After hearing the hype about the Throne of Glass book series, I decided that I would give it a go starting with the prequel, The Assassin’s Blade. It didn’t disappoint and I was hooked in from the first novella. All five of them are woven into each other and it may as well have just been an ordinary book as each one took not long after the other. Although they all contributed to the plot, some more than others, I found that the last three were more enjoyable to read than the first two. What I also liked about this book is that the author already builds up a reputation for her character Celaena Sardothien, ready to prove us wrong.

Introduction To Celaena Sardothien

For example, readers get the impression that at first Celaena Sardothien is a ruthless, arrogant girl with no feelings for anyone but herself. But then, we read how she risks her life to free 200 slaves as she believes it is not morally right. I think of her as the girl version of what the stereotypical bad boy is. Except I think we can agree that she’s way cooler and better. Readers go on a journey with her as she struggles to live up to the reputation of Arobynn’s favourite assassin and choosing the right or wrong decision. Eventually we know what life has thrown at her readers can understand her behaviour towards the end of the book as she is no longer happy, but hurt and broken from dealing with the aftermath of tragic events.

Favourite Novella

Probably my favourite out of all the novellas is The Assassin and the Desert. Mainly because Celaena goes on many adventures, learns how to make herself become an even better assassin, just when you thought she was already on an entirely different level and she even makes her first girl-friend. This novella for me had more action in it and I loved the plot of it, even when readers were infuriated by the fact that her friend betrayed her! I think we all expected a little better from Ansel. I’m glad I read this book first, despite it being released after the first few novels of the series. I understood Celaena’s character more and this book provided an insight into her life and who she really is. As I’m halfway through the series, all of these events have been mentioned and I liked having some background knowledge as well.

What I have noticed from this book is that foreshadowing is obvious. For example, The Assassin and the Underworld is when Celaena is sent on a mission to kill a man who helped created the slave business. From this moment forward, I knew that something wasn’t right and that something was bound to go wrong and all readers can really do is just watch the events unfold.

The Assassin and the Empire was a good opening to the series, admittedly it ended in a way that probably didn’t please most of us. I know I’m still thinking about the ending and how it changed Celaena a lot.

From reading ACOTAR series and now ToG , I absolutely love Sarah J Mass’ writing style! The imagery she provides honestly creates scenes in my mind that flow seamlessly like a movie. I’m looking forward to read her other unreleased works; Crescent City and I hope that the plot is different to her current series too!

If any of you have read The Assassin’s Blade, let me know! I’m always down for a discussion about books, so comment below or contact me on any of my social medias!