The Assassin’s CursePublisher: Strange Chemistry, 2012Genre: YA Fantasy
Ananna of the Tanarau is the eldest daughter of a highly-ranked family in the loose assortment of cutthroats and thieves in the Pirate's Confederation. When she runs away from the marriage her parents have arranged for her, they hire Naji the assassin to murder her.
When a mysterious woman in a dress shop offers her magical assistance for dealing with the assassin, Ananna accepts. She never went in much for magic herself -- she lacks the talent for it -- but she's not quite ready to die yet, either. Unfortunately, the woman's magic fails.
Fortunately, Ananna inadvertently saves the assassin's life in the skirmish, thus activating a curse that had been placed on him a few years earlier. Now, whenever her life is in danger, he must protect her -- or else he experiences tremendous physical pain. Neither Ananna nor the assassin, Naji, are pleased about this development.
Follow Ananna and Naji as they sail across the globe, visiting such mysterious places as the Court of Salt and Waves, in their desperate effort to lift the curse. Soon they will discover that only by completing three impossible tasks will they be able to set themselves free.
Ananna of the Tanarau is a seventeen year old pirate girl with a soft spot for camels and a hate of beautiful people. Her parents have arranged for her to marry the oldest son of the Hariris, but after spending five minutes with her gorgeous husband-to-be she runs away. But then the Hariris hire an assassin to go after her! Ananna decides to trust an old woman with a magical solution that will get rid of her assassin, but it fails. In the fight that follows, Ananna is sure she will die, only the unexpected happens and she saves the assassin from a poisonous snake. Little does she know that she’s activated a curse that makes Naji, the assassin, need to protect her or else feels terrible pain. Neither is happy with this turn of event, and soon they find themselves journeying across the land searching for a cure.
Cassandra Clarke’s The Assassin’s Curse is the perfect mix of pirates, assassin’s, and fantasy! It’s an exhilarating tale filled with sword fights, magic, suspense, and subtle romance. I devoured it in one sitting!
Ananna is a sharp-tongued girl who knows what she wants. She wants to make a name for herself as the first female captain in the Confederation, and she knows she’ll never realize her dream by getting married. So she runs away! Her only regret is that she has to leave the ocean and the ships behind and go into hiding. Ananna is very resourceful when she’s on her own, but still she gets into trouble. And when I say trouble, I mean TROUBLE. By saving Naji’s life, she is now bound to the stubborn, mysterious, infuriating, and dangerous assassin.
I was fascinated with Naji from the moment he appeared out of the shadows. I’ve never met a ‘hero’ quite like him. He’s super deadly and badass, but he’s also insecure because the scar on his face (and I don’t mean a little knife slash, I mean a fire burn that covers his entire cheek). I wanted to give him a hug every time he tried to cover the scar with his hair. He’s incredibly kind to Ananna…Okay, maybe he is a pain in the ass sometimes, but I think deep down his heart is in the right place.
I loved the romance side of the story because it wasn’t in your face. We get Ananna comments on how handsome Naji is, how strong and all that. Then we get Naji doing things for her without really giving an explanation. Also Ananna has to be the reassuring one when he becomes insecure and, really, she ends up protecting him as much as he does her. It’s all very sweet how they never say it, but you just know the attraction and the love is there, even if it’s just in the beginning stages.
After that last chapter was done and the tasks were set before them, I was literally squealing with glee. This is going to be one awesomesauce series. There’s so much action and things going on that I literally could not put this down. I had to know what happened next all the time. There’s so many things still left to be explained or further explored. My only wish is that this book comes with a map. I’m a sucker for maps in fantasy stories and I would love to see the layout of this world. But seriously, I cannot wait to read more of Ananna and Neji’s journey!
*Arc copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley*
Favorite Quotes:
~Motherly advice~
There are three ways of bettering yourself in the Pirate Confederation, Mama told me once: murder, mutiny, and marriage.
~Intentions~
“You have to take off your mask.”
He got real quiet. “Why?”
“Because we need ‘em to trust us enough to let us on their boat. You covering up your face like that, it’s a sign of bad intentions.”
“I usually have bad intentions.”
~Magic Island~
One morning I woke up and Naji was gone. The familiar sick panic set in. I was on my feet immediately, tearing the tent apart, screaming Naji’s name. A million posibilities raced through my head. Maybe he’d turned into moonlight after all, and I was next. Maybe he’d turned into a fern and I was ripping him into shreds in my fear. I dropped the fern and I stepped back, almost stepping into the fire. The beach was silent save for the wind and my racing, terrified heartbeat.
“Naji?” I said one last time. All my hope was lost. That wasn’t much of a surprise though, ‘cause I really didn’t have much of it left.
“Ananna? Are you alright?” Naji popped up in the shadow of a tree.
“You!” I shouted. “What is wrong with you?”
He blinked at me.
“I thought you got turned into a fern.”
