A New York Times and Indie Bestseller!Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Red Queen, this is the first novel in a sweeping YA fantasy-romance duet about a deadly assassin, his mysterious apprentice, and the country they are sworn to protect from #1 NYT bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz.Caledon Holt is the kingdom’s deadliest weapon. No one alive can best him in speed, strength, or brains, … deadliest weapon. No one alive can best him in speed, strength, or brains, which is why he’s the Hearthstone Guild’s most dangerous member. Cal is also the Queen’s Assassin, bound to her by magic and unable to leave her service until the task she’s set for him is fulfilled.
Shadow of the Honey Glade has been training all her life to join the Guild, hoping that one day she’ll become an assassin as feared and revered as Cal. But Shadow’s mother and aunts expect her to serve the crown as a lady of the Renovian Court.
When a surprise attack brings Shadow and Cal together, they’re forced to team up as assassin and apprentice. Even though Shadow’s life belongs to the court and Cal’s belongs to the queen, they cannot deny their attraction to each other. But now, with war on the horizon and true love at risk, Shadow and Cal will uncover a shocking web of lies that will change their paths forever.
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34/5 really. Lol. I felt a kind of Deja vu reading this novel maybe because I have read so many YA books lately. Lol. They are all just blending together. I did enjoy the book though. I liked the characters of Shadow and Celadon. Like someone has said already, lol. I thought the two characters would have an equal narrative. It seems there was more Celadon than Shadow. The different points of view we’re strange. One is the first person and the other is a third person. I became confused about who was speaking. The pace was kind of slow I had to skim some pages to move the story along. I didn’t mind the instant love or lust. Lol. I kind of liked that. I liked sharing the bed scene. I thought it was cute. The world-building was fine. The romance I thought was luke-warm I didn’t feel any chemistry between Celadon and Shadow. I don’t know maybe it’s just me. I had a hard time getting through this book. I just chalk it up to not being used to this author. This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I will definitely read another of this authors books. Sometimes, authors older books or the next book is the one you fall in love with. I’d like to thank BOOKISHFIRST.COM as well as the author for providing me with a complimentary ARC copy of this book in exchange for a voluntary review.
The Queen’s Assassin is the start of Melissa de la Cruz’s latest young adult fantasy that falls short of the author’s talents.
Storytelling
When I think of de la Cruz, I immediately think of her Blue Bloods series and how she reinvents when she writes.
That, unfortunately, did not happen with The Queen’s Assassin.
The story follows Shadow and Caledon on a quest to retrieve ancient scrolls of magic for the people. It is a noble quest after the events of the prologue. However, it is not without its complications.
Overall, the story holds together nicely; there is nothing wrong with the pacing or story, other than the fact that it does not feel fresh and is entirely predictable.
The reader sees the ending coming a mile away. That so-called “twist” is no twist at all. All the clues were there early on; I was sure that it was mention in chapter two. That is how obvious it is to the reader. Sure, de la Cruz tries to subvert the readers’ expectations, but it fails.
Characterization
Another issue is the characterization. Again, not poorly written, but they do not shine. Caledon has little personality for the first third of the book. There is nothing about her narrative early on to make him compelling. However, he does eventually grow. When he shines, he has formed a friendship with Shadow and reminisces on his life’s unfairness. He never wanted to be an assassin, he tried to run away, but with the blood oath his father swore to the Queen, he has no choice.
Now it is not his fathers’ fault, the Queen gave him no chance, so the reader does feel for Caledon because his life was stolen from him at a very young age.
Caledon shines when the readers see a glimmer of personality from him, making grow with the story.
The same is said for Shadow. She is excellent, a warrior who wants to fight, does not want to be a pretty royal and wants to be something more. That is admirable, but the characters, without the other, falter. They need each other to shine.
Because of this, the romance does not work. They do not shine enough on their own or grow enough to build up that romance. Their dynamic works best as friends, not as a romantic couple.
Final Thoughts
Overall, The Queen’s Assassin was far too predictable to stand out. It lacks chemistry and does not seem like de la Cruz’s writing that usually reinvents fantasy, instead of falling into the tropes that open define them.
I really enjoyed this first book in the series – an interesting story and lovely relationship building between the two main characters. Nicely woven history and although the ending was not a surprise, it was well handled and whets the appetite for the next book.
Caledon is a interesting character in this one. It seems there are not any like him also. Being there is a Queen in this there is also a vow which happens to be a difficult one. There is also the character Shadow whom hopes to be just like Caledon. Some of her actions though have to be done in secret. What a thing to want to attain too-assassin. This also happens to be the beginning of this series. This also happens to be the first time i read this author. Circumstances also bring the two together to go against a foe. Things have escalated that is for sure. This promises to be a thrilling YA
Without giving too much away let me just say that I personally enjoyed this book! I felt it was nicely written and easy to follow and managed to keep me interested throughout all its pages. I truly hope there’s a second book because I’d love to know more of the story
This is a little bit of a sleeping beauty adaptation and I loved how she handled it. The characters were well written and intriguing. The plot had a good surprise ending. Enough that I want to go back and re-read it with the knowledge I now have.
I was sent a copy of this book from Megan Beatie Communications for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I am always sold on a good assassin story especially if it is written by an author that I have enjoyed in the past.
This was an easy read for me. I really enjoyed Cal and Shadow and how they interacted with each other. Cal does keep reminding himself that he is the Queen’s Assassin and it is for that reason that he has sworn off a family, however, I think this may be the first time his resolve has ever been tested. Yes, the reminding is a little over the top but that seems to be the only thing that is keeping him on track.
The only reason that I did not give this 5 stars is that I guessed one of the big reveals in the beginning and didn’t realize that it was going to be a reveal until it happened. However, knowing what I did, did not take away from the story at all I kinda understood more of where one of the characters was coming from throughout the story.
I loved the way that this book ended it gives me so much hope for what is to come in the next book. Goodreads says that it will be out this fall and I would be so happy if that is true.
The Queen’s Assassin is a fantasy romance geared toward the younger YA reader. It is told from the first person perspective of Shadow, who has grown up with her aunts and wants to join the Guild, an association of assassins and spies, and the third person perspective of Cal, the Queen of Renovia’s assassin, dangerous, feared and highly trained. When Shadow is told she has to serve as a lady of the court to fulfil her duty, she rebels, runs away and liberates Cal, who has been imprisoned. She tells him the Queen has ordered her to become his apprentice. Together they work undercover in a neighboring kingdom to identify a dangerous enemy of Renovia. The story and characters were enjoyable, but I wish there had been less emphasis on the romance and more on the magic system. It was good, but not great.
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC for this book and I was ecstatic! I loved Melissa’s previous work (Blue Bloods). I’m a sucker for a good assassins/royals story line. This book really hit my interest button! I did enjoy reading this book. I didn’t think I would dislike it. Do I wish it had a different title because Queen anything is a bit overdone int he YA world? Meh, maybe but it doesn’t take away from the story. Overall, I enjoyed myself while reading this book. I’m excited to see what comes next. I loved Shadow. She is interesting and keeps you on your toes. Cal was a pretty cool dude too. I’m not going to post spoilers or give a summary of the story. I’d give it a 4/5 because it isn’t my favorite story out there but its one I’ll remember and want to pick back up if another book is published.
Melissa De La Cruz and I just aren’t good friends. Genuinely shook that I finished this because this was A LOT. I tried so many times to crack it open and read it. I finished it about a week ago, and it rolled my eyes throughout the entire time, and tried my best to reread it today before writing my review. But I made it halfway and dnfed the reread.
Wins:
-yes. Wins… okay. The world building. It was a good world. It wasn’t my favorite. I kind of get over the modern day/ magical/ historic esque novels. It was a good world. It wasn’t great.
-the characters. Individually I liked Shadow and Cal. They were cute characters.
-the plot. It wasn’t anything big or out there, I did like it.
Opportunities
-insta love. Insta love, we meet again, that’s 2 books in 2 weeks that I read ( I guess 3 if we’re counting the reread). I’m over it, enough is enough. Enough said.
-the writing style. Man was that a CHOICE. Shadows pov was in first person, and Cals was in third person. I don’t even know how to explain where, I don’t understand it, but yeah, that was a choice.
-the fact that shadow is somehow this bad a character who can cast spells, who can fight and wield a sword… okay. Yeah. Sure.
-another hit on the writing style: it felt very juvenile. Shadow randomly talking to the squirrel. The characters thoughts. The fact that Cal was like “wouldn’t want to cut your cute face off and I guess yours is okay too” (that isn’t a direct quote, but it’s pretty close) and Shadow is happy about that. Alright. No, I would probably be mad at my boy for a good few hours after a comment like that.
So yeah, me and Melissa De La Cruz are officially breaking up. I didn’t want to sit here and slam her book because I know how much work goes into it, but this was a struggle for me. I wanted so badly to like it, I had high hopes; but it genuinely felt like something a very young teenager had written. Young adult very rarely reads like that to me, and I almost never like it when it goes. Sorry to be so negative on this review, but this wasn’t anywhere near my expectations. Also: can we stop with the insta love and the out of nowhere insanely good at everything female characters
I enjoyed this book as a lighter-YA fiction. It had romance (nothing skeezy), it had suspense, a science-fiction/fantasy component, but also a small HF-like aspect as well.
I am looking forward to the follow-up.
I received this book from the GR giveaway and this is my honest and voluntary review in return.
Even though there were some reviews that tore this book to shreds, I still enjoyed it. Yes, it’s YA and yes it’s a romantic fantasy, but it was still entertaining. Just because the main character is a female running away from her “destiny,” who meets the man of her dreams while he saves her life, argues with herself constantly about why she can’t fall in love with him and that he probably doesn’t like her either; it doesn’t mean that the story can’t be entertaining. Without spoiling things, there is a cliffhanger at the end paving the way for a sequel. I do want to thank netgalley for an opportunity to read this arc and give an unbiased review.
The Queen’s Assassin by Melissa De La Cruz was a quick, fun, and fascinating tale that had me glued to the pages.
I have been waiting to read this book and although I didn’t completely love it as much as I thought I would (there’s just some parts that had me scratching my head a few times), it’s still an entertaining story and I really enjoyed it. The writing is good and easy to read. I liked the pacing and the plot is filled with conspiracy, secrets, lies, romance, adventure, and a few fun surprises and thrills. I think Shadow and Cal are great characters and I liked their chemistry. Their romance is swoony, but I definitely wanted more. Even though some things got resolved fairly quickly, I feel like the story all in all is pretty solid so I’ll definitely be looking forward to continuing with the series.
If you’re into YA fantasy with conspiracies, adventure and romance, then I think you might enjoy this one
Ugh…I hate giving less than stellar reviews, but in fact I almost bailed on this one several times.
Too long, hardly any action to speak of, choppy chapters told in alternating voices from the two mains, and the characters simply weren’t engaging, especially the Queen’s Assassin (Cal) who did not seem especially assassin-like to me. And to be honest, the writing seemed too juvenile for teens/YA (more middle school level except for one brief intimate scene). A twist at the end felt a bit bizarre and haphazard, and there’s also something of a cliffhanger as this is the first of a duo.
I had high hopes as the premise and sneak peek sounded intriguing, but this one was just a bit of a struggle for me unfortunately.
Thanks to #BookishFirst for providing me the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.
I have never read this author before but I have heard of her a few times. I think I actually even have a few books written by her in my personal library.
I was very pleased with this book. It had twists and turns and things I was not expecting. It wove a beautiful and intriguing store and I found myself deeply interested in the characters and what happened to them. I was a huge fan of Cal and Shadow was interesting although I associate that with a guy so that was hard getting used too. I loved the way it was written as well it made it easy to read and keep track of things.
As for the cover I thought it was rather simple but still very pretty. It definitely looks great on the shelf.
All in all a great read but now I am anxiously waiting for the second book to come out.
I’ve been meaning to read Melissa De La Cruz for some time, and when I read the synopsis for The Queen’s Assassin, I thought this would be the perfect book to introduce me to her work.
First off, I will say I was extremely disappointed to learn that this is the first in a duology. That’s not to say I don’t like duets, because I do. I just wish I had been aware that this was part of one before I started reading it. Clearly, I need to do better research before starting a book.
The premise of The Queen’s Assassin was intriguing, and it had so much potential but multiple issues had this book falling short of the mark.
I was not a fan of the alternating POVs in this book either, and I ALWAYS want multiple characters’ perspectives. However, Shadow’s perspective was first person and Cal’s was third person. What is the point of that?! If there was one, it didn’t work for me. All it did was jar me every time the POVs switched.
Furthermore, I wasn’t very invested in either Shadow or Cal as individuals, and that lack of interest was made worse by their nonexistent chemistry. I felt nothing between them. No chemistry, no attraction, no connection. Nothing.
After writing this, I realize I need to change my rating, but who wants to admit they wasted their time on a 2-star read? Ugh.
And back to the fact that this is part of a duet. Whatever happens in the next book, it could’ve all happened in this one.
***I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy generously provided by the publisher via BookishFirst.***
Wow The Queen’s Assassin is just amazing. I really enjoyed reading about Shadow and Cal. as soon as I opened the mail with the book in it I sat down and started reading and I didn’t get up till I was finished that’s how involved I was with it. So vivid and very well thought out and written. Each page came to life in my head it was like watching a movie. I was a little shocked at the ending but im really hoping that the second book can resolve it. I really loved the line of Shadow/Lilac telling Cal that Hansen will heave her name and her Kingdom but he will never have her heart. That it will always remain with Cal, and the part where he got another apprentice. also I want to see her going on another adventure with Cal and maybe not married anymore. all in all I really want book two now sigh but I have to wait awhile.