Celaena Sardothien is not your average 18-year-old. She’s an assassin who after being sent to prison by the king is now being entered into a contest by the crown prince to become the king’s champion. The contest begins with twenty four opponents but when they start getting brutally murdered, the mystery begins. It was enjoyable to see how the characters developed throughout the story and discover who was added to the list of suspects. With plenty of suspense, this book was difficult to put down. There was some humor and the story even took a turn toward the creepiness for a bit. A little romance for the ladies and battles for the men, this book will appeal to a large audience and easily earned 4 1/2 stars. Left wide open, book two of this series is due to be published in 2013 and I look forward to continuing the series.

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: 21 mild obscenities; 2 derogatory names; 3 anatomical terms.

Violence/Gore: Many (53) brief incidents including but not limited to threats; character poisoned; war violence; characters brutally murdered by fantasy creature; young character’s parents murdered; attempted murder; mention/report of rape; duels resulting in both injuries and death; scary and violent dreams; burning buildings; mention of mass grave; torture; . Few (3) extended incidents including fantasy creatures attacking character and two characters dueling.

Sex/Nudity: Many (33) brief incidents including hand holding; kissing; hugging; thoughts of other chracters; obscene gesture; sexual innuendo; female character undresses to underclothes in front of male character; implied sexual activity; mention/report of rape.

Mature Subject Matter:

Murder, mention of rape, Death (violent) of family members.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Character smokes opium primarily for headaches; tasting wine for poison test; drinking at a party; drinking wine with dinner.