The Assassin's Curse (The Assassin's Curse #1) by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Synopsis: Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to another pirate clan. But that only prompts the scorned clan to send an assassin after her who's name is Naji. When Ananna faces him down one night, armed with magic she doesn't really know how to use, she accidentally activates a curse binding them together. To break the spell, Ananna and the assassin must complete three impossible tasks--all while grappling with evil wizards, floating islands, haughty manticores, runaway nobility, strange magic... and the growing romantic tension between them.

First Impressions: I was slightly disappointed by this book. I mean, don't get me wrong, it was a really fun read, but having heard of the hype around it I was really excited to read it. I thought it was going to be an epic fantasy book, with lots of fighting, wizards and strange creatures and all the fantasy stuff, but it was more about Naji and Ananna's journey and trying to cure their curse. There is only two scenes in my opinion that really reflected a fantasy book. As for the romantic tension, I wouldn't say there was any at all before the ending of the book. But apart from these two things, this book was highly enjoyable. I loved the mix between pirates, assassins and wizards. Those three are the perfect ingredients to a god book in my opinion. I'm most probably going to start reading the sequel as soon as I finished writing my review. 

My Rating:
3.5/5 stars. A fun and addicting read, I am definitely going to read The Pirate's Wish, the sequel to this book.

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My Thoughts: As I said before, I wasn't blown away by this book. I found it annoying how Naji wouldn't let Ananna go outside and then she would go and fetch some water anyway and get into some kind of trouble every single time. I also thought that Naji and Ananna could have found the wizard Eirnin two times faster than they actually did. But I did like the Robinson Crusoe feel to this book when they where trying to survive on the island and had to go find food, build a shelter etc. That last part of the book when they were on the island seemed to last longer than 75 pages, it felt like it went on forever. 
I think the Hariri Clan will most certainly send another assassin after Ananna, because it was getting a little bit suspicious when we didn't see any of them for the last 150 or so of the book. I had the little voice at the back of my head telling me that they were all going to arrive at the end of the book, the first novel ending on a huge cliffhanger. But to my surprise, I was wrong. I think we'll definitely encounter them in the second book as the story is wrapped up. 
I really liked Ananna and Naji's characters. Ananna's sassiness and Naji's sarcasm made for some really funny dialogue. And I appreciated that they weren't weak when it came to decision making, I hate when characters make a stupid decision.
I definitely think the second book is going to be epic, as they try and break the impossible curse and complete those three tasks. I can't wait to read it!