Reviews tagging 'Gore'

The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas

105 reviews

_marycappiello3's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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poppyskills'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? It's complicated

4.0

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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kristanjenkins's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious sad tense 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

3.25

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unboundbooklover's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad 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

5.0

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tspice24's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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

4.0

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marahill14'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? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The third and fourth novellas were my favorites
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ladyrambo's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • 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

5.0

Amazing beginning to a new series.  I have not read the Throne of Glass series yet, but being a fan of her other books (ACOTAR & CC) and after deep book talks with my book bestie ….. it was time to tackle this series.  She recommended starting with this book first (many opinions out there on where to start the series) as she said things will happen later in the TOG series that will bring these short stories back to memory and cause a bigger OMG moment.  The Assassins Blade is the prequel to the TOG series and includes (4) short stories of which are very “surface level” compared to the deep dives you see in her other books.  However, from what I hear, that is coming with the TOG series.  The short stories are great and I fell in love with the FMC immediately.  Tough as nails and takes no crap from anyone with attitude (love it). This book grabbed my attention with the first page and kept me turning the pages.  If you’ve enjoyed Sarah J. Maas or if it’s your first read, don’t miss out on this one.  Happy reading! 
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melreadss's review against another edition

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4.5

my name is sam cortland and i will not be afraid…. excuse me while i go drown in my own tears 

4.5 stars but can’t give it 5 because of how emotionally destroyed i am at this time 
i loved this book but i don’t like feeling such intense dread and grief and sadness when reading so for me that does reduce my rating — though it is a testament to sjm’s writing ability!

the assassin and the desert was by far my favourite novella! 
the mute master was my fav i loved him so much!! i want to live with them in the desert and become a silent assassin

as i got closer and closer to the end of the book i found myself trying to slow down purely because i knew how it ended and didn’t want sam to die 😭 
it absolutely shattered me and with every page i was internally pleading for them to just call it off and go get on the ship and live happily ever after… 
sam’s last words to celaena being “i love you” will haunt me forever 

p.s celaena is so blind for not seeing that arobynn’s grubby little fingerprints were all over every scheme in this book.
arobynn is a disgusting sewer rat and i HATE HIM 

justice for wesley tho he tried to warn her and got knocked out
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