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| The Assassin's Curse (The Assassin's Curse #1) by Cassandra Rose Clarke |
Summary from Goodreads:
Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to an allying pirate clan: she wants to captain her own boat, not serve as second-in-command to her handsome yet clueless fiance. But her escape has dire consequences when she learns the scorned clan has sent an assassin after her.
And when the assassin, Naji, finally catches up with her, things get even worse. Ananna inadvertently triggers a nasty curse — with a life-altering result. Now Ananna and Naji are forced to become uneasy allies as they work together to break the curse and return their lives back to normal. Or at least as normal as the lives of a pirate and an assassin can be."
And when the assassin, Naji, finally catches up with her, things get even worse. Ananna inadvertently triggers a nasty curse — with a life-altering result. Now Ananna and Naji are forced to become uneasy allies as they work together to break the curse and return their lives back to normal. Or at least as normal as the lives of a pirate and an assassin can be."
Rating:
Protagonist Ananna of Tanarau is being tracked down by an assassin, sent by the scorned pirate clan of the her almost-husband, after jumping on a camel and running off, breaking the marriage agreement her parents have made for her without her consent.
Determined to become the captain of her own ship, this runaway bride tries her best to hide until she finds a way to live free and make her own decisions. But no one escapes the assassins...
Once Naju, the hired assassin finally catches up to her, Ananna accidentally releases a curse forcing them to stay together. As they struggle to find a way to break this curse, they come across life threatening events that compel them to work with each other even though they’d rather not...
Have I mentioned that I hate cliffhangers? Okay so maybe not exactly hate it, HATE it. But the moment I reached the last page of the Assassin’s Curse, I still kept pressing my Nook’s next button screaming, “What?! Wait! No, no. No! That’s not the ending!!! There has got to be more than that! C’mon!” You know the feeling. Ugh! This is probably the most despicable cliffhanger I ever encountered. Ms. Clarke, really?! You are wicked! I mean that both in a good and bad way. Bad since you’re making me suffer to wait for your next book with that darn cliffhanger; good since this was an amazing adventure! Give me five! *palm up waiting for the high five slap*
I didn’t expect the sort of journey Ananna and Naji went through to break the curse but boy, am I so happy about it! Although they really went through a lot, and most of the time they almost died, it was an awesome voyage. I’m glad this book was able to let me empathize with these characters in spite of how annoying I think Ananna and Naji can be. Their imperfections made them all the more ideal. I may think Ananna can be stubborn and careless; I have to admit that she’s one hell of a protagonist. This lady pirate is not one to mess with! Ha! And Naji, although known to be ruthless, gave off a sensitive and more vulnerable side once he loosened up.
Clarke’s world building is simple, may be a little too self-effacing, but isn’t a hindrance for anyone to enjoy the story. I also found myself laughing over some events, and humor is always something I look forward to. Even though I’m sneering over that “darn cliffhanger” [and I quote that], I find this book really satisfying. I even pre-ordered the book already! This is such a fun adventure that I wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on.
* Thank you Netgalley and Angry Robot for the copy of The Assassin’s Curse.
