Melissa de la Cruz

A New York Times and Indie Bestseller! 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's deadliest weapon. No one alive can best him in speed, strength, or brains, which is why he's the Hearthstone Guild's most dangerous member. Cal is also the Queen's Assassin, bound to her by magic and unable to leave her service until the task she's set for him is fulfilled. Shadow of the Honey Glade has been training all her life to join the Guild, hoping that one day she'll become an assassin as feared and revered as Cal. But Shadow's mother and aunts expect her to serve the crown as a lady of the Renovian Court. When a surprise attack brings Shadow and Cal together, they're forced to team up as assassin and apprentice. Even though Shadow's life belongs to the court and Cal's belongs to the queen, they cannot deny their attraction to each other. But now, with war on the horizon and true love at risk, Shadow and Cal will uncover a shocking web of lies that will change their paths forever.

The Queen's Assassin

"The Queen's Assassin is forced to take on a mysterious apprentice on his most dangerous mission yet, pulling them both into a vicious web of secrets and lies"--

Tristan Ramsey

an entertaining story though there were a few slow parts throughout. i kinda saw the twist at the end coming but was still surprised. 

Hannah Williams

Danny Werhane

I really liked this one. I was pleasantly surprised. Why is no one else talking about this book? The Magic system was very unique, but I definitely needed to be fleshed out more. I also really liked the aspect of the blood vow. 
Shadow was definitely a difficult character for me to enjoy. She’s very whiny and I feel like she just being rebellious to be rebellious. I also thought the whole scheme to rescue Cal from prison was very unnecessary. She was already suppose to be at the place so why didn’t she just talk to the queen and be like ‘this dude is innocent’? I really liked the romance, though it was pretty well paced. It went to ‘I love you’ way to suddenly though!

been more than what it was. First it was confusing that Shadow’s chapters were in first person POV while Caledon’s were in third and written poorly. Secondly, a spoiler but it’s extremely confusing that Shadow is the princess and she knew the whole time. Looking back I do understand the hints that were there but how are you going to explain that Caledon,  the smartest assassin there is, is not able to recognize a face?!?! And okay say its because he’s only seen her a few times, when she’s looked either like a village girl, the princess, or the stable boy but then when the two are back with the queen, the queens hidden in the darkness but he doesn’t seem to recognize her voice either? I don’t believe it. Also, what happened to the blood vow the entire time? Even though he didn’t know that they were running away, the queen knew so wouldn’t something have happened with that? AND HOW IS SHADOW GIVEN THE ASSIGNMENT TO PROTECT HERSELF NOTHING MAKES SENSE.

There were just too many elements and plot holes going on for this to work well.

Somya Verma

I enjoyed what the plot could have been more than what it was. First it was confusing that Shadow’s chapters were in first person POV while Caledon’s were in third and written poorly. Secondly, a spoiler but it’s extremely confusing that Shadow is the princess and she knew the whole time. Looking back I do understand the hints that were there but how are you going to explain that Caledon,  the smartest assassin there is, is not able to recognize a face?!?! And okay say its because he’s only seen her a few times, when she’s looked either like a village girl, the princess, or the stable boy but then when the two are back with the queen, the queens hidden in the darkness but he doesn’t seem to recognize her voice either? I don’t believe it. Also, what happened to the blood vow the entire time? Even though he didn’t know that they were running away, the queen knew so wouldn’t something have happened with that? AND HOW IS SHADOW GIVEN THE ASSIGNMENT TO PROTECT HERSELF NOTHING MAKES SENSE.

There were just too many elements and plot holes going on for this to work well.

It's quite easy to read and to follow the plot. A very good story from begin to end and plottwists I didn't see coming.

Sina Meier

It's quite easy to read and to follow the plot. A very good story from begin to end and plottwists I didn't see coming.



Lauren Nicole

The Queen’s Assassin was one of those books I hoped got better as I read it, but somehow it got worse. I don’t even know what I can say about this book, there’s too much to point out. 

I didn’t have very high hopes going into it, but still none of them were met. The characters were bland, shallow, Mary Sues that were both so naive and yet also masters of their trade? 

Cal, a nineteen year old, kingdom acclaimed “greatest assassin of their time” was more concerned about his attraction to Shadow than focussing on any of his so called training for their mission. Not to mention neither of their characters were developed enough to build any form of actual relationship but are somehow in love with each other, despite Cal really only professing his physical attraction to her. 

Shadow really wasn’t much better, her different personalities were erratic and constantly contradicting. She apparently had very little magic training and yet could easily conjure it. Not to mention the underdeveloped unreliable narrator plot. 

Sigh. 

Everything about the plot just didn’t make sense. I’m not sure why there was so much emphasis on the importance of the Deian Scrolls to the history of their kingdom and the necessity of finding them—then the entire book was a completely different, poorly executed espionage plot. I was expecting adventure and really only got pretend spies and an out of left field plot twist at the end. 

I think it’s safe to say I won’t be continuing onto The Queen’s Secret.

This was an AMAZING book I can’t wait to read the second one!!!

Paige D

Princess Twasam 

I saw a lot of mixed reviews on this book and that’s probably why it took me forever to read it but I’m glad I did. If you are looking for a literary masterpiece, like really good writing, then I wouldn’t really suggest this book. Don’t get me wrong the book isn’t bad but it’s not something that you ponder the metaphors found. I kinda wish that we spent a bit of more time world building. But, this book is more of an easy read and it focuses more on the characters than the plot points. There are a few plot twist in this book and they leave quite a few holes that I’m hoping will be resolved in the next book but it’s not that seri. I liked this book as an easy read and it’s more romance than fantasy. 

Inga Kühn 

Das gesamte Buch fühlt sich leider wie die erste Fassung oder die grobe Ideenskizze der Geschichte an - einfach unfertig.

nara davies

i think this is a really good book, but it's not worth it. it's not my favourite, but it got me back into reading and out of my 9 month reading slump. i stayed up finishing the book and ended up crying for three hours straight after i finished it as the ending was horribly anticlimactic. i honestly have v mixed feelings about this read but after reading the second book i don't recommend it.

Charmaine

A secret plot, a mysterious girl, and a love so withstanding. All will be revealed in the end. 🖤🖤🖤

Alora

I absolutely adored this book!! I think that we are starting to have a problem because all my recent books have been so good!!! This book included!!

Kailey Webb

RATING: 4 stars

Overall, this was a good book, quick and easy to read, although I was looking for more of the assassin side of the story to be more intense, and less of the romance.

Maria emilia 

Sheila Goicea

I'm excited to be a part of THE QUEEN'S ASSASSIN blog tour with The Fantastic Flying Book Club, from February 4th - 10th, 2020!

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! In no way does this affect my rating or review.



All included quotes have been taken from an ARC and may not match the finished publication. 

Content Warning: Death of an animal and people, Bullying, War, Assassination, Premarital Sex, Imprisonment


  He accepted it, willing himself not to hesitate, and drank of her royal blood.
With that, he was bound. As was his son.


The Queen's Assassin will certainly catch the eye of readers who love political maneuverings. With a rich and detailed history of how this world has come into being, revealed as the story progresses, many will love this world building. There is a lot of historical information given throughout, giving a further glimpse back in time that set up the events of the present, and what makes them important. At times, The Queen's Assassin teeters on the edge of info-dumping. Yet, all of the information given is necessary. 

The Kingdoms of Avantine have seen much turmoil throughout history. Before division occurred, Avantine was united under the goddess Deia. Countering her greatness was the cousin of the king of the Dellafiore dynasty—Phras. Envious of his cousin who possessed stronger magical powers, he slew him and took the throne for himself. His lust for power and magic only grew, eventually leading to his title of the Tyrant King. He confiscated any magical text found which were made into scrolls of dark magic named the Deian Scrolls. Only those appointed by the king, the Aphrasian monks, could use magic as it was otherwise forbidden in the land.

Some managed to oppose the evil king. A group of witches amassed and became known as the Hearthstone Guild. They saved all the magic that they could, and dedicated themselves to keeping as much knowledge about magic as possible. When the king finally died, the land divided into Renovia, Montrice, Argonia, and Stavin. The monks, dedicated to magic only, became too powerful and began overrunning their nation's leader. At this point, the assumed-deceased line of the Dellafiores rose to power, and fought to free Renovia from the clutches of war. When he died in battle, the crown of authority was passed to his wife, along with his most trusted ally—his assassin.

The Queen's Assassin starts out years after the king's passing. The son of the previous assassin is now the assigned assassin to Queen Lilianna. Caledan Holt has long ago scarified his life of normalcy. Being the best of the Guild, and bound to the Queen's bidding by his father's blood oath, he has no other choice. Caledon now must find the lost Deian Scrolls to forever eliminate the threat that the Aphrasians pose toward their kingdom since is father was unable to locate them before passing.

One less distinguished, but just as passionate in the Guild, is Shadow. Although she's been brought up to be prepared for court life, she's only ever wanted to become one of the Guild. Having some magical powers of her own, Shadow has been learning to hone her skills to be useful, along with training to become an assassin—just like Caledon Holt. In a way, Shadow gets her wish, when one day she has an unlikely encounter with Caledon and he saves her from being killed. He's a hero to her, but becomes a traitor to the crown when he kills her attacker who turns out to be a prince.

Caledon his carted off to an infamous prison to wait for further orders from his Queen, but things are looking grim. Shadow recognizes Caledon on his way out of town, and decides to embark on a rescue mission of her own. Shadow succeeded in ferrying Caledon out of prison, but the two are attacked on the road. Caledon realizes that Shadow is much more resourceful than he assumed, and they become a team, of sorts. The two learn along the way that there are numerous forces at play between the nations, and one in particular, incredibly sinister. However, as they spend more time with one another, an inevitable relationship buds between the assassin and his "apprentice."

The Queen's Assassin certainly has many twists, turns, shocking reveals, as well as some common tropes. I thought that these tropes were well-placed, and flowed naturally into the main plot-line. Despite this story being focused around Caledon and Shadow, I found myself much more drawn to the history and politics of Avantine. Some of the subplots with the characters fell to the wayside, and just didn't catch my interest. 

I wish that there would have been much more description of Avantine to accompany the history built into the story. It was difficult to distinguish the realms from one another. Customs, culture, landscapes, climate, etc were muddy and not nearly as defined as I would have liked. I think ingraining these differences would make some of the history more memorable. If historical events cannot be attached to current attributes, they become lost and forgotten. Even so, I appreciated that there was a great deal of a backstory given to set the stage. It gave The Queen's Assassin depth and focus, and I'm curious to see where this story will go.

Vulgarity: Minimal.
Sexual content: Some insinuative behavior and one scene of intimacy without graphic detail.
Violence: Moderate.

My Rating: ★★★1/2

My Blog ¦ Bookstagram ¦ Twitter ¦ Pinterest ¦ Facebook

Jennifer

Ummm had I read this before??? Something about the plot and the construct of the novel felt eerily familiar to me. Like, it's cliche YA. Examples: "I'm not like other girls" main character, extreme enemies to lovers trope, and insta-love. I felt like I wasn't reading a new book here and frankly I got bored around 100 pages through.

So if it's just the cliche issues, this would had been a 2 star read. But unfortunately there were some glaring technical issues in the writing (inconsistent writing style and pacing) whic tipped this to the 1-star territory.


(1.5 stars out of 5)

laura

* I got this book for review for my honest thoughts*

I will be honest I really struggled with this read. I wanted to really enjoy this book. I found this book hard to connect to the characters and it the world building was not super clear. I thought the characters were not well rounded felt like one dimesnsional characters. It was not a read the graded my attention, but i did read it fast, I just struggled to care about the characters and don't know if i will keep reading this series. I did not love her writing style.

Heather Solov

Re-read Spring 2021: still love this book :) it's just a nice, easy read with a captivating world and characters.

izzy

the queen's assassin is a fantasy novel that centres around two main characters: a girl named shadow who aspires to be an assassin, and cal, who's a seasoned assassin oath bound to recover missing magic scrolls for the queen. over the course of the book, shadow and cal are forced to form an alliance, and slowly uncover a web of secrets. 

based on the initial summary, i definitely thought that this book was my cup of tea. fantasy? check. romance? check. assassins? check. plus i was a definite fan of melissa de la cruz's other books, especially her contemporary '29 dates' which i definitely recommend! however, i ended up not really liking this book at all, which made me kind of sad. 

at the beginning of the book, i was starting to enjoy the book, but then was quickly thrown off by the perspective flip-flopping. shadow narrates in first person. cal narrates in third person, and we never get to see much of his thoughts. this makes him feel like less of an important character, and i also personally dislike this decision because i find cal has a potential to be a whole lot more interesting of a narrator than shadow. in addition, the transitions are choppy and seem to push the reader out of the flow. i feel like this book would have been significantly improved if the entire narration was from the same perspective. in addition, the romance in this book is very, very predictable, and is full of cliches in a really bland way. oh, and the ending plot twist was kind of confusing and unsatisfying. in addition, there is a lot of historical exposition in approximately five random chapters in italics scattered throughout the story in places where they kinda just interrupt the flow of the overall plot.

the one thing that made me not dnf this book was the worldbuilding, which was so intriguing. the fantasy world is brought to life in the lore, the culture, the kingdoms. also the side characters were pretty interesting and would all have made more compelling main characters than the actual main characters. the queen is really interesting, as that mysterious character you always want to know more about. shadow’s non-blood-related aunts, the stable boy at the jail, and the extremely flirty duchess+her mysterious much older husband are also very interesting. i feel like this book could have improved by throwing in more interesting character arcs, subvert some cliches in the latter half of the book, and give cal more time to let his personality shine. and definitely rework the romance subplot. 

at this point i'm now going to say there is probably going to be spoilers, so read at your own risk. 

after cal and shadow meet, you can see the extremely obvious romantic subplot develop and all else is sidelined for this subplot. cal is an assassin, he straight up murders people, as assassins do. but he doesn't grapple with morals, and the book does not acknowledge cal being an assassin with any seriousness. he assassinates people, but we never get to know what he thinks of it. the fact that he's a teenager who's killed tons of people and how that might affect him is never discussed. in one scene, it seems like we're finally going to get to know more about cal's assassin career, it ends up being thrown out the window for the romantic subplot. 
 
and then…there are two plot twists in the last few chapters of the book. first, a retroactive plot twist, which basically reframes the entire book up until that point. unfortunately, this twist was an identity reveal situation for shadow that reframes a bunch of previous scenes in the book, and made shadow significantly less interesting as a character. also it somehow made the romantic subplot less engaging, which i didn't even think was possible. 

next, the trajectory plot twist. up until the finale, cal and shadow have both been engaging in fake relationships with different people as covers for the assassination plot. except after shadow’s identity reveal situation she gets into a forced engagement with the person she was in a fake relationship. this is so she could let the Queen pardon cal, who got thrown in prison. cal somehow takes this very unrealistically calmly for most people stuck in a situation like this. or maybe in his mind he does not. but we still don’t get much insight because as aforementioned cal is not well explored as a character and could have a lot of potential if the book talked about what goes on in his head more.

lastly, there’s a time skip and an actual cliffhanger in the last chapter. this could be setup for a sequel but think they handled this specific ending badly even if it was setup. some improvements i think could have ben made are a) not reframe everything super rushed at the end which made shadow less interesting, b) give cal more personality, c) explore the universe through things other than five chapters of historical exposition, and d) remove the romantic subplot and just make shadow and cal friends because they did not have any chemistry and it felt way too forced. in addition, shadow has a huge personality shift for seemingly no reason about 2/3 of the way through the book, which makes her seem like whole different person. actually, she’s kinda like 2 characters stuffed into a single body and the book just chooses which version of shadow is more plot convenient at the time. 

in summary, i wasn't really a fan of the queen's assassin, but maybe the sequel will redeem the sereies! or reframe the first book so it's better. in the meantime, i just highly recommend '29 dates' instead if you're looking for something to read by melissa de la cruz.

Sophie

I need a Cal in my life......

Dit is het 2de Engelse boek dat ik heb gelezen, het is in het begin even wennen maar als je er eenmaal in zit, wordt je ook echt wel meegezogen door het verhaal.

Het boek leest lekker makkelijk weg en het verhaal blijft vernieuwend. Het einde was even een shook momentje maar ook wel een beetje te verwachten.

Ik geef dit boek gewoon 5 sterren, because why not..;)
De cover is mooi, het verhaal goed geschreven, en een hottie van een moordenaar, ik bedoel wat willen we nog meer.

Het is zeker een aanrader om te lezen, al zitten er soms wel moeilijke woorden tussen, maar he!! daar hebben we tegenwoordig Google translate voor.

Kat Kooiman

I have many regrets in life, and one of them is this book. I should have DNF'd this thing so hard but for whatever reason I did not. I think I lost some braincells. Please don't read this atrocity, I beg you. Learn from my mistake.

Leelynn Brady

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Fantastic Flying Book Club, Netgalley, and G. P. Putnam’s Sons for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

I’m going to die. Also: My aunts are going to kill me.

Shadow
Oh my gosh. Shadow cracked me up so freaking much! I feel like she was the reason why I was hooked on this book, although I didn’t even meet her until the first chapter.

Yes, there’s a little bit of back history on what happened before the events of this novel, and then a prologue as well to explain what exactly would be the Queen’s Assassin. I know I was curious until the prologue explained it and then I was like “well duh that makes sense.” So anyway.

But yeah I was really happy to read something from de la Cruz again, and I’m actually regretting that I hadn’t been keeping up with her work before this. I’ll have to go back and see some other novels from her. And honestly we all know that I’m not good at keeping up with series in general… *ahem* so we’ll have to see how long it would take me to even finish all of her series.

BUT ANYWAY. I’m sorry I keep going off on a tangent.

I really enjoyed this world that de la Cruz created, and I feel like her writing grew up with me and I can see me reading more of these older YA novels from her the more the years go by. Wow, that just makes me feel so dramatic but seriously. I have always loved de la Cruz, and I’m just so thankful that I was able to get to read this novel.

Oh, and I loved Cal also. I mean, yeah sure the first time we meet him is under some *ahem* extenuating circumstances but I was actually super excited to meet him that way. I feel like he’s so… maybe honorable but also seems like he could do something pretty… I don’t even know how to describe it. Like he would do just about anything to protect his realm, even if it wasn’t something that was entirely “good”.

It’s alarming, really, how quickly nice people become ravenous, bloodthirsty.

Caledon Holt
I need the sequel to exist so I can take a year or something to read it and then see what happens next. Yes, I swear I’ll end up reading it because I love Shadow and Cal. Literally making my night while I’m writing this review. This may be another favorite duo that I need to add to my list.

Sunia Asat

Fast paced read 
Cute love story 
Has lots of second hand embarrassment 

Jade Faller 

Honestly really good book, your in for a rollercoaster ride

Aubrey Erskine

Find the full review on my blog:
 http://shelflifechronicles.com/2020/0...

A boy who is trained in the art of death, sent to kill the enemies of the Queen of the Kingdom and a girl who appears as nothing more than a country girl but has been training to become apart of the Guild for years. They embark on a journey to save their kingdom from another magical war and on the way encounter friendship, deception, love betrayal and that's just between the two of them.

The Queen's Assassin

Reviews

Highlights