Celaena Sardothien is her kingdom’s most feared assassin. Though she works for the powerful and ruthless Assassin’s Guild, Celaena yields to no one and trusts only her fellow killer for hire, Sam.
When Celaena's scheming master, Arobynn Hamel, dispatches her on missions that take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, she finds herself acting independently of his wishes—and questioning her own allegiance. Along the way, she makes friends and enemies alike, and discovers that she feels far more for Sam than just friendship. But by defying Arobynn’s orders, Celaena risks unimaginable punishment, and with Sam by her side, he is in danger, too. They will have to risk it all if they hope to escape Arobynn’s clutches—and if they fail, they’ll lose not just a chance at freedom, but their lives . . .
A prequel to Throne of Glass, this collection of five novellas offers readers a deeper look into the history of this cunning assassin and her enthralling—and deadly—world.
Included in this volume: The Assassin and the Pirate Lord The Assassin and the Healer The Assassin and the Desert The Assassin and the Underworld The Assassin and the Empire
I am not sure what to think of this book. Some of the stories were just ok, nothing special, nothing interesting. I did not particularly care for the relationship between Celaena and Sam, because their romance seemed too sudden for me. She went from hate to love overnight. I tried to care about it, but I was not invested in their relationship. However, I did like the fact that their relationship had its flaws. They were absolutely no perfect couple, Celaena was selfish and he was stubborn, which made it feel real, realistic in comparison to all the perfect relationships we often see in books.
Sam did grow on me. He was such a loving character and the reasons behind his actions made a lot of sense. I understood where he was coming from, and often agreed with him. However, I did not feel connected to Celaena's grief, because her feelings for him did not feel real to me.
The small stories were not my favorites, but the overall story was very interesting. I never suspected Arobynn to be a good person, so the final plot twist and his betrayal were not surprising to me. However, I had not expected that he was so obsessed with her. It even felt wrong to read about it, how he thought about her and how he had always been obsessed with her and had used her. How he only cared about himself.
