Reviews tagging 'Gore'

The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas

105 reviews

wavephase's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional slow-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

4.0

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nitecrtlvr's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I wouldn’t read this book before Throne of Glass unless it’s your second or third time reading it. To avoid any spoilers with the series. It makes more sense in this case to read it after Heir of Fire; that way the short stories in the Assassins Blade is fresh and helps explain certain characters that are introduced later in the series.
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eberzy's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Celaena is an awesome character. So is Nehemia. So far the female leads in this series are baddies and I’m here for it. I can just tell this was a set up for some really great reads to come.
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cayleybp's review against another edition

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

4.0

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acorny'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? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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meredith_williams_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I read the Throne of Glass series last year, but ended up skipping the novella read because I was too invested to move backwards in the timeline. I decided to reread the series as a whole and started with Assassin’s Blade this go around. I actually really liked reading the prequel novellas with the full knowledge of how Celaea’s story plays out. It was fun to revisit the world and know how each prequel was laying important groundwork for Celaena’s journey in the main series. 

I did not shed one singular tear while reading the TOG series, and Sam’s death broke me! I was unprepared for how tender and soft his character was. His relationship with Celaena (while certainly influenced heavily by some trauma bonds) was an excellent portrayal of innocent first love. Both of them deserved their dreams and that made his loss all the more heartbreaking. Also, Arobynn is such a horrifying villain! You know it after Queen of Shadows, but SJM paints such a sinister and accurate image of an abuser in him that it makes my skin crawl.
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pages4books's review against another edition

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dark sad

1.5

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abicaro17's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

SJM knows exactly what she did. I will be crying in my room for a week thanks.
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lisavandonselaar'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? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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chaptersofamylea's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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

4 ⭐️

I’ve never read this all the way through as I knew the novella ‘The Assassin and the Empire’ was where Sam would start being a memory and becomes this grief you as a reader see so intensely in the other books, and I wasn’t ready for that. But alas, the Maas mass reread and it needed to happen. 

Although, not going to lie… His end, though I knew it was coming, could’ve been worse… And I imagined it being a lot worse. 

Favourite novella was probably ‘The Assassin and the Desert’ with ‘The Assassin and the Pirate Lord’ being a close second. 

Sam buying her sheet music though so she could pay pieces whenever she wanted tho 🥺 

TWs: slavery, torture, detailed depictions of gore and violence, forced sex work.  
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