The Queen's Assassin by Melissa de la Cruz Pages: 384
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers on February 4, 2020
Series: Queen's Secret #1
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy & Magic, Romance
Caledon Holt is the Kingdom of Renovia's deadliest weapon. No one alive can best him in brawn or brains, which is why he's the Guild's most dangerous member and the Queen's one and only assassin. He's also bound to the Queen by an impossible vow--to find the missing Deian Scrolls, the fount of all magical history and knowledge, stolen years ago by a nefarious sect called the Aphrasians.
Shadow has been training all her life to follow in the footsteps of her mother and aunts--to become skilled enough to join the ranks of the Guild. Though magic has been forbidden since the Aphrasian uprising, Shadow has been learning to control her powers in secret, hoping that one day she'll become an assassin as feared and revered as Caledon Holt.
When a surprise attack brings Shadow and Cal together, they're forced to team up as assassin and apprentice to hunt down a new sinister threat to Renovia. But as Cal and Shadow grow closer, they'll uncover a shocking web of lies and secrets that may destroy everything they hold dear. With war on the horizon and true love at risk, they'll stop at nothing to protect each other and their kingdom in this stunning first novel in the Queen's Secret series.
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.
The Queen’s Assassin is the first book in the young adult Queen’s Secret fantasy duology by author Melissa de la Cruz. I really, really enjoyed this book and by the time I got to the end of it, I was not ready for it to end. I already really want a copy of the next book, because I am dying to know what is going to happen. Melissa threw me for a loop with some of the twists in the book, which I was honestly very surprised about. I feel like I am pretty good at figuring things like this out, and I didn’t even see it coming in the slightest.
In the Queen’s Assassin we meet meet our main characters, Caledon Holt and Shadow. Caledon Holt, or Cal, is the Queen’s Assassin and Shadow is a want to be assassin apprentice. The story is told in dual narrative between Cal and Shadow, and I love them both. I love how plucky and determined Shadow is, and I really appreciated how thoughtful and strong Cal is. Shadow has always wanted to be a member of the guild, which is a secret spy society of sorts for the kingdom, but her mother does not want that life for Shadow. So Shadow does the only thing she can think of, which is to sneak off and join Cal on an adventure, stating she is his apprentice sent from the Queen.
Woven into the adventure set up for our main characters, is the history of magic within the Kingdom of Renovia. Magic has been banished for some time, unless they can find the lost Deian Scrolls. The Scrolls were stole by an enemy, who wants to hoard all magical knowledge to themselves. I liked the magic structure in the world, but I found myself wishing that magic was more of a prevalent part of the story. Shadow has magic, and she struggles with using it throughout the book. I am sure it is going to be a big part of the next novel, and I honestly can’t wait for it. It was one of my favorite aspects of the story. I loved learning about the history of the kingdom and how magic used to be.
I will admit that I found the book to have a slow start. At first, I was a little confused with all of the information we were given at the start, and then once the adventure aspect of the novel started, I wasn’t as riveted as I expected to be. But I kept reading, and this was a book that kept building and getting better and better until I was totally in love by the half way point. The second half of the book was absolutely breathtaking. I loved it so much, and I was super sad to see it end. I want the next book right now!
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2020 New Release Challenge
- 2020 Reading Assignment Challenge
- Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge 2020
Christine @ Captivated Reading
I so badly want to read this book! I love this author! Thanks for sharing your review!
Christine @ Captivated Reading
Oh! My last 5 star read was probably A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. 🙂
Danielle Hammelef
My last 5 star read was Love Letters to the Lost. I’m now almost finished with More Than We Can Tell and am loving that one too.
vanessa m
My last 5 star read was This is How You Lose the Time War. It was phenomenal and so beautifully written!
Debra Branigan
A Better Man by Louise Penny
NANCY
Fascinating cover
Candice Gigous
Thanks for the review. I really liked other books by this Melissa de la Cruz and I think this one will not disappoint. My last five star review was for Diamond City.
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