I really liked this book, and I literally could not put it down. However, it was also confusing! There were parts of it I had a hard time understanding, such as whose point of view was whose, though it’s forgivable being the first in the series. I’m sure the other ones have more of the kinks rolled out.

Another issue I had was the magic system. I couldn’t figure out quite what was going on and how it all fit together. On top of that, Calaena was supposed to be the greatest assassin, yet there were only two cool scenes that demonstrated her skills. PLUS, why would an incredible assassin make such a huge deal about making her doors squeaky so she knew when people came into her room, only to be snuck up on not once, but TWICE? (and more if you count the times when Dorian or Chaol showed up out of the blue and she seemed surprised). And even in her sleep. She fell asleep a lot around other people. Either this shows she’s a trusting person, or its a flaw in the writing.

Despite all of that, I loved Celaena’s personality, and I loved the banter between all the characters. I didn’t like Dorian as much as I hoped I would, but Chaol grew on me throughout the book. The foundation for the series is an interesting one, and I definitely want to see more of what Celaena can do, so I’ll be reading the next in the series.

My rating: 4 stars