A review by jessicabearbooks
The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

"I'm the world's greatest assassin. I'm not afraid of anyone."

Although this was a re read, I'm still so glad I chose to read this first. There is nothing like the feeling of not knowing what's going to happen next, and even though I knew the main storyline, that didn't make it hurt any less. I first read this book about six years ago so I'd forgotten a lot apart from the key points, but Sarah's writing style just makes everything so exciting and tense that I was on the edge of my seat. There's also so many small details that end up being crucial to the story, so they were always fun to explore because I'd forgotten almost all of them.

There's such a nice balance of likeable/loathed characters throughout each novella. Also a lot of them sound really hot so that's always a bonus and a joy for visual readers like myself. I like how Arobynn (to name one example) is so undetermined as to whether we and Celana are supposed to like or loath him more at the end of the book. I'm just excited to see where the characters end up across the series as the amount of little ideas planted for each character and story...I can't wait!

I've adored Celaena for about eight years. She stubborn and driven to a fault. She's argumentative, sassy, and has an ego far bigger than the Glass Castle. But she is real, and loyal, and has a heart too big for all that pain. I've never read about a female character that is this level of cool, but is able to express her fears, and just be a woman. Sarah has created a character that will be cherished forever.

I loved the layout of each novella, how they were separate stories that were so short and easy to digest ('thank you Sarah' we all say in unison) but each followed on from the next like a continuous story. I really enjoyed the experience and can't wait to start Throne of Glass again tonight. Everything has been set up so well and again, I'm so glad I started with The Assassin's Blade as now I have no spoilers, only context for the series ahead!

"I just want to be with you," he murmured. "I don't care where we go. That's all I want."
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