“My name is Celeana Sardothien,” she whispered. “But it makes no difference if my name’s Celeana or Lillian or Bitch, because I’d still beat you, no matter what you call me.”
I’m not quite sure whether I can label this one as a full review or whether these are just some scattered thoughts put together. But nevertheless I have the urge to talk about this book even after I gave myself some days to think about it. And yes, I am aware that I jumped on the TOG-train extremely late. But I do think that this easily will be one of my favourite books forever.
A deadly assassin? Well, that could be a lot of characters. But a deadly assassin with a love for beautiful dresses as well as fluffy pups and good books? A strong woman that just knows that she is attractive and has no shame in stating so? A strong woman that is only eighteen years old but had to endure way too much by now. That, my friends, is Celeana Sardothien. One of the most wonderful characters I’ve ever read. She is fierce and spirited and knows how to get what she wants. After being a prisoner for a year in the salt mines of Endovier, Celeana is offered a deal from the crown prince himself. She is to take part in a competition to become the kings champion and gain her freedom out of the slavery.
What makes the book so extremely loveable are the characters – next to Celeana for me it was Chaol. Captain of the royal guard, fulfiller of my dreams aka my absolute baby and well … best friend of the already named crown prince Dorian. One might think that the book covers a love triangle and it kind of does. But actually only a little bit. Love is mentioned somewhere close to the end of the book and while there is some romantic stuff, there isn’t really a competition to gain Celeana’s heart – don’t trust the synopsis here! The “love” isn’t overwhelming or too much. It is more a tool to underline the characters and their traits. I simply cannot find words to properly describe how much I love the characters – they simply hooked me from the beginning with their first steps, movements and words. I mean. how could you not love the bookworm assassin while being a bookworm yourself? And Chaol … don’t even get me started on him. Otherwise I might not be able to stop. Let’s just say that I do have a certain love for dark-haired and witty idiots. That’s it. And even if Dorian might not be my favourite, he’s extremely charming and kind. I have the constant urge to hug him and tell him that everything’s going to be alright.
Since Queen Maas was the one helping me to re-find my love for the fantasy genre – looking at you, ACOTAR series! – I was intrigued to find out about the world-building in this one. The world introduced here doesn’t give away much and I think there is a lot more to discover for me. But what I learned until now got me hooked. And it’s not just the world, it is also the sliver of magic that sparked my interest and leaves me wanting more. I don’t know what to expect from the next books and I try to stay away from spoilers as much as I can. But I’ve got the feeling that Sarah J. Maas will dig a deeper grave for me that won’t let me out once I’m in.
And I do pry to all the gods of Adarlan and Prythian that Chaol won’t trick me like Tamlin the Tool did it. My poor heart wouldn’t survive that.
The rating:
