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

This was a fun read! I found that it easily captured my attention and there were times when I didn't want to put it down. I love the writing style, and the characters were very interesting. I didn't like the MC at first but she grew on me. I think out of the four novellas The Assassin and the Deseret was my favorite. A lot of the characters there were odd and I found that enjoyable.

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livlovread's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

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literarymary95's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

(I don't remember reading this book when I did and I probably read it after the full series was complete in my first time reading 6 years ago.)

First off, I am reviewing this book as a prequel rather than novellas because the individual short stories come together as 1 larger story. it shows the people, reasons, and events that lead Celaena to the Endovier Salt Mines.

This time I read it in the order Sarah J. Maas recommended, which is to read this after Crown of Midnight (Book #2). Reading the prequel/novellas made so much more sense since you understand Celaena and it helps you see why she makes decisions in the way she does. You also see some important context to characters and events that were mentioned in the first 2 books. If I remember correctly, some of the key characters in the short stories appear later on in the series.

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victoria_elaine's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

I really enjoyed this book, but I did dock a little bit for the last section (I got bored) and FOR THE ENDING.

LIKE WTH ARE U DOING KILLING SAM. I’m glad she ended strong though bc I was like girl you better STAND UP‼️‼️

It wasn’t my favorite think I’ve read, but I love Celaena’s strong character and perseverance. Also beware of content warning bc some descriptions left me nauseous 🙏🏻🙏🏻

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savage_book_review's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Where I read the series in the 'purist' order last time, I've chosen to listen to the audiobooks in the 'romantic' order to see what affect that has on the emotional impact of Assassin's Blade. Indeed, this is the order endorsed by SJM herself!

First and foremost, this is the best of the audios so far. I think the fact that the book is comprised of a series of novellas makes it that much more listenable as, while there are important plot points throughout, each individual story contains reminders of key moments. You're therefore less likely to miss things, but equally the reminders don't disrupt the flow of the current tale. As previously, I do think this is partially dependent on the speed at which you listen, but at the same time because we're looking at short stories there's also less opportunity for a lull in the action, which keeps you focused and the story moving.

There are also moments in this one that 'hit' better with the audiobook, particularly in the last novella. The narrator has a great grasp of exactly where pauses are required for dramatic effect, where the voice needs to be louder or quieter and so on. That being said, it did feel like she was perhaps starting to run out of different voices by the end of the book - just a few too many characters are sounding similar to other works of hers.

This time around, I was able to pick up on few nice little Easter Eggs within the stories that I didn't see before. For that reason alone, I can understand why this perhaps shouldn't be read first (even though the events occur before Throne of Glass). Likewise, I think for a first time reader, the emotional gut punch of this book would be better felt reading it after 'Crown of Midnight'. However, although it did forge a deeper connection to Sam for me, for my own personal enjoyment of the series I think I'm better off putting it up front. But then I'm not sure I'd have picked up on the Easter Eggs if I had listened to it first! It's a tough one to call!

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piyumya's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

WHY DID U KILL SAM???😭😭😭

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mrsplace22's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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