The Queen's Assassin

I'll start by saying there's a lot of backstory to this novel that gets a bit confusing in the beginning, but Melissa de la Cruz really weaves a wonderful story!

Shadow wants to be an assassin. She is determined, witty, and self-sufficient: someone you can't help but root for.
"Do the most good"

Cal is the Queen's personal assassin bound by a blood oath made by his father.
"There is no escape from a blood vow"

Their worlds merge; creating an adventurous and sometimes humorous story.

I had no idea what to expect from this book, and I was pleasantly surprised! The flow of writing (once you get by the history) draws you in and is paced in a way that keeps you wanting to turn each page. If you enjoy royal fantasy, edge-of-your-seat action, show more tortured love, and sarcastic banter; this is a definite buy.

And, the twists near the end...I did not see those coming!

This book ripped my heart out, stomped on it, and left me hanging on a cliff. 😭 Need the next book now! show less

Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Young Readers Group, and Melissa de la Cruz for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review of The Queen’s Assassin. My thoughts and opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.

First I have to say I didn’t dislike it as much as everyone else seems to be saying, based on their reviews. Now, I didn’t love it, but I didn’t take it so personally when it wasn’t what I was hoping for. First, let me say what a fan I am of Melissa de la Cruz. She is an excellent writer. I think the issue with this is mostly the content. You have very familiar tropes with predictable outcomes and it just doesn’t make for an exciting story. Characters aren’t fully fleshed out and the show more romance seems forced. I do think it is hilarious that people object to the romance seemingly coming out of nowhere when literally every fairy tale, kids story, etc. all have the two people falling in love from nothing. But hey, if this is now a sign that we are fed up with this and want our romance storylines to be better, I’m all for that.

The world was interesting, but for me, not enough was done with this. There was magic all over the land. The king decided that magic shouldn’t be for everyone, and wrote all the magic down in these special scrolls. The world became four different factions who went to war with each other. A nice king finally came into power but got killed in a battle. His queen demands a blood oath of her protector, basically binding him and all his descendants to find the scrolls or die trying. Hence Cal is the son and honor bound to find the scrolls. He is the queen’s assassin and is determined to not get married or have kids because he doesn’t want to pass down what he views as a curse.

The queen has a daughter and was very concerned with her safety. She sends her to the forest to grow up with her two aunts. The girl doesn’t know she is a princess but she knows that she must go to court one day and fulfill family obligations like get married and have kids. She wants to be a queen’s assassin more than anything. Circumstances end up that the two crazy kids end up on the road to find the scrolls. Cal thinks he is training the girl, Shadow, to be his apprentice. They have the usual push pull relationship of “I Hate You” “I Love You” and finally uncover a sinister plot for the kingdom.

So the world had all kinds of potential. There are assassins, magic, things that repel magic, hidden identities, royalty, but it was really light on all the fantasy elements. The romance was manufactured and therefore didn’t come across the page as well as it could. I’m also not so interested in this trope as it has been overdone and I’m not a fan when the females have no agency. The ending was godawful. I’m not sure if it was rushed but there was a lot of information squished into the last bit. The warring factions could have been introduced earlier and would have made a more interesting story. But the actual ending betrayed all of the characters’ earlier tenets. I really didn’t understand it at all.

There is to be a second book. If, somehow, this weird ending is justified in the sequel, then maybe. But you run the risk of no one picking up the second if the first one isn’t enjoyed. There was potential, it just didn’t live up to it in my opinion. But, I wasn’t as turned off as everyone else seemed to be. I was happy to keep reading and finish it. But again, that ending - whew! show less

The Queen's Assassin is a fantasy romance geared toward the younger YA reader. It is told from the first person perspective of Shadow, who has grown up with her aunts and wants to join the Guild, an association of assassins and spies, and the third person perspective of Cal, the Queen of Renovia's assassin, dangerous, feared and highly trained. When Shadow is told she has to serve as a lady of the court to fulfil her duty, she rebels, runs away and liberates Cal, who has been imprisoned. She tells him the Queen has ordered her to become his apprentice. Together they work undercover in a neighboring kingdom to identify a dangerous enemy of Renovia. The story and characters were enjoyable, but I wish there had been less emphasis on the show more romance and more on the magic system. It was good, but not great. show less

Melissa de la Cruz is an author I usually enjoy reading and this, her newest book, was a good but not a great read. In general I enjoy books told in alternating perspectives because I quite like knowing what all the characters are thinking and what motivates them but it just didn’t really work in this case. I think the biggest negative for me was the love story between Shadow and Cal which didn’t work for whatever reason. I didn’t hate the story but I do not think I will be recommending it to others. I do hope that the next book by Melissa de la Cruz is better than this one. This book does has a gorgeous cover that begs to be picked up which is why I read it in the first place but the outside was definitely better then the story show more inside. show less

You can read all my review on Blog - Books Teacup and Reviews

The Queen’s Assassin was YA Fantasy that revolved around Queen’s secret and her assassin. It was about forbidden magic, romance, royal politics and saving kingdom from incursion and evil mages.

First of all that cover is awesome and so apt. Writing was gripping and addictive from the very beginning. I finished this book in 2 sitting and couldn’t put it down until the end. I loved author’s storytelling ability. World, characters and plot was great. It was narrated from Shadow and Calendon’s perspective. That synopsis says it all.

Worldbuilding was fantastic. Initial chapter gave the overview of world. It told about the history of kingdom Avantine, its rulers, how it show more was broken into four kingdoms, Renovia, how the sect of evil mages called Aphrasians and secret guild who fought against Aphrasians beside Renovian throne was formed, what was Deian scroll and how it was lost to Aphrasians, how all this lead to the current situation of Renovia, and how important it was to get the Deian scroll to save the kingdom and restore the magic and peace.

I thought it was all I would need to know about the world but as I read more I got to know more about political unrest, rise of Aphrasians, and rumors of incursion by assault on princess Lilac- the sole heir of Renovia. I loved excerpts from the Diean Scroll before beginning of all three sections. It that told the history and origin of magic, how magic came to Avantine and story of Queen Lilliana, regent queen of Renovia. Those were the best characters in the book.

Story was divided in three parts- Renovia, Montrice (Renovia’s neighbouring kingdom) and Assassin and Queen.

First part introduced characters. Queen Lilliana, her assassin- Calendon Holt and Shadow. As soon as I read epilogue I knew who Shadow was. Now that is not really strong for book but I tell you, the scenes were well written it mislead me and made me question what I was so sure about. I was curious to see how much she knew or if she doesn’t when and how she will know.

Shadow was a farm girl living with her aunts who were part of guild and trained her well to be part of guild. It was her dream to be part of guild and to be Caledon’s apprentice. But her mother who was courtier and on higher rank in guild had other plans. When a sudden attack brought her and Caledon together, she was adamant to thwart her mother’s plan, impress Caledon by rescuing him and convince him to take her on his mission. The way she carried out her plan was both reckless and impressive. Most of the time she was headstrong girl who acted like she knew more, eager to prove herself but that put her and Caledon in lot of danger. She wanted to be his apprentice but always took lead defied and argued whatever he said. That made me both laugh and irritated. It’s not like she wasn’t skilled or smart but what’s the meaning of apprentice if you don’t listen to a person you’re supposed to work under? Anyway, her development was good. As she worked with Caledon, she knew being assassin and part of guild is not easy, it required sacrifices and understood its seriousness.

Caledon was great. He was my favorite in the book. Now that might be unpopular as all reviews I read, reader didn’t like Cal and loved Shadow more. He was ruthless, merciless assassin. He obviously was not used to work with somebody and it made him look like arrogant but at the same time he was gentleman, man of word and restraint. Even though he was frustrated by working with Shadow and her suggestion he went along with her whims. I loved his story about his father and mother. He faced lot of pain and grief. His work left him alone and loveless but working with Shadow he experienced friendship, love and companionship.

Second part was about Montrice, its people and tradition, finding out if the nation was involved with Aphrasians. It also showed growing friendship and chemistry between Shadow and Caledon. I loved narration of aristocratic life style, gown and balls in this part.

I liked romance between Shadow and Caledon. They didn’t get along well initially but as they got to know each other, it blossomed into a beautiful flower. I was curious to see how they were going to voice their feelings and if they could commit to a relationship.

This unexpected love and all the feeling came along with it distracted them from their main plan. I was so glad for the turning point and what a turn it was. Many things happened from here till the end of this part. When they finally found about the evil Aphrasian, there was little action and some unexpected revelation.

I knew Shadow was hiding things from Caledon but oh boy, what was revealed in third part was a bit more than what I guessed. Queen’s play and secret was shocking. I liked Shadow’s confession and the way story ended. I definitely sided with Caledon and admired him for his decision but at the same time loved Shadow and how she grew with her responsibility. I can’t wait to see what is to come next in this series.

Why 4 Stars-

Now I haven’t read Sarah J Maas books but I have read stories that have somewhat similar outline. The world was original. I love mages and magic and blood vow, but rest of things was not fresh. Characters, queen’s secret and the end was a tad too predictable.

Overall, it was fast paced, interesting fantasy with addictive writing and refreshing world. It gave same vibes as Children of Blood and Bone while reading this, so if you liked that book, you’ll enjoy this.

*** Note: I received this book from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to @PRHGlobal for free copy. *** show less

* I got this book for review for my honest thoughts*

I will be honest I really struggled with this read. I wanted to really enjoy this book. I found this book hard to connect to the characters and it the world building was not super clear. I thought the characters were not well rounded felt like one dimesnsional characters. It was not a read the graded my attention, but i did read it fast, I just struggled to care about the characters and don't know if i will keep reading this series. I did not love her writing style.

* I got this book for review for my honest thoughts*

I will be honest I really struggled with this read. I wanted to really enjoy this book. I found this book hard to connect to the characters and it the world building was not super clear. I thought the characters were not well rounded felt like one dimesnsional characters. It was not a read the graded my attention, but i did read it fast, I just struggled to care about the characters and don't know if i will keep reading this series. I did not love her writing style.