The Assassin's Curse Book Review
by Cassandra Rose Clarke
Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to another pirate clan. But that only prompts the scorned clan to send an assassin after her. When Ananna faces him down one night, armed with magic she doesn't really know how to use, she accidentally activates a curse binding them together.
To break the spell, Ananna and the assassin must complete three impossible tasks--all while grappling with evil wizards, floating islands, haughty manticores, runaway nobility, strange magic...and the growing romantic tension between them.
My Thoughts
The back cover copy for this one is pretty accurate . . . Except those three impossible tasks? The main characters don’t even find out what those ARE till right at the end. Yep, pretty much a cliffhanger ending. I mean, no one is stuck in a tower being tortured when the book ends. No. I’m just saying, you may want to wait till the next book comes out (in June 2013) before you read this one.
So, THE ASSASSIN’S CURSE. I always like assassins, as long as they’re not embedded in a Book Of Unrelieved Grimness. Instead of Unrelieved Grimness, this one promised pirates and magic curses and all kinds of not-very-serious fun stuff. And it delivers! I zippd right through it; it was perfect for my mood.
This is a light, fun book, nicely written, with a slowly-developing romance between two great characters. I thought Ananna was a bit of an idiot for taking off like that in the first place, but then on second thought I don’t know. Her impulse to run certainly started the book off fast, and when we actually get to see the dreaded Isles of the Sky, well, actually, maybe I’d ditch my whole life and run, too, if some young twit I didn’t even know wanted to marry me and drag me off to adventure in ‘em.
Actually, the Isles of the Sky? The one we actually see in the book? That is a great creepy island. I’m tempted to tell you all about it — the trees! The other trees! The enchanted water! Well, I’ll restrain myself.
In fact, I like every part of the various settings — I like the camels! I like Lisirra, the city that smells like cardamom and rosewater (at least the garden district). I like the desert, but we also get a very nice feel for shipboard life. Clarke is deft at building her world by sliding in details as she goes, no need for lengthy exposition here.
"I like how fast paced it was but i wish the author would have gone in depth with a few scenes instead on narrating what happened :( Like the scene of her first night on the ship where she started dancing to the music and everyone joined in. That would have been an amazing scene!!! But she just told what happened :( And a few others like it.
I also like Ananna’s voice: “I ain’t never been one to trust beautiful people.” The assassin, Naji, is a much more educated person. Anybody can see their romance coming a mile away, except, of course, them.
So, yeah, I really enjoyed this one. I started and finished it the same day!! It was nice to read a book that was just fun. I’ll definitely be picking up the sequel. (The Pirate's Wish)
4 STARS!!
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