The Assassin's Blade:The Throne of Glass Novellas

The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass 0.1-0.5)
My rating: 5 stars
Goodreads Summary:Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan's most feared assassin. As part of the Assassin's Guild, her allegiance is to her master, Arobynn Hamel, yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. In these action-packed novellas - together in one edition for the first time - Celaena embarks on five daring missions. They take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, where she fights to liberate slaves and seeks to avenge the tyrannous. But she is acting against Arobynn's orders and could suffer an unimaginable punishment for such treachery. Will Celaena ever be truly free? 







*if you haven't started this series, please do because I need to talk to someone to let out my feels!
My Thoughts: There are five novellas that follow Celaena’s life before she was captured and sent to Endovier, that make up this book. It’s a prequel to the series and you can technically read this book in any order from the rest of the series, but I think it’s BEST to read it right after Crown of Midnight, which is the second book.

When reading Throne of Glass, we know Celaena is an assassin and we kind of see that lifestyle, but not quite. In these novellas, we actually see her working as an assassin and it’s pretty darn cool. I actually thought I wasn’t going to like that part of her lifestyle, but it wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. I can officially say I love her!

I read these novellas right after Throne of Glass so I already knew what was going to end up happening, but that didn’t take away from the suspense and it didn't take away from making me scared to keep reading further, and it didn't take away from leaving me in tears at the ending.

I thought all five novellas were interesting, others more than others, but they all contributed to the story one way or another. My favorite was probably The Assassin and the Desert or The Assassin and the Underworld.

Now, let’s talk about Sam. Guys. GUYS. I love Sam! Forget about Dorian and Chaol, it’s all about Team Sam! Haha, just kidding {kind of}. I'm still team Chaol, but seriously though, Sam. He was just supportive and ahhhh I just loved him! *heart eyes*.

I loved the relationship he had with Celaena and the ending just broke my heart into a million tiny pieces.

To me, sometimes Celaena might seem careless, but what’s special about these novellas is how we see that she isn’t as careless as she seems. I was just surprised!

We also find out a lot more about her master, Arobynn and let me just say he is a total JERK. I just can't understand how he did some of the things he did! I wonder how he will be tied into the rest of the series.

My favorite part happened in The Assassin and the Underworld when Celaena unleashed her fury. For me it was awesome, but at the same time heartbreaking.

Like I said before, I freakin' love Celaena and the ending, like literally the last couple of pages just proved how AWESOME she is.

She squared her shoulders. Straightened her spine.

My name is Celaena Sardothien and I will not be afraid. 

Just yes! I hope you guys get the chance to read this series :)

If you've read the novellas already highlight to view spoiler: Does anyone think Sam is secretly alive? I totally think so! Please tell me someone else thinks the same.

Review: Throne of Glass {spoiler free}

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Rating: 4.5

Goodreads summary: After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom. 

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilarating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best. 
Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. 
Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

My thoughts: I've been dying to start this series because I've heard it's freaking amazing! I wasn't completely blown away by this book, but it was still good. I think the reason for that is, it's the first book in a fantasy series which means things are going to start off a bit slow because of the world building and set up, but it got me excited to keep reading the series.

From reading the summary, it kind of has a Hunger Games vibe because Celaena will have to defeat others in a competition in order to receive her freedom. But it's not like The Hunger Games at all. It kind of has that Triwizard Tournament vibe from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I would say it's better to think of it that way rather than The Hunger Games.  

Celaena isn't the usual female heroine that I have ever read. She can be a bit selfish, she likes to get dolled up, and she has a taste for expensive and fine things, which isn't a bad thing, but I couldn't see why other readers seemed to love her. It did take me a while to like her, but not love her. One thing that is true is that she is such a kick-butt character! She's also funny and she loves to eat, which is something I really like about her.

Now for the love triangle {that's not a spoiler because the summary hints at it}. I couldn't decide if I liked Dorian more or Chaol. Sometimes I found myself liking Dorian more, but then Chaol would do something and I leaned more towards him. Sometimes there's love triangles where right off the bat you know who is going to be endgame, but for this series I don't know who Celaena is going to choose and it kind of scares me. But, just so you know I am Team Chaol.
Also, that doesn't mean I hate Dorian. I actually really like him and not just because he's super good looking and has gorgeous eyes, but because he's funny, loves to read, and I feel like he's going to play a huge role in the series.

I can't wait to jump into the next book because everyone says it's way better than the first. Also, I'm hoping to find out more about Celaena's past and who she really is. And I want more Chaol in the next book! 

Just read it, you won't regret it. Even Dean Winchester approves.

Favorite Quote: “What’s the point in having a heart if you don’t use it to spare others from the harsh judgments of your mind?”