The Assassin and the Desert is another novella in Sarah J. Maas Throne of Glass series. This would be the third novella in the series. It follows Celaena Sardothien to her punishment in the Red Desert to train with the Silent Assassins for a month. Arobynn was not happy with her after freeing the slaves that he bought. She has to get trained by the Mute Master and receive a letter of recommendation from him after a month; if she doesn’t then, she might as well not come back to the Guild.
This novella touches on abuse that Celaena deals with at the Guild with her Master, a real jerk. I’m not too fond of Arobynn, and I feel for Celaena. She gets a break from the Guild to train with some of the best Assassins, but she has to get trained by the Mute Master. She’s determined to gain his attention. Celaena becomes friends with the other female at the Silent Assassins, named Ansel of Briarcliff. Ansel is someone Celaena can talk to and be friends with, especially since she doesn’t have any girlfriends.
I enjoyed this novella but found it slow at first. It took a while to build up to what was going to happen at the end. I was surprised by what happened in this novella but figured out why it happened. The novella introduces us to Ironteenth withes and spider silk, which is in the novel-length books for the series. You may get nightmares after finding out about the witches. I know Celaena was bothered by the story she was told about them. I can’t wait to read the next novella in the series. I can’t wait to read Arobynn’s reaction to Celaena getting trained by the Mute Master.
Would I recommend this novella? Yes. This is one novella I would recommend reading for the series. Readers will get to read another side of Celaena because she has to learn to be patient. She also finds out you can’t trust everyone. It also touches on what Celaena has been going through with the Guild. I think she would’ve been better off staying with the Mute Master and the Silent Assassins instead of going home to the Guild.