This was my first new release of the year, so I was really excited to finally start reading this one and find out what 2020 would have in store for me. The Queen’s Assassin had been floating around the Goodreads giveaway late last year, and I just couldn’t help myself, hence this being my first 2020 read. With that said, lets take a look at what the book is about, and what I thought!
The Queen’s Assassin is a dual pov novel following Shadow, and Cal. Shadow dreams of being a member of the Guild, a group that both her aunts and mother are a part of, but have so far denied her membership. Cal, on the other hand is the Queen’s Assassin, and a member of the coveted guild. When Shadow runs into Cal on a mission and becomes a witness to a supposed crime he commits, she sets out to free him from his imprisonment, setting off a chain of events neither could ever have expected. Filled with magic, peril, and lots of plots, the Queen’s Assassin is a kickoff to a new duopoly by Melissa de la Cruz.
Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
So, before going into the myriad of explanations I have on why I gave this three stars, I will say that I did enjoy this book. It was a quick and fun read, and pretty easy to get into. Unlike a lot of fantasies I’ve started and haven’t finished this year this one wasn’t bad as far as getting going, which is a nice thing to have this year for me.
So, why 3 stars? While the beginning was intriguing, and Shadow definitely has your interest with all of the mysterious things going on around her. We already hit some issues, at least for me personally when we pick up Cal’s POV. One of my biggest struggles in reading are with novels that have two POVs. Beyond it being something I just struggle with, this one switches styles, so there was a big adjustment period with that. Shadow’s pov is first person, while Cal’s is third, leaving some confusion when you first pick up his chapters. Slowly, I adjusted, but with how his side of the story was written it almost felt like it could have been first person as well, so it was certainly a stylistic choice, perhaps just not one that flowed naturally for me.
I went pretty far into the book before I got to my next concerns, one of which I have to give back story on since I haven’t really mentioned this on the blog; I am awful at predicting plot twists. Mysteries I’m okay with getting an “idea” of what is coming, but typically I don’t get the really well put in plot twists. So why bring this up? Besides admitting I’m not the most careful reader at all times, I guessed the big one on this one, and it didn’t leave me feeling elated, but rather like, that was the plot twist? I won’t mention what it was since that would be a spoiler, but when a rather large detail becomes the basis for your plot twist and there are glaring pieces of evidence pointing to it, it didn’t feel like a twist, at least not one that feels like the bottom dropping out underneath you. It just fizzled out for me, and that wasn’t very exciting.
The second concern that came from the second half of the book was in clearing up the plot twist, and the explanations that came with it. A lot of the clarification ended up sounding oddly convenient, not foreshadowed, not really fitting with what was being revealed at the moment. Maybe it was just me, but it didn’t feel like that had been the perfect fit, the full reason as far as what had happened, and how it had played out. I really wish there had been some more mysteriousness around this, considering how big a part it played, many books using this one, but as a minor plot driver, not major.
Overall, I did enjoy this, it really feels like I need to repeat that, but there were some big turns in the book that just didn’t stand out for me. Instead, it felt like the book had a lot of potential, and maybe had needed some finessing. This of course, is my opinion, and this could definitely be someone else’s favorite book of the year, but it just wasn’t mine. I’ve seen she’s written some other books, so I’m hoping to pick those up eventually and enjoy those more.
Have you read Queen’s Assassin yet? What were your thoughts on this new release? Let me know in the comments below!
A Writer Can Dream 