman that shoul

d be in more novels.  Her brilliance and strength are remarkable and make her resonate off the pages, drawing the readers to every word surrounding her.

As for Tycho, he is simply an amazing character.  He is a strong and defined character who leaps of the pages.  He’s amazing, down to the very last moment.  His characterization is amazing, and the inner turmoil he suffers and the amount of love he feels for Lady Guiletta is insurmountable and vibrates through the novel.  He is a character who is constantly wrestling with the darkness within himself, wondering what version of himself is the real him, the fallen angel, or the monster behind the façade.  That inner turmoil is simply captivating.  I am personally in love with Tycho.

Overall the character development and characterization in the novel is well done; there was no one character that lacked character growth, and some even went through remarkable changes that were mind-blowing.

The inner plot differed from character to character, leaving the novel interesting at every point-of-view change.  Grimwood was able to tie each of them back to the outer plot, building the story beautifully and intricately without being confusing.  It was easy to follow and easy to get lost in the world of Venice that Grimwood created here.

The novel is a great compilation of love, drama, and political intrigue.  All the detail was great, specific creating masterful spell binding scenes that made it difficult to put the book down and they drove the reader back into the darker and gritty parts of 15th century Venice.  Dark, beautiful and unique, one of the best vampire books out there.  ★★★★★ (A+)

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