Scan barcode
irenetrexqueen's review
3.0
This is my first read of any of Melissa's books, no idea why because her writing seems right up my alley. Now, like any review, this is heavily biased and like a very particular type of book. The books I prefer have action, adventure, mystery and maybe some light romance and if it's in a fantasy world (or just has magic) I like it even more. The Queen's Assassin hits about 80% of this.
We find the book set in a fantasy world with unique names and places, including ancient castles and prisons, kings and beautiful queens. There is something dark in the world hunting our female character and stopped by male main character. From there we get a buddy adventure book with escapes from a stronghold, magic, espionage, and a falling fast romance. With the last being my main issue with the book.
Why would the country's BEST spy and warrior fall for a girl so quickly? After only a few hours together Cal is "fighting" the urge to hold and love Shadow. Throughout the book we have no real idea of how much time has passed, though it felt like a few days. I know, I'm not the real demo for this book, but we really need to stop writing romances as 3 days of falling for someone, ESPECIALLY SPIES. Even a note of a week has passed or some time at so and so's manior house would be better.
Another smaller issue I had was the magic, it seemed a bit out of left field. It came about mid-book and from there it's a big plot point. Could have built that up a bit more.
My last issue ties into the love story. It goes from an action-adventure to pure romance novel for the last 4th of the book. I understand this is a series, but the end of the could just be the end of all of it. I know we have things to find and people to kill but those were thrown to the wind at the end and now I feel no more forward momentum.
All this being said, I did finish the book and that's a good sign. If I can get my hands on the second book from the Library I'll read it. I suggest a rent over buy.
We find the book set in a fantasy world with unique names and places, including ancient castles and prisons, kings and beautiful queens. There is something dark in the world hunting our female character and stopped by male main character. From there we get a buddy adventure book with escapes from a stronghold, magic, espionage, and a falling fast romance. With the last being my main issue with the book.
Why would the country's BEST spy and warrior fall for a girl so quickly? After only a few hours together Cal is "fighting" the urge to hold and love Shadow. Throughout the book we have no real idea of how much time has passed, though it felt like a few days. I know, I'm not the real demo for this book, but we really need to stop writing romances as 3 days of falling for someone, ESPECIALLY SPIES. Even a note of a week has passed or some time at so and so's manior house would be better.
Another smaller issue I had was the magic, it seemed a bit out of left field. It came about mid-book and from there it's a big plot point. Could have built that up a bit more.
My last issue ties into the love story. It goes from an action-adventure to pure romance novel for the last 4th of the book. I understand this is a series, but the end of the could just be the end of all of it. I know we have things to find and people to kill but those were thrown to the wind at the end and now I feel no more forward momentum.
All this being said, I did finish the book and that's a good sign. If I can get my hands on the second book from the Library I'll read it. I suggest a rent over buy.
jjkook13's review against another edition
1.0
Flat, uninteresting characters. Confused plotline. Even more confused world-building. Unstable pacing, which results in a somehow unsatisfying read. A snore-fest.
kyndlefuller's review
3.0
3.5 stars really, i’ll write a review when i feel like it
also it took me exactly 8 months to finish this
also it took me exactly 8 months to finish this
sprucetree520's review
1.0
This book had so much potential to be a great fantasy but then it just turned into a flat romance.
snowlacat's review
I really tried but this book was so much trash and unreadable and I couldn't do it for another 100 pages.
seaflower2009's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
shayeantal143's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
audrey_n's review
3.0
3.5 stars
It wasn't bad... I mean, I've read worse.
The one thing that annoyed me however, was the fact that one pov was 1st person and the other was 3rd. It was really confusing when switching between the two characters. I also felt that the plot twist didn't really work - it's plausible but was somewhat unecessary. There were time when I could easily predict what would happen, and other times when I had no idea what was going on. In the end I wasn't as attached to the characters as I felt I should be, possibly because I read the book over two days. As the book was short-ish, you don't get enough time to understand the characters and their motives. Overall, this book wasn't terrible, however there are many things to be improved. I am assuming this book will be a series, although it ended in a good place. I'm not sure at this point whether I will continue the series - you never know, it could get better by the next book.
It wasn't bad... I mean, I've read worse.
The one thing that annoyed me however, was the fact that one pov was 1st person and the other was 3rd. It was really confusing when switching between the two characters. I also felt that the plot twist didn't really work - it's plausible but was somewhat unecessary. There were time when I could easily predict what would happen, and other times when I had no idea what was going on. In the end I wasn't as attached to the characters as I felt I should be, possibly because I read the book over two days. As the book was short-ish, you don't get enough time to understand the characters and their motives. Overall, this book wasn't terrible, however there are many things to be improved. I am assuming this book will be a series, although it ended in a good place. I'm not sure at this point whether I will continue the series - you never know, it could get better by the next book.
readtillyousueme's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0