The Assassin’s Blade [review]

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The Assassin’s Blade (Throne of Glass #0) by Sarah J Maas
Published by Bloomsbury Childrens on March 4, 2014
my rating: ★★★★ (4 stars)
Goodreads avg: 4.34 (as of 2022-01-16)
Spoiler-free review

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Where do men find it in themselves to do such monstrous things? How do they find it acceptable?

Part of me wishes I had read this prior to starting the ToG series, but it was also nice to read it after seeing more of Celaena’s character. To new readers I’d definitely recommend the novellas before Throne of Glass, though. These were a bit of a mixed bag for me, but overall I liked them! They each focus on a different story but move chronologically and build off of each other.

1. The Assassin and the Pirate Lord – 4 stars
   This was a nice introduction to Celaena and her values as well as her relationship with Sam. I really enjoyed reading their interactions and seeing how they played off each other’s strengths even when they weren’t getting along.
2. The Assassin and the Healer – 3 stars
   Easily the most forgettable of the five, I actually had completely wiped it from my memory until I went to write down my individual ratings. It’s nice, but not particularly strong.
3. The Assassin and the Desert – 5 stars
   I loved this one! I could easily read a full-length novel about the Silent Assassins and hope that they possibly feature more in future books. I did not guess that twist, though!
4. The Assassin and the Underworld – 4.5 stars
   This featured a lot of Celaena and Sam, which I loved! We get a better feel for how Celaena’s life with the assassins goes, and how she starts drifting from Arobynn.
5. The Assassin and the Empire – 4 stars
   Heart-wrenching! Bits of it felt a little overdone to me, but this shows us how Celaena got to where we find her at the beginning of Throne of Glass, as well as her state of mind there.

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