
I had heard about this book some time ago. It had a different title but still the premise of the book really stood out to me. When I had heard it was getting published and would be available for me to have on my shelf i did cartwheels in my mind. ‘Mind Cartwheels’ people!
Here’s the summary from Goodreads:
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 exhilirating. 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.
What I thought of the book was this -” “. Yes I couldn’t find the right words to describe how much I loved this book. This world that was built by the author is exactly what I love to read. My favorite kind of book is one that quite literally take me to another world and makes me fall in love with the characters.
The world of assassin guilds, royalty, glass castles, mystery, humor, friendship, and with that added bonus of romance are there in spades in this book. I was not disappointed and I had high expectations going in.
From the first chapter Celaena’s character grabbed my interest. I wanted to know her story, why she’s at the salt mines and how she’s survived. Oh and the guys…*sigh*. Yes, you get the ‘dreamy’ prince in Dorian. Can’t go wrong with that but as I read past his charms, he really had more depth. Then there’s the Captain of the Guard Chaol. He was all gruff and miss-trusting of Celaena but I love how their relationship grew. There was that underlining ‘attraction and more’, so many sly glances, witty banter, and there was that scene with those barely touching hands seperated by the chalk line. Trust me…when you get to that part of the book, you’ll want to give an *sigh*.
This book was easily my favorite read this summer. I was blow away by it and I highly recommend it. I also loved the four novellas that I’d say were like the prequels. Nicely done and it gives more background to Celaena. Great story and one to definitely add to your shelf.
Huge Thanks to Netgalley for providing me this Advance Copy to review!