Celaena Sardothien is one of the most feared assassin’s from the Assassin’s Guild. Arobynn Hamel is her mentor and master, yet his morals can be questioned. The Assassin’s Blade serves as the prequel to the enchanting Throne of Glass series. The book goes through five short stories/novellas of Celaena’s adventures before her time in Throne of Glass. This book explores themes such as love, perseverance, heartbreak and grief. 

Be warned that there will be spoilers in this review starting here:

As someone who read Assassin’s Blade after Crown of Midnight, I really enjoyed seeing more backstory of Celaena. Sam has always been a character that is brought up in Throne of Glass and in Assassin’s Blade we are finally able to meet him. Sam’s death is something that truly stuck with Celaena and now we get an idea of how he died. In my opinion, it was quite clear that Arobynn had something to do with it even when she explained what happened to him in the Throne of Glass books. The ending of the Assassin’s Blade just solidifies that theory. I did enjoy this book because I love Celaena as a character and it was fun to explore more of her backstory.

Pirate King

The first novella, “The Pirate King”, gave insight into the relationship/rivalry between Sam and Celaena. This was quite shocking to me as when Celaena talks about Sam in the future she talks about him with so much love. It was interesting to see their banter and how their relationship changed once they both freed the slaves. I knew in this moment that Celaena betraying Arobynn would not be good.

The Healer

The second novella, “The Healer”, we find out that Arobynn beat/hit Celaena for freeing the slaves. This moment in particular really made me love Celaena even more. Even though she knew there would be repercussions for her actions, she still freed the slaves because she knew it was wrong. This is why I see Celaena as such a strong willed character who would fix anything she sees as morally wrong. I always thought Arobynn was not a good guy just from the first time Celaena talks about him.

The Desert

The third novella, “The Desert”, is where we see betrayal. Ansel was a character I did enjoy seeing as Celaena at this time did not have a strong relationship with anyone. Of course, Ansel had to be the bad guy and I am quite shocked that Celaena did not kill her. I expect to see her turn up again in another book. I wonder how that would play out though.

The Underworld

The fourth novella “The Underworld”, is what really made me question Arobynn even more. I was already upset at what he put not only Celaena through but Sam too. I was so happy to see Sam and Celaena finally admit their feelings but I was dreading the inevitable. One thing that really upset me was Celaena being so happy to pay off her debt just for Arobynn to spend it all on Lysandra??? Yeah, I hate him.

The Empire

The fifth and final novella, “The Empire”, this is the one that truly broke me. Celaena has been through so much and yet she continues to persevere and never show her weaknesses. She has to be one of my favorite female heroines in a series I have read so far. She does not deserve all of this heartbreak that has happened to her especially at age 17!!! I sometimes would forget her age just from how much crap she went through.

I am genuinely so interested in how all of these novellas will play out in the next books. There is a clear reason as to why people suggest to read this book after Crown of Midnight. All I can wonder is if Arobynn comes back and what happens. I can imagine that Celaena will eventually realize it was him all along and kill him. I also can assume that maybe Yrene and Ansel will make an appearance within the next few books. 

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this one! One of my favorites so far if I am honest. I enjoyed being able to get some answers and to also see more of Celaena and her character growth.