Review: The Assassin's Curse - Cassandra Rose Clarke

The Assassin's Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke, published by Strange Chemistry on 2nd October 2012
Goodreads synopsis:
Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to an allying pirate clan: she wants to captain her own boat, not serve as second-in-command to her handsome yet clueless fiance. But her escape has dire consequences when she learns the scorned clan has sent an assassin after her.

And when the assassin, Naji, finally catches up with her, things get even worse. Ananna inadvertently triggers a nasty curse — with a life-altering result. Now Ananna and Naji are forced to become uneasy allies as they work together to break the curse and return their lives back to normal. Or at least as normal as the lives of a pirate and an assassin can be.

Review:

This is the first book I’ve read from Strange Chemistry and wow, it’s a amazing one! I’d heard a lot about it prior to picking it up myself and all the reviews were incredibly good so I was extremely excited to get the opportunity to read it prior to its publication date.

Cassandra Rose Clarke has written a book which takes fantasy to a whole new level. Combining magic, adventure and romance, the story blew me away and left me wanting more. Plus it has pirates! I mean who doesn’t love books which feature all the excitement of a journey on the high seas where literally anything can and does happen.

Ananna of the Tanarau is set to be married off by her parents to Tarrin of the Hariri, part of another pirate clan. What she really dreams of however is having her own ship which she can sail on the high seas, free to go wherever she pleases. Deciding to run away rather than submit to a marriage not of her choosing, she finds herself unwittingly bound to the assassin sent after her, leading to the beginning of an epic fantasy adventure.

The relationship between Ananna and the assassin Naji develops over the course of the novel. All the while a romantic undercurrent bubbles away in the background and sparks definitely fly when these two are together. I love the way that Clarke isn’t afraid to keep the romance on hold while the two of them are getting to know each other. It makes the whole thing much more realistic and also means that when it does (hopefully!) eventually happen, then it will have been worth waiting for. I don’t want to give too much away about the plot but I thought the whole reason they were linked together was brilliant and sets things up nicely for the rest of the series.

There is incredible world building in this book with a fantasy realm where magic really does happen and where dangerous obstacles lie in wait for Ananna around every corner. She however is the perfect heroine to deal with them as she’s feisty, brave, courageous and tough. She is the kind of person that will never give up until she gets a satisfactory outcome.

This was a book which grew on me more and more. I’m not always a huge fan of the fantasy genre but this is among the best I’ve ever read. I’m eager to read the sequel now which will be called ‘The Pirate’s Wish’ and is out in 2013.