The Assassin's Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke

4.5 out of 5 Robots!

   

The Assassin's Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Series: Assassin's Curse #1

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Release: October 2, 2012

Hardcover: 320 Pages

Publisher: Strange Chemistry

My Copy: Purchased

Reviewer: Shannon

Buy the Book: Amazon

Book Summary:

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. (Courtesy of the Publisher)

 
Shannon's Thoughts:

I won't lie.  This cover totally caught my eye.  And after I read the synopsis, I was really excited to read this book.  Pirates!  Assassins!  Curses!  I am really happy to say this book lived up to its premise.  I adored it.  This is a true adventure book from the moment Ananna runs away from her pending nuptials on a stolen camel.  It was very well paced and exciting.  Clarke did a great job of creating a new and interesting world.  There was a good balance between giving enough detail but not letting it bog the story down.  And I really liked the magical elements in this book. Ananna and Naji are great characters.  The book is told from Ananna's perspective and we can see her bravery, loyalty, impulsiveness and pride.  Naji is equally fascinating, but much more of a mystery.  This isn't to say he is a cardboard character.  Far from.  Ananna works hard to peel back Naji's carefully constructed walls and as she does we get to know and understand him a little better. I also appreciate the subtle romance that develops between Ananna and Naji.  It never distracts from the plot and just serves as an undercurrent running through the story.  The only thing that threw me off a bit was Ananna's manner of speaking, which is filled with "ain'ts".  I know it is to make her seem more "rough" and less formally educated, but sometimes it was a little distracting.  

Overall, this was a great book!  The second book, The Pirate's Wish, comes out June 4th and I am really looking forward to reading it! I highly recommend it!