The Assassin's Curse

by Cassandra Rose Clarke

[Angie]

I was very excited for The Assassin's Curse, because I have a bit of a pirate obsession as well as a fondness for assassins (assassin is my favorite word, fyi). It was a lot of fun, but it was also missing something for me, which I can't exactly pinpoint. Ananna was born and raised on the sea, as her family is in the pirate business. As a captain's daughter, she's not up to inherit the ship, but she is betrothed to a captain's son. To escape her fate, Ananna runs away, but her fiance's father sends an assassin after her. Lucky for Ananna, her would-be killer is cursed. She ends up saving his life, causing him to be compelled to protect her at all costs. Now they're stuck together, which is not what she had in mind at all, so she agrees to help him break the curse. Fun times ahoy!

The Assassin's Curse was a very quick and easy read. Ananna and Naji get into a lot of trouble on their journey north, so I was never bored. But I wasn't fully engaged for some reason either. I was just reading along, and next thing I know, it's over. There wasn't anything that really drew me in or blew me away. I also felt like their troubles were a bit repetitive. Someone would find them, Naji would use too much magic to fight them, Ananna would have to nurse him back to health even though she doesn't know what she's doing. Then someone magical would appear, help, and send them on their way. Repeat. I liked what I was reading, but do wish it had been a bit less formulaic.

I did really love the magic in The Assassin's Curse! It's everywhere! Ananna's mother could do magic and tried to teach her, but that didn't go so well. So Ananna does have magic in her, but she just doesn't know how to use it, or really care to. Naji on the other hand pretty much is magic. Assassin's aren't just people who kill other people. He can turn into shadow and move around unnoticed. He can do protection spells and offensive magic. Of course, there are other magical beings who aren't so nice out there too, including sirens! There's also a wizard that Naji thinks can help him. Magic was a huge part of this world, which seemed to be based on the Middle East. I really liked it.

In the end, I did quite enjoy The Assassin's Curse. I was more impressed with the magical aspects, rather than the adventure, but I think that's okay. It's enough for me to be interested in what comes next for Naji and Ananna, since now they'll be headed on a (hopefully) magical quest to break his curse.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.