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YA Review: The Assassin's Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke

9/23/2012

20 Comments

 
The Assassin's Curse cover
The Assassin's Curse (The Assassin's Curse #1)
Author: Cassandra Rose Clarke
Publication Date: 10/2/12
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
[Goodreads|Amazon]

Blurb(GR):
 Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to an allying pirate clan: she wants to captain her own boat, not serve as second-in-command to her handsome yet clueless fiance. But her escape has dire consequences when she learns the scorned clan has sent an assassin after her. 

And when the assassin, Naji, finally catches up with her, things get even worse. Ananna inadvertently triggers a nasty curse — with a life-altering result. Now Ananna and Naji are forced to become uneasy allies as they work together to break the curse and return their lives back to normal. Or at least as normal as the lives of a pirate and an assassin can be.


Review:

Do you love Grave Mercy, Blood Red Road, or The Bloody Jack series?  Then you need to read this book.

Do you like Grave Mercy, but wish it had more actual murder and a less prim heroine?
Do you like Blood Red Road but wish it had a plot that actually made sense?
Do you like Jacky Faber, but wish she would just grow up already?

Then you definitely need to read this book.

This book is an absolutely entertaining, fun ride that swept me up onto the back of a stolen camel and never let me go.  I finished it in one day and it was one of those completely pleasurable, huge-grin-on-my-face reading experiences. 

I almost didn’t request this book, because I’ve been disappointed so many times by “this type of book.”  You know what I mean – fun, romantic adventure stories that inevitably have idiotic love interests or wimpy/spineless heroines, unbelievable happily ever afters, or all the other things that have prejudiced me against reading romance over the years.  Or else they’re fun, romantic fantasy stories with black villains and shallow world-building.  Thankfully, I am able to accidentally move past my own stupidity every once in a while and give one of “these books” a chance.  And every once in a while, I am very pleasantly surprised.

I actually requested this for a very random reason: the author’s name is weirdly close to the name I was born with and had for the first 24 years of my life.  Plus, there’s just something about girl pirates that will always pique my interest.  This book did not disappoint.  Ananna is smart, tough, practical, and resourceful.  She’s no shrinking violet, although she is realistically young in a few hilarious ways.  She's not a gorgeous knock-out who thinks she's plain.  She actually spends the majority of this book in men's clothes.  Her voice is a complete delight to read, but more than that - she feels like a real person.  

Ananna wants nothing more than to be the captain of her own pirate ship and sail off into the sunset.  Unfortunately, her parents have other ideas: they've already arranged for her to marry the son of another pirate family.  Ananna wants none of it, so she escapes on the day of her betrothal by making use of the thieving and trickery she's been specializing in since toddler-hood.  Unfortunately, she doesn’t get far before a powerful Assassin, hired by the jilted groom’s family, tracks her down.

Naji, the dark Assassin, mysteriously scarred and covered in magical tattoos, trained in blood magic, is a fantastic love interest.  He’s quiet and flawed and willing to let Ananna fight her own battles.  He’s no controlling macho-man and he doesn’t instantly fall head over heels for the heroine.  Quite the contrary, in fact - he seems to be completely oblivious to her as a woman, which is hilarious.  Nevertheless, these two have great chemistry and so obviously complement each other that it’s just delicious waiting for them to figure it out.

My one criticism is that this book is so short and there are so many things left to be explained – it feels unfinished.  It feels like half of a book.  When I got to 95%, 96%, 97%...and realized that this was going to end soon with so much left unexplained and unresolved, I felt a bit…FURIOUS, actually.  Damn it, waiting a whole year to have any resolution between these two is probably going to kill me.  Don’t read this if, like my friend Heidi, you prefer not to be left high and dry.

Perfect Musical Pairing
Heart – What About Love?

Because sometimes a romancey pop song just feels so right.  Seriously Naji…think about it.  Don’t you want someone to care about you?  (Bahahaha…I can’t even type that without busting out laughing.)

4/5 Stars
Readventurer C Signature
20 Comments
Lectus link
9/23/2012 08:13:38 am

Oh no! I just got Blood Red Road from the library. Is it in the same line of Grave Mercy - which I didn't like? Then I'm in trouble...

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
9/23/2012 09:05:40 am

I think overall it is less romancey and more action-y if that helps!

Reply
Adina link
9/23/2012 07:07:07 pm

Great review. The Assassins Curse sounds interesting but I'm not sure about the half a book bit. I experienced that recently and it's super annoying.

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
9/24/2012 07:56:11 am

Yes...this one is pretty bad too. If it's something that really bothers you, you might want to wait for the second one to come out and then just read them both in one go. I've heard that this is a duology so at least that's something.

Reply
Bonnie R link
9/24/2012 03:02:09 am

Well, I think that review finalized my decision! I'd been on the fence about this one too for a while now not sure if it was going to be as good as people were saying. I'm definitely going to have to give this one a shot now Catie, thanks for the great review!

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
9/24/2012 07:57:05 am

Yes, do!! I can't wait to see your review Bonnie.

Reply
Heidi link
9/24/2012 06:02:34 am

I had no idea pirates went in for arranged marriages.

Oh man, I am going to be SO ANGRY when I read this, aren't I?! Do they at least kiss?! CRC better give me at least something to hold on to while I wait for the sequel. *Bites nails nervously*.

As nervous as I am about that aspect, the fact that you loved this has me uber excited to get to it! Though reading the name Ananna for an entire book may make me twitch...

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
9/24/2012 08:00:26 am

Hahaha, I know, right? I guess you learn something new every day. Apparently pirates are quite conventional. ;)

I was so confused for a second because MY initials are CRC and I go by them all the time at work and I thought...what can I possibly give you?!!! But then I realized that this woman and I just have eerily similar names.

Heidi...this one is BAD. This is a minor spoiler but there may or may not be NO KISSING AT ALL in this book. :-| You may want to hold out for book two and then read them together. Just saying.

Reply
Heidi link
9/28/2012 07:55:40 am

...not a single kiss?

I may break down and cry. You're probably right, I should wait, but I DID get and ARC of this so I feel a wee bit obligated to read it.

Keertana @ Ivy Book Bindings link
9/24/2012 10:46:38 am

Yayy! I am SO glad you enjoyed this one, Catie! I requested it awhile back not knowing what to expect and I was so pleasantly surprised by the story and especially the depth of the characters. Ananna really was someone I understood so well by the end of this and I wanted to simultaneously give Naji a hug and punch him in the face for that silly comment he made towards the end concerning the kiss of true love! >.< Still, I neeeed the sequel soon! I hated that the book ended with so much unresolved and that the synopsis practically gave away the whole plot, but either than that, this one was amazing! :D Incredible review, Catie!

OH, and is the Bloody Jack Series worth a try? I loved Blood Red Road, bordered on dislike for Grave Mercy, but I've never heard of the Bloody Jack Series though...hmm...I'll have to look it up, so thanks for the recommendation as well!(:

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
9/25/2012 05:46:00 am

Thanks so much Keertana! (Your name always reminds me of Quintana btw.) I loved the first 4 or 5 in the Bloody Jack series, especially on audio. Those audios are some of the best out there, IMO. It's Katherine Kellgren narrating. They are more silly and middle gradey, but they are also hilarious. If you love feisty/smart alecky girl pirates then definitely go for it. However, the series gets really repetitive after a while. He should have ended it about 3 books ago.

Reply
Amanda @ Late Nights with Good Books link
9/24/2012 11:03:36 am

I completely agree with what you said about Grave Mercy. The premise had such promise, but I feel like the book didn't reach its full potential once Rienne leaves the convent. I love books with strong female protagonists and adventure. Though I am a bit unhappy to hear that it feels imcomplete since it is a series, I still think that this is something I'll need to pick up after publication. Wonderful review!

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
9/25/2012 05:47:44 am

Yes, I would definitely recommend this to those who were disappointed by Grave Mercy. Maybe wait for the second one to come out, but get this for sure.

Reply
Maggie, Young Adult Anonymous link
9/24/2012 06:04:09 pm

Pirates, assassins, and HEART! SOLD.

I love that the author's name was what got you to read the book. :) That's like my mom -- if there's anything with "Maggie" in it, she's like, Ohhhh, you HAVE to go there. The cover with that Aladdin font turned me off initially, but the story + Catie recommendation + HEART (obviously) makes me want to read this asap!

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
9/25/2012 05:50:24 am

I really, really think you'll like this Maggie. I am almost sure of it. And you have no idea how close her name is to my maiden name. V. weird!! Plus, her twitter handle is "@mitochondrial" which...is even more weird because I worked with mitochondrial DNA for seven years. Spooky.

Reply
Christina (A Reader of Fictions) link
9/25/2012 01:32:31 am

Oh man, I hate when books don't wrap everything up, and it always seems like it's worse on the digital books where you can tell just how almost over it is. Glad that this was otherwise awesome, though.

Reply
molly link
9/25/2012 02:02:09 am

Thanks for such a great review! I was on the fence about this one and glad to hear such a favorable take on it. I love how you always include the perfect song to go with the book...very cute.

Reply
Noelle link
9/26/2012 04:01:40 am

Oooooh this sounds delightful. That blurb is like a checklist of my favorite things (and it's such a relief that it's as awesome as it sounds instead of a a letdown!). Can't wait to read this one.

Reply
Chris Sorensen link
9/27/2012 01:53:08 am

This book sounds AWESOME Catie! Thanks so much for sharing. I love the idea of a) assassins and b) love interests that aren't forced or just plain unbelievable. This is now on the to-read list:-)

Reply
VeganYANerds link
9/27/2012 12:32:14 pm

I would definitely request a book based on the author's name being similar to mine, I love coincidences like that.

I really hadn't considered this book, I've seen the cover around but really didn't know what it was about but you've sold me!

Reply



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