The Assassin's Blade: The Throne of Glass Novellas Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

I wish I had read these novellas before I started the series, but I didn't realize they were prequels. That's not very well explained. So i read tree after the rest of the books.That said, I'm not actually sure I would've continued on with the series after reading these if I'd read them first. Celena is an annoying, spoiled, cocky character. For being the "best" she really knows how to make bad decisions, get into bad situations, and barely win the fight. The same thing happens in the rest is the books and always irked me-- her beyond-expert-level talent doesn't actually seem that impressive. I was hoping in these we would get a real glimpse at her talent through get previous hits or something. Not even close. The only time they were mentioned was when they read a long list of her assassinations before being sent to Endovier.Some of the stories were still good. I enjoyed the Red Desert one. But why Sam has "loved" her for years is beyond me. Why do authors always create boys infatuated with girls who hate them? I've never understood that trope and it's tired and useless. She didn't deserve him and he paid for it big time.Predictably, the author still uses ridiculous mannerisms for characters like "a muscle feathered in his jaw." What the heck IS that? And she uses things like this for multiple characters. You could say it different ways-- his jaw tightened, he clenched his teeth, a muscle twitched-- but no, it's always either "feathered" or "flickered". THAT'S NOT A THING. And she uses it over and over in her books. How did the editors not fix this and other examples of phrases like this? It drove me nuts for eight books.I still enjoyed this book and the series, but between the writing and unlikable main character the author made it work to stay with the story.

This was a great prequel. It's interesting on it's own and we learn more about the main character and her personality as well as more of her background. But best of all, it directly sets up the plot for the first book in the series.The writing is funny and sarcastic with a few minor cliche moments like the classic "letting go of the breath that she hadn't realized she was holding" (eye roll) and a few exclamation points in the prose that made it feel cheesy. It wasn't too bad, though. I didn't want to chuck it out the window or anything but I did notice it which pulled out of the story for a minute. That being said, I liked the writing for the most part mostly because of freaking hilarious quotes like this :"He smelled of her lavender soap-her expensive lavender soap that she'd once warned him to never use again." - pg 346HAHA! I love that it's set up to be romantic, but this is totally the reaction I would have.I read this right after reading Throne of Glass, which is the first book in this series that this collection of novellas is a prequel to. I thought it was perfect timing. I read book 2 right after these novellas and the background that I learned in the prequels was referenced. Knowing the details of what they were talking about really filled out the story in book 2 and changed my perspective of what happened in book 1.Magic is briefly mentioned in this book and it was so beautiful that I'm hoping magic starts showing up more in the series! It talked about singing sands which I loved.The main character, Celaena, meets this girl Ansel who has an epic revenge quest going on the rivaled the Princess Bride.Celaena meets a wise master (he goes by the name "Mute Master") and gets some off the wall training with him that was something like Kung Fu Panda. My favorite quote from this wise master:"The Mute Master had told her that people deal with their pain in different ways-that some chose to drown it, some chose to love it, and some chose to let it turn into rage." - pg 236So much fun. Can't wait to continue this series.

I decided to start with here on my reread of the Throne of Glass series in anticipation for Empire of Storms. What I found interesting about this book of novellas the first time and this time is that it reads so much like one large book, just with a few time spaces in between.I love the glimpse into Celaena's life before the Throne of Glass series starts. She's a spoiled 16/17-year-old assassin and while she can be annoying to some readers, getting a sneak peak into the life Celaena had before really helps add depth to her character for the rest of the series. She's very believable to me and her circumstances.But this book has great side characters just like the ToG series does. In particular, these novellas have Sam (*sob*). He never makes an appearance in the actual series because, as we find out quickly, he's dead and so he's only this part of Celaena's past in the series, and here we get to read him as a living person. And it's heartbreaking. At least for me it is because you know what's coming. That doesn't stop me from getting attached (even on a reread; even knowing what's coming). Maas has always had this wonderful ability of giving me all the feels and then crushing me with an iron fist. Hurts so good.After what Celaena goes through in these novellas, especially in the last one, I feel so much more in syncs with her going into Throne of Glass. As a reader, you have the chance to understand why she is the way she is in the series. Also, there are so many wonderful minor characters that Maas has confirmed might be making appearances later on so all in all this was a great refresher.

After debating whether I should read these novellas before diving into the series, I went with this book first and I'm so glad I did because these five short stories give so much insight into how Celena Celaena Sardothien' became Adarlan's most feared assassin and the events that landed her in Endovier. Being part of the Assassin's Guild, Celaena must show loyalty to Aerobyn Hamel. But although our heroine is a ruthless assassin, her heart is full of compassion for those in need of protection. She doesn't like to follow orders, and she doesn't trust easily. The only person who gains her full trust is her fellow assassin, Sam, who tries his best to protect Celaena every time she gets into trouble. The missions she embarks on take her to remote islands and a harsh desert, but that doesn't stop Celaena from risking her life to free slaves or takedown corrupt leaders. Going against Aerobyn's orders comes with a price, and eventually, she must face the consequences of her actions and prepare to suffer harsh punishment.

Having just finished David A. Wells' books I needed another author to try - so here I am!David's books are non stop action from start to finish so differ from Sarah's style. But despite that, she does a good job of building the scene and the climax of each adventure is well written and engaging, so much so that I have already invested in all the other Titles!I know some people say not to read this book first, but personally I have to read books in chronological order - I cant abide going back to see earlier 'takes' when I already know what the future holds. But each to their own.

The story draws you in and has twists and turns throughout so the intrigue draws you in and makes you want more. The arrogance of Celaena at times was frustrating and you just wanted her to stop and listen but I’m keen to see where the series leads. I started reading it to see if it were appropriate for a 13 year old and felt despite the violence there was nothing too intense in terms of sexual content that would be inappropriate for a mature 13 year old. I’ve been told others books in the series are more graphic and I guess by reading the first book they are going to want to read more so I’m keen to see if that’s the case. Can’t wait to read more though.

Alright, so if you have read this or you are considering reading this, then you have probably greedily read all of the Throne of Glass books. If this is not the case, stop reading this and either immediately buy this or the Throne of Glass book, you can thank me later.Despite having read the entire original series and knowing some of the back story, I read this collection of stories with my kindle mere inches from my face. It was amazing, tense, beautiful, and thoroughly captivating. I loved returning to this world, to Celeana Sardothien and her quick wit and sass, and to Adarlan (despite it's flaws).So not only would I highly recommend this and the other books but I would quite like to climb into the world and live in it.Go forth and read!

A lot of people - including the author - recommend to read this book first. I wouldn't necessarily say so. I read the Assassin's Blade after finishing the 4th ToG book and while I thought it a must-read in terms of filling the gaps, it was not my favourite. I found the story somewhat less gripping or maybe I just didn't like the main character that much. I like Celaena much better when she is a bit older. So I thought, it was actually good that I did not start with The Assassin's Blade. I guess if I would buy the book as a present I would only buy it for someone who has already read all the other once, and if they haven't, give them the 1st Book. Saying that, this series is just brilliant, on finishing the latest book & the Assasin's Blade I realised just how much the story is built up across the different books and I started to re-read them all, as I found I had missed a lot of what was actually explained or indicated in the beginning. ToG has got everything: Brilliant Characters - you really can choose your favourite, character development, humor, heaps of action, a thrilling plot, and complex story that intertwines the fates of very different and to begin with distant characters and people. ToG is sometimes compared to Game of Thrones. I can relate to this in terms of it's "Grandness" - however personally I didn't like the way Game of Thrones was written - completely unrelated characters all narrating/ed in point of view style for books on ends and apart from that I found it a bit crude. Good news: you won't have any of that in Throne of Glass, - if you can put up with women and men kicking ass equally and don't mind exchanging the crude with some (teenage) romance, then ToG will make an equally thrilling and maybe much more enjoyable read for you. In this series everything sums up.