Review: The Assassin's Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke

From Back Cover: 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 curse, 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 Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: When I first heard about Angry Robot’s latest imprint, Strange Chemistry, and its upcoming releases, I was most excited about Cassandra Rose Clarke’s The Assassin’s Curse because the synopsis promised pirates, assassins, curses and magic. It’s not surprising then that my expectations for this fantasy novel were high … perhaps too high.

Although I didn’t really fall in love with any of the characters, I did like the secondary character of Marjani. I also liked the main character, Ananna, because I found her to be spunky and very unladylike. She lies, steals and curses, and is clearly capable of surviving by herself. It was much harder to appreciate Naji as a romantic lead because I felt that he was quite useless as an assassin. After all, not only does he fail to kill Ananna, but he also manages to get himself bound to her through a curse! Furthermore, he refuses to tell Ananna anything important. I couldn’t understand why Ananna would find Naji appealing – he didn’t seem to find her quite so attractive – nor did I feel like there was much chemistry between the two.

Another thing that bothered me was the lack of details about certain parts within the plot. For example, I still feel like I don’t know anything about the Order or the Mists. Readers also don’t learn much about Naji’s background – or even how old he is. 

In spite of its flaws and the lack of a climax, I did enjoy The Assassin’s Curse while I was reading it because the pacing was relatively fast and didn’t give me time to dwell on the book’s faults.

The Assassin’s Curse was released by Strange Chemistry on October 2, 2012. 

Comments About the Cover: The desert setting of the novel evokes a Middle Eastern feel, which is why love the Middle Eastern-inspired artwork and font.

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Strange Chemistry) for free.