The Assassin's Curse (The Assassin's Curse, #1) in The Assassin's Curse Re-Read

Mar 27, 2014 Paul rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-2014

Ananna of the Tanarau is betrothed to Tarrin of the Hariri. This is not something that she really wants, partly as he is handsome, and she doesn't trust those type of people. She sees an opportunity to escape, and takes it. Tarrin sees her go, and threatens to send an assassin after her.

She escapes to the next town and after hiding briefly, she is tracked and found by the promised assassin. In the scuffle, she kills a snake just before it bites him and saves his life. This simple act binds them ...more

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Jan 30, 2014 Hannah rated it it was amazing

Shelves: unconventional, rereadable, underrated, shippy-romance, awesome-characters, entertaining, great-female-characters, worldbuilding, slow-burn, 5-stars

The Assassin's Curse was a bit of an unexpected buy for me, but I'm very happy to own it. I'm usually reluctant to spend money on books because I'm so very picky, and I only really want to own books that there is chance I'll reread again. This book did not disappoint.

Ananna is hilarious, first of all. She's snarky and refreshingly practical, but not without flaws--she's also impulsive and stubborn. The narration is very catchy and accessible, even as worldbuilding information is being tossed at The Assassin's Curse was a bit of an unexpected buy for me, but I'm very happy to own it. I'm usually reluctant to spend money on books because I'm so very picky, and I only really want to own books that there is chance I'll reread again. This book did not disappoint.

Ananna is hilarious, first of all. She's snarky and refreshingly practical, but not without flaws--she's also impulsive and stubborn. The narration is very catchy and accessible, even as worldbuilding information is being tossed at you. The writing slowly introduces you to the world the of the story without spending too much time going on about one thing or another; Ananna just kind of relays the relevant information as needed. I did feel, however, that in some cases we could have gotten a little MORE information about what was happening, just to flesh out some of the locations, etc.

Ananna and Naji (the titular assassin) are a very shippable couple and I thoroughly enjoyed their banter and growing romantic tension. There's no insta-love here; they spend most of the first third of the book either antagonizing each other or too busy fending off threats to think about romance. I loved that they had such a slow burn and that their feelings developed so organically. Nothing seemed forced. Also, there's no love triangle, and Naji is actually quite sweet--not like some of the douchebag YA love interests I've read lately.

The curse is basically that Naji has to protect Ananna at all times. If Ananna is in any danger--even if she can handle herself--Naji will experience pain that worsens in proportion to how much danger Ananna is in. Since Ananna is the type to jump into dangerous situations without thinking things through very well, this results in a persistent conflict between her and Naji and gave them more opportunities to play off each other and develop their relationship than if the curse had been simpler.

I wasn't sure if I was entirely on board with the pacing; some readers may find it a bit meandering, without many points of climax. However, it didn't really detract much from my enjoyment of the book. ...more

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Mar 26, 2014 Joe Frazier rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya, fantasy

Assassin's Curse Reviewed: Cassandra Rose Clarke's Enthralling Tale

While many of the ingredients in Ms. Clarke's story aren't particularly novel, such as a young lady fleeing from an arranged marriage, having to throw her lot in with an apparent bad guy and being chased across the globe by true evil, she weaves them together and binds them into a tale that is both original and enthralling.

For full review: wp.me/p2XCwQ-zP ...more

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