Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - The Assassin's Blade

Slower than the other tog books but definitely a necessary book. I read it as #3 in the series so I already knew the fmc. But this gave me some background and insight.

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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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pennyfountain's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I really wish I read this one first. Based on other reviews, I thought it'd be a slog but it wasn't that way at all for me. It's definitely the darkest SJM book out of the ten I've read so far based on the themes it addresses.

It gives such an important background to what Celeana has been through, some things in the first Throne of Glass books make more sense, and going back to the main series was jarring to say the least (I read "Heir of Fire" after). It has a different tone than the others, so I'd recommend reading it first or fourth, not third like all the suggestions I've seen (which is what I did). If you read it fourth then at least the events of "Assassin's Blade" are tied to "Queen of Shadows."

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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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mrsjburgin's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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_thugbug_'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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literarymary95's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

4.0

(I don't remember reading this book when I did and I probably read it after the full series was complete in my first time reading 6 years ago.)

First off, I am reviewing this book as a prequel rather than novellas because the individual short stories come together as 1 larger story. it shows the people, reasons, and events that lead Celaena to the Endovier Salt Mines.

This time I read it in the order Sarah J. Maas recommended, which is to read this after Crown of Midnight (Book #2). Reading the prequel/novellas made so much more sense since you understand Celaena and it helps you see why she makes decisions in the way she does. You also see some important context to characters and events that were mentioned in the first 2 books. If I remember correctly, some of the key characters in the short stories appear later on in the series.

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nikkic66's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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