Katherine Harbour's Blog - Posts Tagged "assassins"

Nevernight
This is a story of revenge and I always like those. Mia loses her parents to murder and treachery in a city reminiscent of 18th century Venice. She travels with another boy seeking revenge, Tric, to the Red Church to became an assassin.
And so begins Mia's brutal, lyrical journey. Accompanied by a shadowy entity disguised as a cat called Mr. Kindly, Mia becomes one of many students in a murderous assassin version of a magical college. Mia leans that death can come from teachers or students, but there are still rules and camaraderie. The teachers are diverse individuals, sociopathic versions of college professors.Mia makes friends, begins an unwise relationship with Tric, and negotiates her way through lessons that are bloody, adventurous, and nightmarish. A great fantasy, especially for anyone who loves Aria Stark's arc in the Game of Thrones series.

Mask of Shadows
Sal Leon is a thief who wants revenge on the people who destroyed their country. Sal is gender fluid and ferociously determined to become an assassin for the queen--one of the queen's premiere assassins, Opal.
What follows is Sal's navigating a brutal challenge--Sal must survive the other candidates, a fight to the death. Then there are the shadows, horrifying creatures who tore through Sal's country, literally ripping the skin off people to form an identity while whispering, "Who am I?" Yikes.
Sal is a charismatic, morally gray character who has to use wits and learned survival skills to overcome, while bonding with the other assassins and falling in love with a noble's scholarly daughter.
An entertaining addition to the assassins' club.