A review by ladyknightmeg
The Assassin's Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke

4.0

"They were the last refuge of a coward, of a man too afraid to fight you himself - and that was why they were so dangerous. They gave power to cowards

This book is the beginning of a tale of an unusual pair who are brought together in an unusual way:

Ananna of Tanarau is a pirate girl, who escapes an arranged marriage to the son of another pirate family who then send an assassin after her. A special kind of assassin - a Jadorr'a who dabbles in the art of blood magic.

That assassin is Naji, who it seems has an "impossible" curse, one that Ananna unintentionally activates.

This sends the pair on an adventure to do the impossible: find a way to break an impossible curse.

The very slow start was really the only complaint that I had about the book. I honestly struggled a little bit until about 50% in when the action began.

Spoiler

The second 25% of the book or so, was a lot of trudging through desert, which seemed boring for both the characters and the reader (I'm just glad that I wasn't in that heat). But once the characters finally leave the desert, the plot picks up quite a bit.

Things I liked about this book:

1. Clarke does an amazing job of creating a voice for Ananna - our first person narrator. The dialect takes a little getting used to, but once you do, you're immersed fully into Ananna's spunky, stubborn, and often humorous character.

2. The world in this book is fantastic. The world-building is so wonderful. There are so many settings, yet Clarke delivers them so well that not once did I feel left in the dark while imagining where the characters were. And these settings were diverse, and sometimes magical. The reader travels through desert and ocean, cities and night markets, and magical islands. That's a lot to get through, and a lot to show a reader, but Clarke executes it perfectly.

3. It is completely unique - not once did I think "Been there, read that." while reading this .

Over all this was a great fantasy book that sets up a second book that I have already begun on my e-reader. Big thanks to Rachel for recommending this to me!