Mini Review: The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas
The Assassin's Blade
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass #0.1, #0.2, #0.3, #0.4, #0.5
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens
Published: March 4th 2014
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 448
Format: Hardback
Source: Received as a gift
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Goodreads
Contains all five novellas.
Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan's most feared assassin. As part of the Assassin's Guild, her allegiance is to her master, Arobynn Hamel, yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. In these action-packed novellas - together in one edition for the first time - Celaena embarks on five daring missions. They take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, where she fights to liberate slaves and seeks to avenge the tyrannous. But she is acting against Arobynn's orders and could suffer an unimaginable punishment for such treachery. Will Celaena ever be truly free? Explore the dark underworld of this kick-ass heroine to find out. (Cover and synopsis from Goodreads.)
The Assassin’s Blade is a collection of the Throne of Glass novellas, which are prequels to the series. I really enjoyed these novellas, but I didn’t write down much for each one, so I’m just going to write a mini review where I share some of my notes.
The Assassin and the Pirate Lord (Throne of Glass #0.1)
- I know I say this all the time when I talk about this series, but I LOVE how Celaena loves books AND pretty dresses AND kicks ass.
- 50,000 of my Bonus Points for the magical map that the pirate, Rolfe, has tattooed on his hands. (It reminds me of The Map to Everywhere which is a fantastic MG novel.)
- Also 50,000 Bonus Points for the map at the beginning of the book.
- I read Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight long before reading The Assassin’s Blade, and I forgot how ruthless some of these characters are.
- 4 stars.
The Assassin and the Healer (Throne of Glass #0.2)
- I really hope we see Yrene in later books. I like her!
- These self defense lessons Celaena teaches Yrene are great, because they’re the same kind of self defense that we can use in our own world.
- Short and sweet.
- 4.5 stars.
The Assassin and the Desert (Throne of Glass #0.3)
- Ansel ???
- I want Celaena to be bi, dammit!
- Some of these parts are really hard to read. Celaena does not have an easy life, even though she may be part of the high society.
- Some great suspense!
- So…maybe Ansel is my new problematic fave?
- 5 stars.
The Assassin and the Underworld (Throne of Glass #0.4)
- Aww, Sam’s so sweet!
- Dorian and Chaol!! (I mean, I think it’s them.)
- I like how Celaena is cocky sometimes and then she gets knocked down a peg or two.
- Lots of suspense! I know Celaena lives because these are prequels to the series but I still got anxious for her. Very good writing.
- 4 stars.
The Assassin and the Empire (Throne of Glass #0.5)
- Oooh, we get to see how she was captured and imprisoned! Yay!!
- I love Celaena. She doesn’t want to move anywhere without her books.
- Some really intense scenes and wonderfully written lines.
- 4.5 stars.
Overall, I really, really enjoyed The Assassin’s Blade. I think these novellas are a must for any fan of the Throne of Glass series, and you can read them before or after you’ve read any of the other books in the series. 4.5 stars overall.
Andrea
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Micheline @ Lunar Rainbows Reviews
September 1, 2016 at 10:37 amThese short stories destroyed me. I tend to see novellas as lighter on plot and feels but man these changed all that – I see them as game changers for the entire ‘novella-game’ Glad you enjoyed them too!!