The Queen’s Assassin by Melissa De La Cruz tells in dual person narrative the stories of Shadow, a young girl training in the forbidden art of magic, and Caledon Holt, the deadliest assassin alive.
Caledon is bound to discover certain scrolls that contain the sacred texts of magic. Shadow is bound to take her place amongst society’s finest. Balking at duty, Shadow disguises herself as a boy and sets off to find Caledon and become his apprentice assassin.
Honestly, I really didn’t like this story. I had a difficult time getting through it because I found it, unfortunately, to be rather boring. I thought both characters to be insipid and devoid of any likable characteristics. I despised Shadow. I didn’t find her to be a spunky heroine at all, but rather a modern-day “free woman” set in a medieval-ish setting with modern ideas that were at odds with the way life would have been lived back then. She basically shirks her duty to her family and goes off on an adventure to try and become an apprentice to the assassin who is so deadly he has become the Queen’s personal assassin.
Speaking of the assassin, Caledon Holt, I considered him unbelievable. Mostly, he didn’t seem skilled at anything. He seemed to wave his sword around and kill people by luck. He also came off as rather wooden. We never really got to see how all his numerous killings affected him. It felt like he ran his sword through someone, thought, “Meh,” and shrugged it off. The love story that develops between him and Shadow wasn’t the worst I’ve ever read, but I absolutely loathed the ending. To go into the details of why would be a spoiler so I won’t elaborate further.
I feel like I should try to say something positive about the book, but as I found the worldbuilding a little confusing and the magic a little conveniently placed, I’m having a hard time thinking of anything I really liked about this book. The ending really soured me as well. Overall, this was not a book I enjoyed and probably not one I would recommend.
Review of an Advance Reading Copy
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 1 mild obscenity; 2 derogatory names.
Violence/Gore: Many instances of violence and gore, including but not limited to: report and multiple flashbacks of a character killing another character; report of civil unrest and persecution; threat of war; many reports of past and present assassination attempts/threats; a character is bound by a blood vow where characters cut themselves and a character drinks the blood; a character senses an attack and battles a jaguar; a character hears voices and slips into a river to escape discovery and is nearly drowned; a character hears the sound of a battle and sees many wounded and dying men with broken/missing limbs; a man is killed by another with a sword; a man is accused of killing someone of importance; a character is choked by shackles; a character fights a bully; a prisoner attacks a character and threatens death; a man stabs another man; characters are killed by a pack of wolves; townsfolk are dressed as though in preparation for war; characters go on a hunt and a man kills a boar; a boy examines a girl’s wounded arm; report of characters being murdered and their identities assumed by the murderers; report of a woman being burned by a mob as a witch; a boy cuts off a man’s finger; a character is thrown into a wall and his bones break; a character stabs someone three times in the heart; a character is said to always come back, even if killed; a character wakes in pain, bruised and beaten, and is carried by guards to be tried for murder; characters are accused of murder and sentenced to death; a character is beaten; a man holds a knife to a girl’s throat.
Sex/Nudity: Many instances of sex and nudity, including but not limited to: Report of a character suffering a complicated delivery; characters are depicted as a lesbian couple; a woman puts her arms around her wife; a girl uses fabric to flatten her breasts and thicken her waist; a disguised girl is forced to sleep with a roomful of boys for fear of discovery; mention of a woman’s monthly; a character’s shirt is ripped partially open; a character is asked if she is willing to give up children and marriage; a girl strips to wash in a stream while a boy fishes nearby and eyes her as she emerges (a little sexual); a boy’s touch sends shivers down a girl’s spine; a character is described as being neither male or female; a boy recalls a girl emerging from a stream; a girl wears a thin shift that reveals everything underneath; a boy and girl sleep together and the girl’s leg brushes against the boy’s (sexual tension); a girl remembers how she and a boy slept together and the boy moaned at her movements against him (a little sexual); a boy thinks how he wanted to roll a girl under him while they were in bed; a woman tries to touch a boy’s legs; a woman likes having affairs; characters are frequently jealous of each other; mention of an affair and a girl being pregnant; a man looks a girl over, particularly noting her low-cut gown; a man looks at a girl like he can see through her clothes; a woman brushes suggestively up against a man; boy and girl share a deepening kiss; characters dance; a boy remembers sleeping with a girl and holding her; report of men placing hands where they oughtn’t on a female dance partner; a man starts to lift a girl’s skirts to examine her shoes; a girl is engaged for political reasons; a girl sees her love the night before her wedding to another man; scene where a boy and girl slip into bed together and have sex; report of characters not consummating their marriage; a character becomes another’s paramour; semi-prominent lesbian couple; passing mention of a gay couple; mention of an apparently genderless mage; sexual tension throughout the story.
Mature Subject Matter:
Threat of war; death of family members; socioeconomic conflicts; marriage infidelity; murder; assassination threats and attempts; gender identity issues; fortune telling.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
A man plans on getting a celebratory drink; characters are described as full of ale; report of characters being drunk; characters go to a tavern; characters drink at a formal meal; a character is slightly tipsy but invites his guests to the library for more libations; characters smoke cigars; mention of gambling debts; characters drink wine at a feast; a girl gets tipsy and brash; a character has a few drinks; a boy feels slightly drunk; characters have wine at a party; characters drink champagne; a girl smells a man’s beery breath; characters hold wineglasses; a man helps himself to food and wine; a girl is reported as having had too much champagne; there is the smell of alcohol on a woman’s breath; mention of free-flowing champagne at a celebration; characters drink wine; mention of a character only caring about wine and gambling.
