awsome book completely unique and full of hard girl attitude.

The assassins curse opens with ananna stealing a camel to escape a marriage she doesnt want because of her choices she finds herself on the run from naji a deadly assassin ordered to kill her for her disobedience however after accidently saving his life she releases a curse upon them that forces them together.

Found the writing style quite fun and added more character to anannas voice using double negatives and slang to tell her tale. It makes a great change to be reading a real person talk none of the 'how you should talk' writing.

There wasnt very much conversation in the book mostly ananna and naji are quiet together with the odd comment or two, but when they talk its funny as its usually with aggression and frustration at one another.

The second in the series is out in june, will be definatly getting it on amazon
and for those who want to read more there is the witches betrayal short story of naji and his past.

A great read much different from the over populated teen books on shelf atm and it deserves more attention than its getting. ( )

2013/09/04 - Slow going so far. Will see.

Picked up pace! Adventure come a-calling. *grin*

Oh Naji, you poor thing! You are so cute, you know?

Author, you are evil! Leaving this sort of cliffhanger.
Good thing the 2nd book is out and in my hands! ( )

I read The Mad Scientist’s Daughter a while back and I loved it, so my expectations before diving into another Cassandra Rose Clarke book were enormous. I wouldn’t say I ended up disappointed, but it was definitely different from what I had expected.

Jeg really liked Ananna even if she annoyed me at times. She’s a pirate’s daughter who spent her entire life on a boat and it really shows; the way she acted and the way she talked. It took me a while to get use to her way her of talking and I’ll admit - I hated it at first. But slowly it grew on me and I ended up really liking it and I think it suits Ananna well. She is a very strong protagonist who doesn’t put up with anything and who is willing to go the distance and interested in proving that she CAN go the distance, even if she is ‘only a woman’.

I would have loved to have some chapters from Naji’s POV (he’s the assassin) because I found it hard to connect with him. It isn’t till the end of the book I feel like he’s a person and that’s really sad because I ended up really liking him. Besides, I would have LOVED more information about the assassins. They sound beyond awesome! Thankfully, there is a lot of pirate stuff to help me get over it and I’ll just cross my fingers for more assassin stuff in the second book The Pirate’s Wish.

The story is action packed and very exciting. The magic was awesome and I especially loved the shadow-thing the assassin’s had going on. The writing was very different from what I expected. It was well written, but without the depth I loved in The Mad Scientist’s Daughter. This book is obviously for a younger audience, but it worked for me too. The Assassin’s Curse is for everyone with a hankering for adventure, mystery and magic - besides, who can turn down a mix of assassins and pirates?!
( )

Overall Story: interesting and nuanced. Coming of age story with some fantasy and complexity. This and the sequel could have been one book.


Writing: good


Audio Narration: good


Annoying Things: Central plot point is a curse that binds the two main characters together so there is a lot of focus on that.


Things to Love: there's a manticore character also some atypical elements in the usual love story narrative

Ananna of the Tanarau is betrothed to Tarrin of the Hariri. This is not something that she really wants, partly as he is handsome, and she doesn't trust those type of people. She sees an opportunity to escape, and takes it. Tarrin sees her go, and threatens to send an assassin after her.

She escapes to the next town and after hiding briefly, she is tracked and found by the promised assassin. In the scuffle, she kills a snake just before it bites him and saves his life. This simple act binds them with a curse and Naji is bound to protect her.

So begins their adventure to get to the Isles of the Sky to meet a wizard who can lift this impossible curse. They travel over deserts and oceans to get there. They suffer sandstorms, across the desert and as his strength is sapped they stay at a previous lover while he recovers. On the ocean they encounter a massive storm and Naji uses blood magic to steer them towards the island, much to the horror of the crew before they are cast away.

It has an original storyline, and the fantasy concepts are cohesive and well thought through. I liked the tension that Clarke manages to build between them, and the situations that they encounter on their journey make for good changes of pace in the story. I thought the ending was a little weak, but it is setting up the story for the sequel. I am not always a fan of YA type books, but i liked this one, more 3.5 stars. ( )