The Queen’s Assassin, written by Melissa De La Cruz, is an exciting young adult fantasy/romance novel that was released on February 4, 2020. Published by G.P. Putman’s Sons, this novel compiles everything I love about Fantasy – Badass characters, a healthy dose of sass, romance, and a good fight.
Synopsis
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.
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.
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Review
The Queen’s Assassin is an exciting young adult fantasy/romance novel. I was drawn to the story from the start (maybe more after the prologue).
Caledon is an assassin bound to the queen by blood magic until he finds missing Deian scrolls. Shadow (I love her name) is the queen’s daughter who has very little interest in becoming a princess. Her dream is to become a spy and work for the guild. When Caledon saves her life, not knowing who she is, both their path takes a drastic turn. Shadow then helps Caledon and both will team up in their quest to uncover a conspiracy and find the so desired scrolls.
The two main characters are well written to the point I had no preference. I enjoyed reading both points of view and how their relationship evolves. The world building and magical elements were enjoyable as well even if there were times I was confused/lost with the history, but it did not prevent me from understanding the main story.
The writing is beautiful from start to finish. I was able to read the last few chapters on audiobook and loved the narrators. They both did justice to the characters and that was amazing. Overall, this is a fantastic adventure where I rooted early on for both Caledon and Shadows. The ending is very well done. I can’t wait to read the next book. I highly recommend this story.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
READ AN EXCERPT NOW!
The-Queens-Assassin-Book-ExcerptAbout the author: Melissa De La Cruz
Melissa de la Cruz is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of many critically acclaimed and award-winning novels for teens including The Au Pairs series, the Blue Bloods series, the Ashleys series, the Angels on Sunset Boulevard series and the semi-autobiographical novel Fresh off the Boat.
Her books for adults include the novel Cat’s Meow, the anthology Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys and the tongue-in-chic handbooks How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less and The Fashionista Files: Adventures in Four-inch heels and Faux-Pas.
She has worked as a fashion and beauty editor and has written for many publications including The New York Times, Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Allure, The San Francisco Chronicle, McSweeney’s, Teen Vogue, CosmoGirl! and Seventeen. She has also appeared as an expert on fashion, trends and fame for CNN, E! and FoxNews.
Melissa grew up in Manila and moved to San Francisco with her family, where she graduated high school salutatorian from The Convent of the Sacred Heart. She majored in art history and English at Columbia University (and minored in nightclubs and shopping!).
She now divides her time between New York and Los Angeles, where she lives in the Hollywood Hills with her husband and daughter.
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I’ve been debating whether to read this one or not since I saw a lot of conflicting reviews, but glad to see that you enjoyed it! I think I’ll give it a try after all! Thanks for the review!
I liked it. Now, there are a few things that can throw someone off, but it didn’t bother me. There are two points of views – one in first person and one in third person. Not everyone like that. Also, the title says The Queen’s assassin but while there are some fight scenes with the assassin, the story is more focused on the relationship and their quest – the focus is not exactly the story/backstory of an assassin. Anyway, that’s my opinion. I spoke with someone who felt that there was nothing new to it. I read this story to be entertained, not because I wanted it to blow my mind and that might have made the difference. Honestly it’s a fun story. I guess it depends on your expectations. 🙂 Hope this helps.