The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas
Summary from Goodreads:
Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan's most feared assassin. As part of the Assassin's Guild, her allegiance is to her master, Arobynn Hamel, yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. In these action-packed novellas - together in one edition for the first time - Celaena embarks on five daring missions. They take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, where she fights to liberate slaves and seeks to avenge the tyrannous. But she is acting against Arobynn's orders and could suffer an unimaginable punishment for such treachery. Will Celaena ever be truly free? Explore the dark underworld of this kick-ass heroine to find out.
Review:
Sarah J. Maas has slain me again!
I was hesitant to read the Throne of Glass novellas because I had such a perfect picture in my mind about Celaena and her life and story and I didn’t want to read about the super depressing start to all of the other crazy stuff that happens to her. I just wanted her to have some peace! I also knew that in reading it, I would probably fall in love with Sam Cortland who we all know is destined to die and I just wasn’t sure if I could handle it.
But I read it anyway, and let me tell you, I’m so happy that I did.
I don’t really know what to say that I haven’t said before of Maas’s previous works in this series. It was stunning. Celaena’s past gives so many insights as to her character later on in the series and it’s all heartbreaking but also important in understanding her fighter personality. She is, without a doubt, one of the strongest female characters that I have ever read.
Her relationship with Sam was full of fire and ice and pretty darn sweet when you get right down to it. I hated myself for wanting to read more about him and briefly considered skipping the last novella in order to avoid his death. But, in a world where Sarah J. Maas consistently dangles well-rounded characters and their beautiful personalities in front of us before violently stripping them away, I figured I may as well power through and face it like a woman. So I did. And then I cried. A whole lot. But that’s okay because the BEST stories are the ones that cause strong reactions in their readers.
I hate Arobynn more than I’ve ever hated him before. There was never a point in the book where I felt even an iota of sympathy for him, and maybe that’s what makes him such a good villain. I HATE HIM. Possibly as much as I hate Umbridge— and that’s saying a lot.
I’m not ready for this series to be over, but I know the end is coming and I’m hoping that someday soon Celaena will have the opportunity to put up her feet and take a well-deserved rest.
5/5 stars.
