The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas on April 10, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Epic, Fiction / Fantasy / Romance, Fiction / Feminist
Pages: 448
Format: Paperback
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“If you can learn to endure pain, you can survive anything. Some people learn to embrace it- to love it. Some endure it through drowning it in sorrow, or by making themselves forget. Others turn it into anger.”
Celaena Sardothien is her kingdom’s most feared assassin. Though she works for the powerful Assassin’s Guild and its scheming master, Arobynn Hamel, she yields to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. But when Arobynn dispatches her on missions that take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, Celaena finds herself acting independently of his wishes and questioning her own allegiance. If she hopes to escape Arobynn’s clutches, Celaena will have to put her faith in her wits and her blade, knowing that if she fails, she’ll lose not just a chance at freedom but her life.
This novel is a prequel to the Throne of Glass series. It is a collection of five novellas that explore the history of the cunning assassin and her enthralling and deadly world. I did some research on when I should read the prequel and was told that to have the best emotional response, I needed to read after the third book in the series. Since the third book was left off on such a huge cliffhanger, I was just kind of bored with these stories. Of all five novellas I only liked two of them. This book is finally when we meet the late Sam Cortland. At least in that aspect, The Assassin’s Blade didn’t disappoint. Sam Cortland was a great character. It was heartbreaking to know what his fate would be in the end, and you’re left feeling a bit helpless knowing you can’t change how Sam’s story plays out.
I gave this book a 3.5-star rating. It was interesting to hear about her past and how she came to end up in the salt mines, but was also so heartbreaking because you knew what the outcome would be from the start. I don’t really have much to say about this book, but it was fun at times. I definitely feel like it dragged at times because there wasn’t any real significant plot movement until the end of the book, which I really liked. The two last stories were my favorite, but the first three definitely dragged a bit.
I read this recently and I LOVED this one. This is my second time reading this and I decided to switch up the order I read this. I read this AFTER HOF. I think this is the best way to read this one! I loved it more the second time. I felt like I learned more about Celaena and even caught a few things I missed the first time through. I gave this 5 stars after reading this again. I can see why this story was important. Aaaand Sam….I miss Sam now!