Assassin’s Heart by Sarah Ahiers

Summary: In the kingdom of Lovero, nine rival Families of assassins lawfully kill people for a price. As a highly skilled member of one of these powerful clans, seventeen-year-old Lea Saldana has always trusted in the strength of her Family. Until she awakens to find them murdered and her home in flames. The Da Vias, the Saldanas’ biggest enemy, must be responsible—and Lea should have seen it coming. But her secret relationship with the Da Vias’ son, Val, has clouded her otherwise killer instinct—and given the Da Vias more reason than ever to take her Family down.  Racked with guilt and shattered over Val’s probable betrayal, Lea sets out to even the score, with her heart set on retaliation and only one thought clear in her mind: make the Da Vias pay.

The worldbuilding in this story was wonderful. Ahiers creates an expansive world of holy assassins and complicated family – and Family – politics, and a heroine at the heart of the story who must fight her way through betrayal and revenge and find something more. Lea and Les are a wonderful pair, point and counterpoint – it says a lot that I was rooting for them both, when both were unapologetic murderers. I found the way that Ahiers entwined murder-as-worship into every part of this story to be completely fascinating and utterly plausible.

Assassin’s Heart is out now.

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