Blade, Badasses & Bad Narrators
I jumped on this bandwagon because my best friend and I trade off picking series for each other, and we’re officially buddy reading this whole series together! She’s a huge fan of ACOTAR, so picking this up was my way of meeting her halfway with Sarah J. Maas. We didn’t realize until after finishing this that most people recommend starting with The Assassin’s Blade, so that prequel collection is actually what we’re listening to next before moving forward!
Shockingly enough, I loved the main female lead—she actually has a backbone and a personality, so double check on that! Everything about this book hit the mark. The world-building was beautifully done without feeling overwhelming or overshadowing the story. Best of all, it wasn’t confusing; the writing was seamless and easy to follow, allowing for pure enjoyment.
The plot was fantastic, and Celaena is the ultimate badass. Her character development, personal growth, and maturity really shine through. She’s only a teenager, yet she acts more mature than so many other adult fantasy heroines, which I loved.
Literally everyone I told I was reading this asked me which boy I was into—Team Dorian or Team Chaol. My response every single time was: why couldn’t this be a “why choose”? I loved them both! They each brought something unique to the table, and the chemistry was undeniably there with both of them.
My only real critique is the pacing. While I enjoyed the overall story, it was incredibly slow up until the last 50 minutes or so of the audiobook. I usually don’t mind a slow build, but I wished for a bit more action and oomph sprinkled throughout. That minor issue aside, the rest of the book was wonderful.
It served as the perfect setup for a massive fantasy series, and I can’t wait to keep going. Celaena, you’re doing amazing, sweetie!
What ultimately kept this at a 4-star read for me was the audiobook narrator—I really wasn’t a fan. However, since we’re buddy reading and moving straight into The Assassin’s Blade, I still bought the next audio copy just so my bestie wouldn’t have to wait for me to read my physical copy. A graphic audio edition would have made this an easy 5 stars!
