The Assassin's Blade
Ratings401
Average rating4
This book is a collection of relatively short stories showing us the “origin story” of Celaena and I will highly recommend you read it after book 3 of the series - Heir of Fire.
Say what you will about Sarah J. Maas, the woman knows how to write addictive books and just when you think you've got her all figured out, she goes and sneaks in some subtlety.
I quite enjoyed this collection even though Celaena was fairly unbearable for a big part of it. But given that this is pretty much the beginning of her character arc, it's rather understandable. And we did see hints of improvement.
I am ashamed/happy to say that this book made me cry and experience some serious dread and sorrow. The hours where Celaena is waiting for Sam to return but he doesn't and you know he never will... this part killed me. I felt like it was I who was waiting and I have rarely experienced such sorrow from a book. It was masterfully done.
Great book!
This one was a slog to get through, but necessary for setup of the next book.
Ah this was so good! I loved being able to learn more about Celaena and her past. The novellas are so well written and a perfect addition to the series!
I have never really hated anyone - at least until I read this book
YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH I DESPISE Arobynn!! However, this book was well-written and aside from my pure HATRED for Arobynn, i really did enjoy it....
And I understand why Sam had to die but I'm still a little sad bc I actually liked them together. I mean he was part of the reason celaena was able to get out from under Arobynns thumb and...
I'm not usually a big fan of novellas, but I loved this. It was great getting Celaena's back story. She has led a very interesting life. Definitely excited to continue this series. I just love assassin stories.
4.5 Stars.
There were a few parts in the novellas which I disliked because I felt that Sam and also Celeana went a bit out of character. After the second story I had the urge to read Heir of Fire further, but a friend reminded me of the intertwining of the last three stories with the 3rd book. So I came back to this and stopped one chapter before it would have been mentioned in Heir of Fire. So I would definitely recommend you to read the novellas - if you plan in doing so - before beginning the 3rd book.
4.5
It's hard to rate the novellas since I already know what happens in later books, but it was interesting learning background information and world-building. I know these remaining books will tie even more things together.
Maybe I should have read this first to have more background explained? However, certain things have clicked into place with a stronger emotional impact in this order. Maybe I'll read ToG again to see what other connections or easter eggs I might have forgotten.
Awesome guilty pleasure series; like watching your favorite adult animated series. Read this book first per a friend’s recommendation and if you’re just starting the series I recommend doing the same. It gives a fantastic backstories while still leaving many questions unanswered and truly draws you into the next 7 books. Although short stories, all characters are fleshed out to perfections, while still leaving room for evolution as the tale progresses. Very much enjoyed this read, only downside was the bit of predictability at the end; but somehow the writing was still shocking, heartwrenching, and grotesque.
The Assassin and the Pirate Lord: ★★★★
The Assassin and the Healer: ★★★★★
The Assassin and the Desert: ★★★★★
The Assassin and the Underworld: ★★★★
The Assassin and the Empire: ★★★★
Overall: ★★★★
This review contains spoilers for books zero through six in the series! You have been warned!
Random Shit I Wrote Down In My Notes While Re-Reading The Assassin's Blade Because I Just Wanted To TBH:
• My copy of this is damaged because my dumbass spilled soy sauce on it a few years ago :( fortunately it's only on the top of the first hundred or so pages and is still readable :)
• Sam
I really liked this set of short stories. I know there's a lot of opinions as to where within the series to read this book. I decided to start the series with this book and I'm pretty happy I did.
They help set a bit of a back story for the rest of the series.
It was pretty easy to read and was fast enough pace for me.
EDIT: 2nd read of this book and I can safely say I appreciate it much more. It was sad, beautiful, and tragic
Old rating: 3.5 stars
New rating: 4 stars
I've read Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight and I just can't do it anymore.
I’m really hoping the rest of the series is better
The last 25% was good thoughts
Starting off this series by reading the novella first. I loved reading about Caelena and Sam's history, both individually and together. While not fully in depth into the characters themselves there is enough there to prepare you for the first book and I actually enjoy having a little knowledge of their world and brief introduction to the King of Assassin's beforehand. Excited to get into this series!
This was... okay. It put me in a reading slump for like two weeks though because I had zero desire to read it. There were parts I liked but overall I just didn't really enjoy it that much.
My favorite of the stories was the one in the Red Dessert. But the rest left a lot to be desired for me.
I also hate to say this but I didn't really like Sam that much.
So this was a warm up to Throne of Glass, and let me say that I cant freaking WAIT to start that series. I loved these novellas, and I honestly wanted there to be more! I was kind of left with some tears in my eyes at the end, just a warning. Hopefully I will be able to commit to the reading list I have planned before I dive into Throne of Glass.
the last story was a stuggle to get through b/c i new how it would end but loved the additional insight in to all the characters
After hearing so many praises about the book series, to say its prequel is insufferable and boring is a massive understatement. The only novella that was worth my time was the third one.
It was so stressful trying to decide when I'd be reading this book but I picked reading it first before TOG cause that's what most people recommended so I'm excited to see where this goes.
I can't believe I'm rating it this high. I love reading fantasy but it has to have romance for me to really really love it so the fact that this book had so little of it and I enjoyed it so much is insane.
I loved Celaena, I think she's so cool and I can't wait for her to get the revenge she so clearly deserves.
The way that possessive asshole made it his mission in life to backstab her every chance he could got me so annoyed, I hope he has a slow torturous death.
Ah. It was a great book, and it made me want Queen of Shadows even more.
Also? I'm not okay with how Sam died. And how Celaena was caught. Freaking Arobynn.