Assassin's Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke
Assassin's Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke
Another book rec... and this one with a bit of a cliffhanger. The not so bad side of the whole cliffhanger thing is that 1) it's not really all that cliffhanger-ish, more just that the book ended before the story did, and 2) it's only a two book series, so it won't be too drawn out. The bad side of it is that the second book doesn't come out 'til June of next year. *sigh* Ah, well, if that doesn't scare you off, then on to why I liked the story in the first place.
Overview: The story centers around a young pirate named Ananna, who, right as the story starts, is about to get married. The marriage will be a benefit to both families involved (bigger, badder piracy for everyone!) plus the groom is smoking hot, so all's good, right? Not for our intrepid heroine, who doesn't trust pretty people (herself being more on the plain side, and just a tad on the plump side, too), plus the groom wants to take her to a place she doesn't want to go, and... well, really, she'd rather just be the pirate captain herself rather than be married to one.
One mad flight later and she's on her own, ready to start out on her new life (once she stops being a little homesick, anyway), only now the groom's family have sent an assassin after her. She tells herself that assassins are just bogeymen from tales her father used to tell her, and that she doesn't really believe that there are this group of unstoppable killers in the world, ones who never fail in their task... well, until she meets one, anyway.
But one impetuous bout of life saving and one impossible curse later, and she's no longer alone, but rather on a quest with said assassin to free themselves from said impossible curse... well, maybe Ananna isn't quite sure she wants to be free.
Pros: great heroine, cool (if irritating) hero (though we're using heroine and hero lightly here, since one of them's a pirate and the other's an assassin ;), light and entertaining prose and storyline, with a little angst and lots of adventure thrown in.
Cons: the story's told from Ananna's POV, and therefore is in her vernacular, which was fine in terms of storytelling, but the grammar nazi in me kept wanting to correct all the causes she used, since they should have been either because or 'cause... but that might not bother saner people as much. *snork* And there is that little matter of the story not concluding until next June, oi. *sighs again*
PS: The publisher of this one was Strange Chemistry, who is putting out some good books here lately, and will be putting out some great ones soon enough, as Martha Wells has a new series coming out with them in April of next year, and she's never less than awesome! *makes grabby hands of want*
Another book rec... and this one with a bit of a cliffhanger. The not so bad side of the whole cliffhanger thing is that 1) it's not really all that cliffhanger-ish, more just that the book ended before the story did, and 2) it's only a two book series, so it won't be too drawn out. The bad side of it is that the second book doesn't come out 'til June of next year. *sigh* Ah, well, if that doesn't scare you off, then on to why I liked the story in the first place.
Overview: The story centers around a young pirate named Ananna, who, right as the story starts, is about to get married. The marriage will be a benefit to both families involved (bigger, badder piracy for everyone!) plus the groom is smoking hot, so all's good, right? Not for our intrepid heroine, who doesn't trust pretty people (herself being more on the plain side, and just a tad on the plump side, too), plus the groom wants to take her to a place she doesn't want to go, and... well, really, she'd rather just be the pirate captain herself rather than be married to one.
One mad flight later and she's on her own, ready to start out on her new life (once she stops being a little homesick, anyway), only now the groom's family have sent an assassin after her. She tells herself that assassins are just bogeymen from tales her father used to tell her, and that she doesn't really believe that there are this group of unstoppable killers in the world, ones who never fail in their task... well, until she meets one, anyway.
But one impetuous bout of life saving and one impossible curse later, and she's no longer alone, but rather on a quest with said assassin to free themselves from said impossible curse... well, maybe Ananna isn't quite sure she wants to be free.
Pros: great heroine, cool (if irritating) hero (though we're using heroine and hero lightly here, since one of them's a pirate and the other's an assassin ;), light and entertaining prose and storyline, with a little angst and lots of adventure thrown in.
Cons: the story's told from Ananna's POV, and therefore is in her vernacular, which was fine in terms of storytelling, but the grammar nazi in me kept wanting to correct all the causes she used, since they should have been either because or 'cause... but that might not bother saner people as much. *snork* And there is that little matter of the story not concluding until next June, oi. *sighs again*
PS: The publisher of this one was Strange Chemistry, who is putting out some good books here lately, and will be putting out some great ones soon enough, as Martha Wells has a new series coming out with them in April of next year, and she's never less than awesome! *makes grabby hands of want*