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

Read this 3rd in the series for sure, it adds many levels to Sardothiens character, it’s worth the exposition and pulling through the other books. Personally, I really liked finding out her history after having met her as a person in Throne of Glass, and don’t really understand how someone can read this first

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emilymay153's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

The assassin and the pirate lord: 4.75⭐
This one is possibly my favourite of all the short stories in this collection. I love the action and the character development of the characters starting to question their own motivations.

The assassin and the healer: 4⭐
This one is slower paced and a lot less happened but I did enjoy seeing Calaena's interactions with another female character.

The assassin and the desert: 4.25⭐
Another favourite. This one is fast-paced and a lot happens. It has major character development for Calaena in many ways.

This is also where the theme of betrayal starts to kick in and gives understanding to Calaena's hesitation to trust in the Throne of Glass series.

The assassin and the underworld: 5⭐
I rated this the highest of the stories immediately after reading this one but the plot was the least memorable after finishing the entire book. This might just be because the events in The Assassin and the Empire overshadow it a bit.

This is the one where Sam and Calaena move out from the Assassins Guild after Calaena finding out she was betrayed on her latest mission as she didn't have the correct facts.

I did like the subtle hint to the relationship Calaena has with music and how she gets lost in it, which is later used in the Throne of Glass series.

The assassin and the empire: 4⭐

This one is a complicated one. I think it's mostly just frustrating because there are so many ways that the story could have ended differently. Maybe I'm just mad Sam dies. I think the whole idea of them doing one last job and organising it themselves was never going to go well since they have never been involved in that side of the planning before. The fact they went for what is said to be one of the hardest jobs just doesn't make sense to me. All I can think of is that it speaks to their desperation to leave Rifhold.

Sidenote: I know I'm supposed to dislike Arobynn as a character but for some reason I don't.

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nightingfae's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

FINALLY! I thought it would never end... I should have read it after Throne of Glass and before Crown of Midnight.

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ktwinkiebell's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

Great prequel and start to the series, though I knew something terribl was going to happen. I could just feel it coming and dread.

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jls6283's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

3.5

I read the prequel third, and honestly I think it would’ve had more emotional impact if I had read it first. I probably would’ve rated it higher, but I knew what was coming. I assumed people said to read it 3rd because it gave away the surprise ending to book 2, but it absolutely does not at all.

Reading it 3rd also just breaks up all the momentum that was built with the characters in 1 and 2.

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yikeskatie_'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? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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autumnrh's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

It hurt. Reading this third was definitely a painful move. I liked the breakdown of the different novellas. Even though they were all still technically one story it still felt like I was reading a couple of different books. But uh yeah it’s sad, very sad, my eyes burn. Absolutely loved the ending, loved how you can see how Celeana changes and overcomes.

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spazzcats's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad medium-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? No

5.0

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