The Queen's Assassin
by Melissa de la Cruz
Series: Queen's Assassin Duology #1
Series Rating:
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers on February 4, 2020
Genres: YA Romance Fantasy
Pages: 384
Format: Hardcover
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon
Also in this series: The Queen's Secret
Caledon Holt is the Kingdom of Renovia's deadliest weapon. No one alive can best him in brawn or brains, which is why he's the Guild's most dangerous member and the Queen's one and only assassin. He's also bound to the Queen by an impossible vow--to find the missing Deian Scrolls, the fount of all magical history and knowledge, stolen years ago by a nefarious sect called the Aphrasians.
Shadow has been training all her life to follow in the footsteps of her mother and aunts--to become skilled enough to join the ranks of the Guild. Though magic has been forbidden since the Aphrasian uprising, Shadow has been learning to control her powers in secret, hoping that one day she'll become an assassin as feared and revered as Caledon Holt.
When a surprise attack brings Shadow and Cal together, they're forced to team up as assassin and apprentice to hunt down a new sinister threat to Renovia. But as Cal and Shadow grow closer, they'll uncover a shocking web of lies and secrets that may destroy everything they hold dear. With war on the horizon and true love at risk, they'll stop at nothing to protect each other and their kingdom in this stunning first novel in the Queen's Secret series.
Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Red Queen, this is the first novel in a sweeping YA fantasy-romance duet about a deadly assassin, his mysterious apprentice, and the country they are sworn to protect from #1 NYT bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz.
The Queen’s Assassin by Melissa de la Cruz does a fantastic job of taking the reader into its world.
Will Shadow become a great assassin like Cal?
Shadow
Shadow is just a nickname for the main character of this novel. She’s been trained all her life for the moment she could enter the guild. However, now she’s been summoned to court by her mom instead. Shadow decides to take matters into her own hands and sets off to become an apprentice to Caledon Holt. She is a fun character. I enjoyed seeing through her eyes and how she doesn’t want to be in court. All of that comes to light toward the end of the book, but I can’t precisely say why. Everything about Shadow is basically a big plot spoiler. She is a fantastic character, and I was right about my thoughts on her at the beginning of reading this novel.
Caledon
Caledon Holt is the son of Corydon Holt and is a great assassin. Sadly, we don’t see most of that, but I think that’s because he didn’t want to for 1) scare Shadow more than he already did, and 2) they just need to get to the other Kingdom so they can get their assignment done. Cal may seem like he’s only one-dimensional, but I think that’s because he has a job in his head that he needs to get done.
As an assassin, his job doesn’t allow him to show his true personality. We don’t know how he trained or what his life was like. To think about the mission and how he needs to get it done. Does he need to be a nobleman? Or can he be a servant instead? Or some other profession that needs to be there at the time. Cal needs to figure all that out while also ensuring that Shadow can follow suit.
I have to say that I like Cal, and I loved how the attraction between Shadow and him started.
Five Stars
The Queen’s Assassin by Melissa de la Cruz holds so much promise, and I hope for things to get taken care of in the next book in this duology. Ms. de la Cruz has done an excellent job setting up this world, and her magic system is incredible. I can’t wait to read more about it in the next book, even if that means a while since I’m pretty much booked for the rest of the year, as it seems.
I love this world of Caledon and Shadow’s. I am giving this book five stars and recommending it to anyone who loves a good YA Romance Fantasy.
The Queen’s Assassin Duology
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of The Queen’s Assassin by Melissa de la Cruz.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
About Melissa de la Cruz
Melissa de la Cruz is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of many critically acclaimed and award-winning novels for teens including The Au Pairs series, the Blue Bloods series, the Ashleys series, the Angels on Sunset Boulevard series and the semi-autobiographical novel Fresh off the Boat.
Her books for adults include the novel Cat’s Meow, the anthology Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys and the tongue-in-chic handbooks How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less and The Fashionista Files: Adventures in Four-inch heels and Faux-Pas.
She has worked as a fashion and beauty editor and has written for many publications including The New York Times, Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Allure, The San Francisco Chronicle, McSweeney’s, Teen Vogue, CosmoGirl! and Seventeen. She has also appeared as an expert on fashion, trends and fame for CNN, E! and FoxNews.
Melissa grew up in Manila and moved to San Francisco with her family, where she graduated high school salutatorian from The Convent of the Sacred Heart. She majored in art history and English at Columbia University (and minored in nightclubs and shopping!).
She now divides her time between New York and Los Angeles, where she lives in the Hollywood Hills with her husband and daughter.
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