Celaena Sardothien is the assassin with everything: a place to call her own, the love of handsome Sam, and, best of all, freedom. But Celaena won’t be truly free until she is far away from her old master, Arobynn Hamel – so she and Sam decide to take one last daring assignment that will liberate them forever. And that’s how Celaena learns that having everything… means everything can be taken … away.This fourth e-novella gives readers an inside look at the characters who appear in the full-length novel THRONE OF GLASS. Don’t miss it!
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The last novella to read before I dive into re-reading the full-length Throne of Glass novels. This novella broke me because it’s the moment where I found out how and why Sam died. If you read the previous novella, The Assassin and the Underworld, then you would’ve found out that Sam confessed his love for Celaena. I knew that there was not going to be a HEA for these two characters because I’ve read the first four novels of the series, but it still was hard to read this novella knowing that Celaena would lose the one person who loved her.
This novella will also shed some light on how evil Arobynn really is when it comes to Celaena. I’m not too fond of his character. I think I’ve mentioned in my review of the previous novella how much I can’t stand him.
This novella also leads to how Celaena ended up in the Salt Mines and as a prisoner to the King of Adarlan. It’s a big shock how she was captured because she’s the best Assassin out there next to Arobynn. I felt for Celaena in this novella and know she will fight back into the full-length novels. It’s hard knowing how Sam was killed. This novella put me through the wringer with one particular scene. Sarah J. Maas did a fantastic job with this novella, and I’m diving right into the first full-length novel now. I’m ready for my re-read of the series, so I can finally read the final book. It’s going to be hard to let go of this world.
Would I recommend this novella? Yes, most definitely. This is one novella that readers should read before diving into the series if you haven’t read it before.
The Assassin and The Empire is the fifth novella in The Assassins Blade book collection, which is a prequel to The Throne of Glass series.
A month after finally being free from her Master Arobynn Hamel, after paying her and Sam Cortland’s debt off, living in her own place away from the Guild, Celaena Sardothien thought things would work out. She’d walked away from her life as Arobynn’s protégée. A decision she did not regret especially not after he had betrayed her, he’d humiliated, lied, and used her. Then to top it off he used her money she paid to free herself to win Lysandra’s Bidding just to spite her. But now she wanted a fresh start to move away with Sam but she needed Arobynn’s blessing to do so, but what would it cost her this time to do so?
I have been on the fence with these novella’s as I’m not real sure about how I feel. I’ve never really been a fan of novellas as I don’t feel that the story is able to be portrayed to its best ability when it’s limited on pages. But I do have to admit that as the books went along the stories did get better and better and more enjoyable.
Celaena has grown so much on me over these past 5 novella’s at first I found her to be very immature, stuck up and very childish and erratic. But now as she has grown her eyes have opened and she isn’t just blindly following orders. She has gone through so much from loosing Ben a friend in the first book, being lied to about a debt collection, being beaten, sent to a desert, lied to again, betrayed, lost a loved one Sam and now set up and sent to the Salt Mines. How is she going to be able to get herself out of this mess?
Noooo, not Sam. Just when I started to like him and enjoy having him around you go and do this to me…
(INSERT CRYING EMOJI HERE)!!! Although I had a feeling a certain character’s death might happen, I was still so shocked and sad when it happened. I was rooting for that person and had already fallen in love myself!! Curse you, Sarah J. Maas, for pulling me down this amazing and incredible rabbit hole that I won’t be coming out of any time soon… well-written and intense last story. Although it ended with Celeana’s demise, I was riveted and rooting for these characters the entire time. Sad it’s ending, but now I have 7 more full books to read! Already grieving the end of my journey with this series lol
It explains much of the series we didn’t already know…of course, don’t read it before you read Throne of Glass, but I’d recommending reading this entire novella between Heir of Fire and Queen of Shadows. A great book…Sam Cortland is awesome!