The Assassin's Blade: The Throne of Glass Prequel Novellas

From start to finish it was a work of art! I loved every minute of reading this book. Chefs kiss

Loved the way each chapter comes to life! You cant for seen what is going to happen next sometimes. Such an overwhelming history! Can't wait to see what happens next!

I thought that the story was gonna suck, but Sarah J Mass impressed me again I didn’t think that this part of the story was important . I love the story between celeana and Sam it was raw and real even tough times Sam loved her and cared about her. I read this third, so I’m excited to read the rest of the series.

"I will not be afraid." I didn't expect to, but this book made me tear up. This girl goes through too much lol

Loved this book bought the throne glass as soon as I finished!

Loved it a lot it was a very refreshing pause in the middle of the series! You should read it after Heir of Fire

I feel like I have a much better understanding of Celaena. She was betrayed. She was afraid, but she was never broken.

Best read before queen of shadows, answers a lot of questions and gives depth to characters who begin to play a role

So goodThrilling,quick read and makes a lot offender the other books. Def a great read in the series yes

SJM, the author that you are and the world you have built, absolutely flawless, gut-wrenching, incredible, magical and absolutely beautiful. Something tells me this won’t be the last time I cry.

Such a good prequel to what transpired in the first to books. It gives a good plot for what has come. Im hoping in the next one I get more of a glimpse into arrobyn. I feel like she needs to find out that aspect in order to also move forward in the plot.

Oh my GOD! This was such an amazing book, I am absolutely in love with Celaena as a main character, she’s only 17 and she has a lot of growing up left, but I can just feel it in my bones that she’s gonna be amazing. This book was gorgeous, devastating, action packed, and full of mystery and betrayal.

I really struggled with the first two books in this series, though the second considerably better than the first. Finally, with this book, once I got to part 3/5 it finally gave me enough to grasp onto.Part 1 really bored me to pieces and I still do not understand why pirates were chosen. Assassins blade meets pirates of the Caribbean episode? Regardless, it set the plot line for the other 4 sections so it was necessary and introduced very important characters. Nevertheless, I still wanted to rip my hair out reading part 1 and part 2 is just a complete waste of time.The background information is definitely interesting. I would not go as far to say it’s undeniably important, because you can absolutely read the entire series without any of this information, however; it allows you to create the bond with the MFC character that you just can’t seem to find (or at least, I couldn’t) in the first 2 books. There are details mentioned in books 1 and 2 explained throughout the 5 parts of this book which clarifies some little things and will, I assume, help the plot line continue. I’m intrigued to see how all of the “extra” information from this prequel, that hadn’t been previously mentioned in the first two books, will tie into the rest of the series.

I read this book after I read Crown of Midnight and I really loved all the stories SJM tells in this novella. Each story was fast paced and gripping! I read the whole book very quickly because I couldn’t stop turning the pages.

Oh my god.. poor sam... I legit cried. Sam didn't deserve that. And how does she not know who betrayed her.. he did it twice already shouldn't third be obvious?! And she decided to actually listen to sam when it counts and then shit hit the fan.. 🥲 character growth at the wrong time but my god. When she says her name and I will not be afraid.. I hope she grows and gets revenge. It did take me a while to get through it though it's really slow at first.

I can still vividly remember how I stumbled upon Sarah J. Maas as an other more than 10yrs ago like it was yesterday. I had put in my search engine, “girl assassins.” This book was one of the 1st to pop up. The blurb intrigued me and my love affair with everything Sarah was born. I got so much more out of this book this time! Last time, o had a toddler who kept me busy even if I had the chance to read again, which I have maybe 5yrs ago🤔. I STILL missed many nuances and clues in this book. I knew it all tied together, I just didn’t see where particular story lines started the other times I’ve reread. This story was an amazing fanciful ride FULL of passion, hope, friendship and sorrow. Such immense sorrow. I ugly cried again and if I remember correctly, I cried in each book of this series and not all sad tears either! THIS time, I listened as I’m now into audible books and Elizabeth Evan’s is my ultimate favorite narrate for anything Sarah related. I believe I’m going to listen to the rest of this series too since I did with Crescent City. The stars on this review were done sometime in my past before I actually did reviews so I’m happy to remedy that almost 10yrs to the day later.All in all, there is NO author quite like Sarah J. Maas. Don’t get me wrong, that’s are a few that rival her but with a different style. Her style is all her own. Thank you for always having a world we can escape to Sarah!

Reading order tip:If you plan on reading the entire series whether you like the first book or not, then do yourself a favor and read Assassin's Blade FIRST. I loved ACOTAR and I knew I would love TOG too so regardless of my feelings of the first book I knew I would continue on.I read Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight first as that was SJM's 'recommended order' and I really wish I listened to the entire internet saying NOT to but I assumed the author must know best.Assassin's Blade is the prequal. It's her back story, it's everything that happened before, it chronologically makes sense to read it first and in my humble opinion...... SJM's recommended reading order is stupid.It was hard to pull myself away from the story to go back in time because I was so invested with the first two books. It was a distraction to jump backwards in time and I find myself needing a recap of the first two books before I can continue on. I would have much rather read it first.I did not like Celeana in this book, she was bratty, cocky and insufferable and had I been the type of person where this book would determine if I would read the rest of the series I may not have continued simply because of her character. Since I had already read the other two books, I know that her character has developed, been humbled and changed a quite bit and I LOVE her but Assassin's Blade had me wanting to slap her a few times.With that being said, I enjoyed the book. The story/stories were fantastic and exciting and heartbreaking and everything I love in a fantasy read and I'm excited to get back to the 'current' timeline now that I have some insight to her past.

Overall rating : 5 starsWitness Celaena’s rise and downfall as Adarlan’s Assassin in this collection of five prequel novellas to the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series…Assassin’s Blade is a collection of novellas, served as a backstory to the Throne of Glass series. These novellas follows Celaena Sardothien’s life, all the way up to the Salt Mines of Endovier. Celaena Sardothien was brought up in Rifthold, and trained to become Adarlan’s Assassin. Celaena is duty-bound to Arobynn Hamel, He is the one who provided her with a home at the Assassin’s Guild and taught her the deadly skills she needed to survive. And yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only one person. The person she trusts is her fellow killer for hire, Sam.The Assassin and the Pirate Lord is the first novella. Celaena and her rival, Sam Cortland, are sent on a mission to seal a deal in the slave trade with the pirate lord, Captain Rolfe, Lord of the Pirates. Refusing to seal the deal, Celaena and Sam must find a way to free the two hundred slaves without attracting attention from Rolfe or have word reach Arobynn.The Assassin and The Healer follows on from The Assassin and the Pirate Lord. After being beaten by Arobynn for disobedience, Celaena is sent to the Deserted Land to train with the Mute Master and his Silent Assassins for a month. While waiting for the ship to take her to the Deserted Land, Celaena meets Yrene Towers — a healer, working as a barmaid, and wishing to seek further education for her abilities. After an attempted attack, Celaena teaches Yrene how to defend herself for when she decides to leave for a better life.The Assassin and The Desert follows on from The Assassin and the Healer. After their stunt with Captain Rolfe of Skulls Bay Celaena and Sam returned to the Assassins’s keep and are severely punished by their master, the King of the assassins Arobynn Hamel . Celaena, after being beaten prutalmente was forced to train in the red desert together with the master mute. Among the hot sun and the sand dunes Celaena holds a friendship that leave more than a few broken bones.The Assassin and The Underworld continues on from The Assassin and the Desert. Returning to Rifthold and her life at the Assassin’s Keep, Celaena finally runs into Sam, only to find that he’s been spending time with Lysandra, a courtesan whom Celaena has despised since she was ten. Celaena and Sam are sent to assassinate Doneval and his business partner for attempting to arrange a way to improve the slave trade. Following a staggering deception from one she trusts the most, Celaena must gather courage to fulfil her wish to move out of the Guild and begin againThe Assassin and The Empire follows from The Assassin and the Underworld. After paying off her debt to Arobynn, Celaena moves out and brings Sam with her. In order to escape the hold that Arobynn has on her, Celaena must complete one more mission: to assassinate Ioan Jayne and his sadistic guard, Rourke Farran. Aware of the disturbing and deadly consequences of being caught, Celaena and Sam decide to work together to accomplish the mission. Celaena will receive the ultimate betrayal and lose what she holds most dear.Events from these Novellas do come into play in later books. I am glad I read it right after I read the first one, Throne Of Glass. I like how these five novellas all connected. You would have to read the novellas in order. Cause I don’t think they are stand alone books. The plot was good and engrossing. The pace was good too. There was no scenes to slow the pace down. The characters were all lovely and well-develop too. I did have a favorite character in The Assassin and The Desert. But I was in a surprise towards the end. I could relate to Celaena about that too.This book gives you the background story of Celaena and what happened before she got caught. Some novella will show you some of her personality and others will be lessons.The Assassin and Desert novella was one of my favorite ones. My least favorite novella was The Assassin and The Underworld. My least favorite scene was when Celaena killed someone. Yes, it is a spoiler but I won’t say which novella is it in.

~The Assassin and the Pirate Lord~First, I think it's important to recognize that one of--if not the--main purposes of these novellas to grow Celaena from an intolerably insolent and arrogant adolescent into a world-wiser (but still cocky) young adult.The #1 complaint about this series is that readers don't like Celaena.Personally, I love her, but I understand why others might not. She's a superlative character who some people can't handle her extremes, and that's only one of a dozen legitimate issues.BUT.There are several loudly voiced complaints that, as far as I'm concerned, don't hold water. I've already addressed my feelings in regards to the claim that she is too girly to make a believable assassin in my Throne of Glass review.The other assertion I cannot abide is that Celaena "never does anything," or "never kills anyone."That she's basically all talk.Maybe I'm confused, but I've never supposed that assassins are meant to go around killing EVERYONE indiscriminately. And she's not just an assassin. She's the King of Assassins' heir. Adarlan's Assassin.At least half of her identity is reputation, and it wouldn't behoove that reputation (or be good for business) to run around like a maniac slitting throats and eviserating passersby.In this novella, she's a sixteen-year-old girl who single-handedly disarms and disables the entire crew of a pirate ship. She easily defeats the Pirate Lord in combat, using his own weapons to do it.How is that nothing? How is that all talk? *mind is boggled*Beyond establishing herself as a seriously kick-ass heroine, the foundation for something that will shred your heart into teeny, tiny pieces is also laid. <------*WAILS*And, you know . . . there are pirates.Everything is better with pirates.SO. Not my favorite of the bunch, but a close(ish) second.~The Assassin and the Healer~This novella wasn't part of the original four. I chased down pieces of it on various blogs, over the course of several days before CROWN OF MIDNIGHT was released.Anyway, I liked this one a lot, too.So should anyone who thinks Celaena doesn't kill often enough. How about six or eight mercs in a dark alley after they try to rob and attack a barmaid?All I'm saying is that's an awful lot of bodies piling up for an assassin who allegedly doesn't assassin.Moving on.We also learn some Celaena background: that her country was destroyed by war, and she feels a kinship with others who have suffered similar fates. That as a child she had dreams that are in complete contradiction to her current status.Aaaannddd we (once again) get to observe the softer side of Celaena. The side that compels her to intervene on behalf of others when she can. many reasons I'm able to overlook her more abrasive qualities.Bottom line: a worthy addition to the canon.~The Assassin and the Desert~Oh, my FEELS. They hurrrrrrt *sobs*So what does is say about me that this is my favorite of the group? Hmm . . .In the inevitable aftermath of her actions in Pirateville, Celaena is sent into the blistering, unforgiving heat of the desert to train with the Mute Master, Arobynn's (infinitely more benevolent) Southern counterpart.She has one month to train with the Silent Assasssins. One month to earn the Mute Master's respect in the form of a letter to Hamel on Celaena's behalf, commending her efforts and abilities.One. Month.This is the novella that makes me determinedly profess that readers' NEED to read the prequels.There are people and places and events that have already begun to play a greater role in the main books, with half a dozen foreshadowings of things to come.You. NEED. To. Read. It.And it won't make sense, if you haven't read the first one, and after that . . . Well, why not just read them all?Besides . . . Don't you want to see Celaena fumble her way through her first friendship? And not just her first friendship, but her first friendship with a GIRL?Of course you do.And who could blame you?~The Assassin and the Underworld~This novella should have been called THE ASSASSIN AND THE TANGLED WEB OF AROBYNN HAMEL, but I guess it doesn't rollllll of the tongue the same way.I really wish I could give you an accounting of the events that take place here unhindered by the knowledge of what's to come.But I can't.I read it too many times and it broke my heart too completely.THE ASSASSIN AND THE UNDERWORLD is about what happens when Celaena returns to the Assassin's Keep after Arobynn beat her into unconsciousness and sent her to the desert.Celaena arrives full of confidence and more than a little bit of self-satisfaction.She succeeded in accomplishing her nearly-impossible-to-complete task. More than succeeded. Was sent home from the Red Desert with a fortune great enough to purchase her freedom.When she struts into Arobynn's office, she has every intention of telling him, and leaving him.Unfortunately . . . It doesn't work out that way.Instead, she allows herself to fall back under his spell. Not fully, she's been made too wary for that...

Review originally posted on The Book Addict's GuideI had been meaning to start THRONE OF GLASS for a long time and was juuuust about to start it when Nikki from There Were Books Involved advised me to read the novellas first. See, this would haven’t been my first read of THRONE OF GLASS. I had actually tried back when the book first came out in 2012 and made it about 80 pages before my book was due back the library… But I hadn’t been really interested it in. I had found it a bit hard to get into and I think I wasn’t at a point in my reading life at that point in time where I could really appreciate fantasy as much as I do now. When Nikki advised me to read the novellas first because they actually helped her appreciate THRONE OF GLASS that much more, I decided that was definitely the best route for me.The funny story is… I was only able to borrow some digitally from my local library so I had to purchase the others… and ended up accidentally reading them out of order (I read the third one first and the first one third). It didn’t really affect my overall opinion too much, but more of a funny little story which obviously wouldn’t have happened if I was actually reading THE ASSASSIN’S BLADE. Oh well!THE ASSASSIN AND THE PIRATE LORD is the first novella of the bunch (and the one I ended up reading third. Oops) and I’m actually kind of glad I ended up reading it out of order. I really loved all of the novellas but I think this one was my least favorite. Since I read the third one first, I already knew essentially what happened here and it wasn’t that it was anticlimactic but more so that I had already seen a more mature Celaena — even two novellas later — so I grew a bit impatient with her at times. It wasn’t a huge deal for me, but I did notice it a bit. I also felt like the plot was probably the least interesting out of the four that I read and felt more like a string of sequences than something that really flowed. It did have quite a bit of important foreshadowing in there, though, and it was really great to get that foundation for both the world and the characters. This was also an extremely important story because it really sets to motion absolutely everything that leads up to THRONE OF GLASS.The second novella (skipping over the one that is only in TaB… so technically # 0.3) is THE ASSASSIN AND THE DESERT. I think I enjoyed this more than THE ASSASSIN AND THE PIRATE LORD because Celaena really starts to learn things about herself and is both mentally and physically pushed to the limits on so many levels. It’s easy to know who you think you are but once you’re put in extremely trying situations, you start to see the person you really are and what weaknesses emerge. It was heartbreaking too, because I think Celaena really opened up and discovered a lot about herself but then both of those things made her close herself off again. I really loved the relationships in this novella a lot and I think it was a really important piece of Celaena’s background that we got to know.The next novella was THE ASSASSIN AND THE UNDERWORLD (that I accidentally read first) and I just fell in love. It was so intriguing and so complex for a novella! I really felt like I got to know all of the characters so intimately and each of the characters — as well as the plot lines — really begin to grow. There were TWISTS and things I did not see coming and it was probably one of the best novellas I have read in a long time (maybe ever?)… That is until….THE ASSASSIN AND THE EMPIRE — HOLY CRAP, you guys. This novella BROKE me. It was flat out amazing and also set up a lot for THRONE OF GLASS but there were so many things I didn’t expect and so many things that completely floored me. If you read the main novels first — as goes for any of these novellas — you already know what happens in the end but I got to experience all of that backstory first hand and it was… well it was a wild ride. This is one of THE best novellas I’ve ever read and all of these are worth the read, whether you’ve already read all of the books so far in the series or not.My overall opinion of the novellas is that they’re must-reads for fans of this series. I know a lot of people actually aren’t a fan of novellas but these four (and I’m assuming the fifth that I haven’t read yet) all fit together to really kind of form a whole new story in one book. I read them all before I started THRONE OF GLASS which you don’t have to do, but I really enjoyed it because these are all prequel novellas and I really felt like I was reading the series in chronological order. Given what I’ve learned so far in CROWN OF MIDNIGHT, I think it’s important to read these novellas before book two because there is a lot of history explained there that really makes more sense and draws on more emotions if you’ve read the novellas first.