Reviews with content warning for Classism - The Assassin's Blade

I didn’t love or hate it. It seemed pretty lackluster and predictable at times. I didn’t believe the romance between Celena and Sam, it felt forced and uninspired. I think this book was more focused on the different missions and progressing the plot rather than developing interesting and complex main characters. I’m hopeful that the rest of the series will build on who Celena is and why she thinks and acts the way she does. Quite disappointed with the lack of spice as well. Not the best start to the series, in my opinion.

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emilywemily6's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

This collection of stories about Calaena before the Throne of Glass events was harder to get through than I thought, and I think it’s because I knew the eventual outcome for both Calaena and Sam 😭 I really enjoyed the second and third stories though. I saw the “twist” of whose to blame from a mile away and felt like this grouping of prequel stories didn’t add a lot to the series as a whole, but gave me more time with Calaena’s character. I was really hoping for more info about the HUGE spoiler revealed at the end of Crown of Midnight, but all we got was an allusion to Calaena keeping secrets about her past 👀 So while I enjoyed this read, it didn’t meet my expectations in a couple ways. I am excited to get back into the rest of the series!

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mangofraiche's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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arialovegreen's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A good introduction to the series - I finished this as a prequel before starting Throne of Glass and I'm intrigued by the greater political conflict hinted at in the background, and the lovable characters that I'm sure will make appearances later.

I loved Sam and his relationship with Celaena.

Although he might as well have had a neon sign hanging over his head that said "I'm going to be murdered for the plot development later."

I'm intrigued about where things are going for Celaena after this and it sets a very interesting premise for the greater series.

I know there is a lot of back and forth on whether AB should be read first or later on in the mix of the TOG series, but starting with it has increased my intrigue for anyone wondering. Also, my friend who is a diehard fan of TOG swears by starting with AB and I trust her above all else (even you, Ms. SJM).

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