Saturday, June 1, 2013

Review: The Assassin's Curse (The Assassin's Curse #1) by Cassandra Rose Clarke

The Arabian Nights meets The Pirates of the Caribbean.
 
Title: The Assassin's Curse
Series: The Assassin's Curse
Author: Cassandra Rose Clarke
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Released: My ratings: 5 out of 5 stars.
A fter The Mad Scientist's Daughter, I will say I was curious about reading Cassandra Rose Clarke's Young- Adult work. I had seen The Assassin's Curse floating about last year but it did not pique my interest. Then I decided to read it and I'm so glad I did.
 It may not seem like it, but writing a f star review is actually rather hard. I difficult to control your fingers which want to type and gush how much I loved this book whereas the reasonable side says that I have to make coherent reasons as to why I loved it and what work. Unfortunately, I don't have an answer. I rate books on how much I enjoyed it. It may have bad writing or a shaky plot but if I enjoyed it then it gets a good rating from me. 

“She moved like water, graceful and soft and lovely. Every part of me wanted to stick out my foot and trip her, just to see her stumble.”
The same is with The Assassin's Curse. Ananna is a pirate. she has been brought up on a pirate ship and when one day she is forced into an arranged marriage, she runs off. And yes, she does that on a camel. Of course the other party is not happy how Ananna humiliated them so they send an assassin to kill. but instead Ananna manages to get herself and the assassin boned by a curse. Now they have to find a way to cure the curse and hence begins our adventure. And what an adventure it was. I loved every minute of it. It loved it so much that I finished it in 2 days. Ananna was just the kind of YA heroine I like to read. Kick ass, straight talking and taking no prisoners. She may be inexperienced in few things and but she is sensible and clever. She doesn't become mush every time a man smiles at her or cowers in fear. She was a delight to read and I loved how Clarke gave her a manner of speech made her so much real.

“I'd handed my heart over to him, a damned blood magic assassin, without even realizing it.” 

Naji is the assassin who was commissioned to kill Ananna but instead finds himself in a bind with a pirate girl. Naji takes broody to another level. In his black assassins' robe, scared face and his sword he could kill you before you could blink. I have to say I really enjoyed reading about Naji's various facial expressions. He didn't smile but his eyes told you another story. Of course he he had a complex about his cars and he always kept his face hidden making it all the more fun when Ananna tries to figure him out through his scant and far between facial expressions.

“You don't realize how much you miss something till it comes back to you, and then you wonder how you went so long without it.”

The plot was well written and the descriptions about the sand, the mist, the sun, the wind, the sea salt made me feel that I was actually there. I could feel myself stood on the deck of the GoldLife, the ship bobbing in he water, wind in my hair and the taste of the sea on my tongue. The world building was really well done and it gave me the impression of living during the times of the Arabian Nights. Don't ask me how I got that connection. The plot a little long winded and looking back I realise that some part could have been chopped of but even if they didn't act anything directly to the story, they built the world and the characters around them. I really enjoyed the awkward conversations between Naji and Ananna. Sometimes they would banter and sometimes it was the silence which spoke volumes. I read this book with a smile on my face the whole time thinking I don't want this to be over so soon but I can't seem to stop myself from reading more.

"I can't believe this," I muttered, cradling the skein of water up close to my chest. 
"Two weeks in the desert all on account of some assassin who doesn't know how to look out for snakes." 
"If you hadn't killed that snake," Naji said calmly, "I would have killed you." 
 " Oh, shut up.” 

Clarke has managed to do a commendable job here with vivid characters, intricate world building and a story line full of adventure which would take any one to another work. It for books like this that read as they mage to push me in another world where I can dive headlong into an adventure. Overall, it was a an epic read with adventures, pirates, magicians, monsters and assassins. Cassandra Rose Clarke has again proved to me that she can weave a story so intense that you get invested into he characters. To me it, felt like a cross between The Arabian Nights and the Pirates of the Caribbean. I'm so releved I have access to the second book, A Pirate's Wish, or else I don't know how I would have gone on a month before I knew what happened next to Naji and Ananna.




4 comments:

Cait on June 1, 2013 at 6:20 PM said...

I'm so glad you enjoyed this, I thought it was fantastic too. I cannot wait for the next one.

Cait x

Escapism Fanatic on June 1, 2013 at 7:13 PM said...

I read the next book too and it was great. I'm so lucky to read such great books.

Alexa on June 3, 2013 at 3:49 AM said...

I haven't read this yet because I haven't heard that much about it but it does sound like a great read. I always did have a weakness for pirate stories!

Thanks for the great review!

Anonymous said...

Want to read this so badly! I'm so glad you loved it this much, that makes me even more excited to get my hands on this book! Great review :D

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