3.5 stars

For a 400 page story, this one took about a week for me to get through. It’s obvious SJM was young when writing this but knowing that going in helped me trudge along despite my usual DNF tendencies.

In typical SJM fashion there’s a smorgasbord of telling rather than showing. Our girl Celaena’s slay boss queen assassin *greatness* is really just something we have to take her word for, for about 80% of the book.

HoWeVeR

The last 150 or so pages I was in. Calaena’s personality and character really started to shine. Her friendship with Dorian, Chaol, and Nehemia started to feel so rich and honest. I found myself actually giving a shit about how the hell this competition is gonna go down.

I’m hopeful for the rest of the series!