{Review} The Assassin's Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Title: The Assassin's Curse
Author: Cassandra Rose Clarke
Format: NetGalley e-book ARC
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Release Date: October 2nd, 2012
Date Read: June 21st, 2012
Rating: ★★★★★

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.

For me, THE ASSASSIN'S CURSE, is one of my best reads of 2012 (so far). It's full of adventure, magic, and a pinch of romance. It has amazing world building and spectacular characters. You know what? I hated it in the beginning. It felt absurd. The main character rode of on a camel. Ok... I guess since it's like Arabia (or something) they have camels to ride off on. But, I live in good old Midwest. There ain't no camels here. Than Naji came in. After that, it became awesome. Like assassin ninja awesome. Yes, that awesome.

Characters

Ananna is brave, headstrong, naive, and all around awesome. She says what she likes, is capable, and isn't automatically in love with any guy. She saved Naji just as many times as he saved her. Naji wasn't the normal male hero. He was a good assassin but he was at times naive and brash, and a bit insecure. Naji was completely, absolutely, amazingly amazing. The minor characters were interesting and nicely developed. I really loved every character.

Plot and Writing

Plot:
The plot is very different from most of the books I've read. It seems like something my little brother would make up with blood magic and sea magic and assassins. But it works. It works really really well. It starts with action and ends with a touch of romance. If you are looking for a heavy romance, don't go here. Minor spoiler alert: there are no kisses other than pecks on the cheek. I found the romance in it so much more powerful because of the lack of "real romance" (for lack of better term). You aren't told "WE ARE IN WUVE, DEAL WITH IT!"

Writing:
Writing special only works sometimes. Some either go over board or not enough. This was really nice. Sometimes I did I double take with random grammatical errors. It was really funny. Clarke can write! I smelled the food, saw the buildings, and coughed the sand. This is a masterpiece of literature.

Likes and Dislikes

Liked:
- characters
- wonderful world building
- amazing plot
- awesome writing

Disliked:
- the beginning

Conclusion

This book rocked. I loved it. It is definitely one of my favorites of 2012 and all time. I think you should BUY IT.

Lisbeth is an American teenager who enjoys blowing shit up in videogames and discussing decapitation in great detail. She's also obsessed with Oceana, but you're not supposed to know that.