Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons and Bookishfirst for giving me a chance to win an arc of The Queen’s Assassin.
Cal is an assassin for the queen and Shadow wants to join the Guild. The two are thrust together to find out who is planning to take down the kingdom of Renovia.
There is political intrigue, history of magic, and a brewing romance between Cal and Shadow in this story. But is it enough to keep my interest?
What I Liked:
*I like that the story read like a fairy tale but with many things going on. We have Cal who is bound to the queen by magic, to be free he has to find the missing Deian Scrolls. Then there is Shadow who is this mysterious girl raised by aunts (but
*I kind of figured out who she was in the beginning or had an inkling). They have to find who is threatening Renovia and go under cover as brother and sister to accomplish their goal.
*The attraction between Cal and Shadow was predictable and sometimes even cute, especially when they are under cover as brother/sister. There is funny banter between them and of course the usual “we can’t be together” trope for reasons I won’t mention.
Things That Made Me Go Hmm:
*This felt like a light fantasy story to me and maybe it’s because I read a lot of YA fantasy so after awhile, storylines kind of sound the same. But I couldn’t really connect to this story or characters. I didn’t feel the danger or urgency of Cal and Shadow’s quest. I felt like I skimmed this book even though I read it, I wasn’t immersed in this world of Renovia at all.
*I wanted to see more assassin skills from Cal or even Shadow since she was training but…nope. There was Cal and Shadow pretending to be a Lord and Lady though. 🤷🏻♀️ I mean the title said The Queen’s Assassin but it was talking more about his role than skill.
*The story is told in dual perspectives – Shadow’s being in first person, and Cal’s in third person and I think sometimes that threw me off.
*The actually passages from the scroll didn’t interest me. I don’t know why but I’d start to read the page and skip it.
Final Thoughts:
This story wasn’t for me. I wanted more of Cal’s assassin skills to be on display but there was more political intrigue and flirting than fighting. I think there will be many people who will enjoy this book but it fell flat for me.
Cal is an assassin for the queen and Shadow wants to join the Guild. The two are thrust together to find out who is planning to take down the kingdom of Renovia.
There is political intrigue, history of magic, and a brewing romance between Cal and Shadow in this story. But is it enough to keep my interest?
What I Liked:
*I like that the story read like a fairy tale but with many things going on. We have Cal who is bound to the queen by magic, to be free he has to find the missing Deian Scrolls. Then there is Shadow who is this mysterious girl raised by aunts (but
*I kind of figured out who she was in the beginning or had an inkling). They have to find who is threatening Renovia and go under cover as brother and sister to accomplish their goal.
*The attraction between Cal and Shadow was predictable and sometimes even cute, especially when they are under cover as brother/sister. There is funny banter between them and of course the usual “we can’t be together” trope for reasons I won’t mention.
Things That Made Me Go Hmm:
*This felt like a light fantasy story to me and maybe it’s because I read a lot of YA fantasy so after awhile, storylines kind of sound the same. But I couldn’t really connect to this story or characters. I didn’t feel the danger or urgency of Cal and Shadow’s quest. I felt like I skimmed this book even though I read it, I wasn’t immersed in this world of Renovia at all.
*I wanted to see more assassin skills from Cal or even Shadow since she was training but…nope. There was Cal and Shadow pretending to be a Lord and Lady though. 🤷🏻♀️ I mean the title said The Queen’s Assassin but it was talking more about his role than skill.
*The story is told in dual perspectives – Shadow’s being in first person, and Cal’s in third person and I think sometimes that threw me off.
*The actually passages from the scroll didn’t interest me. I don’t know why but I’d start to read the page and skip it.
Final Thoughts:
This story wasn’t for me. I wanted more of Cal’s assassin skills to be on display but there was more political intrigue and flirting than fighting. I think there will be many people who will enjoy this book but it fell flat for me.