Book: The Assassin’s Blade, Sarah J. Mass

Series: Throne of Glass #0.1 - 0.5

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Release Date: March 4^th, 2014

Rating: 5 stars

These five novellas give a great insight to what Celaena’s life was like before we meet her in Throne of Glass. We know from Throne of Glass that she was joined to an Assassin’s Guild under a man called Arobynn and that she was close to a boy called Sam who sadly passed away. However, in these five stories we get to see her life before the palace, and we see her relationship with Sam blossom and grow. I didn’t care that much about him in the first book as we’d never met him, but now, after seeing him and Celaena together, my heart is crying.

Celaena grows so much in these stories, and it was wonderful to read. She starts off quite arrogant as she’s Arobynn’s protégée and no one is better than she. However, through different adventures and meeting new and interesting people, Celaena grows as a person and I really begin to relate to her more. Sam brought out the best in her, made her see that she’s not the centre of the universe and that there was more to life than having fabulous clothes if she wasn’t really her own person.

I felt her relationship with Arobynn was quite complex, and I don’t believe we’ve seen the last of him. I also liked seeing exactly what happened to get Celaena sent to Endovier. 

Each novel is quite short but important in their own ways as each of them shape Celaena into the person we meet in Throne of Glass. However, it’s a must-read for any fan of the series, but its personal taste whether or not you want to read them before Throne of Glass.