Oh, no! A low rating for an SJM book?! 😱 While I am glad that I read AB, for a less than 500 page book it took me FOREVER to get a spark of interest in the backstory of Celaena (though 3.5 of the novellas were just exciting enough to keep me going). I loved getting to see

where the start of her trying to free slaves started, the cast of characters we’ll inevitably run into in later books, and how she was heartbreakingly betrayed over and over until she gets carted away to Endovier.

But I kept waiting for more- more emotional response, more relationship building with Sam

(because let’s face it, that kinda came out of left field on her part…)

, just MORE of everything that makes me love other books in this series.