Beautiful. Deadly.
Destined for greatness.
In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught.
Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?
This is the first in series about the top assassin in the kingdom and her fight for freedom. I honestly have no idea why I waited so long to read this, it hooked me from the first page! Set in an amazing magical and traditional fantasy world, with full-length gowns and glass castles and hidden passages, Celaena is competing for her freedom, surrounded by thieves and soldiers, not to mention a old, powerful magic killing off the competition.
Celaena was an incredible character, surprisingly sweet if a little closed off. She's had a hard life, from being orphaned, raised by the leader of the league of assassins, and finally jailed in the toughest prison around. Considering she was the world's greatest assassin, she was polite and funny, if a little stubborn and proud; I was half expecting her to be a complete ice queen, heartless and ruthless but seeing Celaena giggle over a pretty dress really bought out the other side to her. It was refreshing to see a tough assassin actually have a heart!
Speaking of heart, I really liked how there were two possible love interests but it never felt like a love triangle. Both Prince Dorian and Captain Choal were interesting characters to get to know, although very different; the prince was cheeky and witty, while Choal was very protective and shy. They both wanted the best for Celaena and both bring out the cute and funny side of her.
I absolutely loved this story, everything about it was amazing and so much fun to read. I don't normally read high fantasy but this world was so elaborate and well thought-out, from the castle to the magical history, I just couldn't resist! I can't wait to see what's in store for Celaena next.
Published 2nd August 2012 by Bloomsbury.
I am so, so glad you loved this! And it gets better and better with each instalment.
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