If anyone ever asks me: why do you think Sarah deserves the following/fame/money she has? I will show them this book, over and over again.

I regret not reading this on my first throne of glass read-through. Never, ever listen to anyone who says you can move on after throne of glass without reading this book.

This changed Celeana's character completely. The structure of the world Sarah built and the character development levels of this story were over the roof. The slow build-up towards the end, the pain of knowing exactly how she lost Sam. The knowledge of everything she felt, lost, gained, doubted. She was basically just a teenager while her world just fell apart around her. You also get every insight possible around her relationship with Arobyn.

This series is NOT the same without the assassin's blade novellas and I don't think you should ever move on to Crown of Midnight before finishing this.

The character development, the pain, the loss, the betrayal, utterly breathtaking, heart-wrenching, and one of the best-written books I've read in a while when it comes to world-building and character growth.

That being said, this is exactly how I feel right now: