Scan barcode
ursimae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Torture, Blood, Physical abuse, Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Grief, Body horror, Death, Murder, Sexism, and Slavery
Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, Genocide, Alcohol, Classism, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Child abuse, and Vomit
Minor: Animal death, Infidelity, War, Child death, and Death of parent
booksalacarte's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is a YA book. It was an easy read. Not very fulfilling. Fluffy. I’m not really invested enough after finishing it to move on to the second book.
Things I respected:
- high fantasy, creating an entire new world, is very hard to do. I wasn’t distracted or confused by much.
- No sex scenes. The plot didn’t need it. Didn’t miss it.
- Maas wrote this when she was a teenager.
Things I didn’t like:
-the main character is only 18 (beautiful, vain, bookish…yawn) and supposedly the greatest assassin of all time after working/training for 10 years. But she still pouts when she isn’t invited to parties and balls.
-Competitions where there could be an opportunity to show off why she earned that title were glossed over or skipped all together. She is an assassin that made zero kills in the book. She has to cheat in order to win one of her challenges. Notorious assassin. Ha!
-she is so unaware of her surroundings. Sleeping through people coming in and out of her room. A heart as cold as ice, but then she befriends her maid and a princess within seconds of meeting them. She is completely oblivious. Her character is all over the place, even for an 18 year old assassin who did a year of hard labor.
-The captain of the guard is 22. Only 22?!… and got to such a high position as captain of the guard having never killed anyone… so has he never fought in a single battle? How did he earn his spot at such a young age?
There isn’t an ounce of urgency to read what comes next after book 1 is over. I could drop this series all together after this first book and not feel any pull to read the following 7 books or the prequel.
—————————————————————
Reread 1/2024- 4⭐️ 2🌶️
Young Adult Fantasy
Assassin/morally grey FMC
Multi POV
Trials/competition
Love triangle
Chosen one
Secret history
Murder mystery
Tw: vomit, slavery, murder, gore
There is so much for-shadowing for the whole series within the first 3 chapters. You already know that she is not just an assassin. The forest knows she is something important. That was never hinted at in Assassin’s Blade.
I completely forgot about the murder mystery aspect of this book. Actually, I had forgotten a lot of this book, leaving me with only vague ties into the overall plot of the series. I highlighted SO much.
Celaena is such a flawed character. She is vein and arrogant. Without the novellas there isn’t much to show her being a ruthless assassin, so it’s hard to put that mantle on her. But with the novellas and fully knowing about her time as assassin, you can respect her a little more. She is morally grey, but in the most honorable way!
Dorian is such a spoiled prince. And I say that with love. His chaotic good nature is something else.
Chaol is tight laced, lawful good, loyalty and honor above all else.
The two men are at such odds with themselves and their situation. It’s so good!
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Misogyny, Confinement, Violence, Vomit, Death, Drug use, Murder, Blood, Bullying, and Gore
scarlett_f's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Slavery, Blood, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Bullying, Death of parent, Gore, Cursing, Death, Grief, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Stalking, and Violence
perytonne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny, War, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug use, Murder, Sexism, and Slavery
Minor: Animal death, Child death, and Vomit
raavi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Grief, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny and War
Minor: Stalking
amanda_reads13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This plot had SO much potential. I was expecting a fast paced story, but, alas, it was not. It was way too focused on the "romance" side (which was kinda cringe) and not enough on developing strong characters and world building. Much of the plot was quite predictable, and I have a good idea of where the next book is heading. That said, I am still interested to see where Maas takes the story.
Celaena is supposed to be this badass assassin. I found her to be pretty lackluster and annoying. She is tiny, beautiful? Ugh. Original. Honestly, she seems more vain and self-absorbed than anything else. Why are we being told about her obsession with dresses, dreams of kissing the prince , and her temper tantrums about not being invited to a ball? Shouldn't she be disciplined and ruthless after years of being the best assassin ever? How can she be such a cunning and masterfully trained assassin when people can sneak up on her so easily?
I'm not a huge fan of love triangles and I have a feeling that there is going to be a lot of back and forth between Dorian and Chaol. So we will see how that goes...
I really liked Princess Nehemia. I thought she was a really interesting character and I hope that she continues to be developed in the upcoming books.
Tropes: fantasy, slow burn, love triangle, secret identity
Graphic: Death of parent, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Death
elleclair's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, Drug use, Physical abuse, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Misogyny, and Gore
Moderate: Gore, Vomit, and Drug use
Minor: Alcohol
aammeess's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Slavery, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Bullying, Classism, Grief, Drug use, Addiction, Colonisation, Confinement, Death of parent, Torture, and War
Minor: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Sexism, Animal death, and Misogyny
ladydeathnesta's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Gore, Child abuse, Confinement, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Death, Torture, Physical abuse, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Sexism
All of the content warnings are really for the whole series, as I can’t remember specifics to everything in this book.ashlynndr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Death, Violence, Blood, Slavery, and Cursing
Minor: Torture, Drug use, Sexual content, Gore, Vomit, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Emotional abuse