Title: The Assassins Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke
Series: #1 in the Assassins Curse duology
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Details: 298 pages, released October 2nd 2012
Source: Bought

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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. 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.
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The Assassins Curse was such an exciting read! Right from the start of the book you are picked up and thrown into a fast paced novel. Ananna is a pirate, not just any pirate though, she is the daughter of the captain of the Tanarau. Ananna is supposed to be married off to Tarrin of the Hariri to better her family in the Pirates Confederation. But she doesn’t want to marry a man she hardly knows, so when the first chance arrives, she takes off and runs away on a camel. By running away Ananna has disrespected the Hariri, and in return they send an assassin after her.

When Ananna runs into the assassin Naji and saves his life by killing a snake, she finds out he is cursed. She also finds out that she is now involved in this curse and Naji must protect her or die. A curse to break, pirates and otherworlds to run from, and a little romantic tension made The Assassins Curse a great adventure.

The entire book is from Ananna’s point of view and she made for a great main character. She was independent, strong, outspoken, resourceful, and witty. But while she was strong she was also very insecure and stubborn at times, this to me just made her more relatable, she wasn’t perfect, and no character ever should be.

Then you have Naji who throughout the novel is just a big mystery. He doesn’t tell Ananna much, he keeps quiet about the curse, and himself. Readers do get glimpses of him though, every once and while he will show his caring side, or his brutal side. While there is some very small romantic tension between himself and Ananna, it doesn’t really start showing till the end of the novel.

The writing itself was good, while something’s did seem repetitive, it was still an enjoyable adventure that flowed perfectly. The world building was good, it was very easy to picture everyone going on around Ananna, the magic, the sea, the desert, the fights, everything. The dialogue between Ananna and Naji was occasionally humorous. Just overall this was a well written adventure.

If you are someone that wants to read a fun young adult adventure, with pirates and assassins, then look no further. The Assassins Curse was a great start to what seems like is going to be an epic series adventure!

•  Pros: Strong realistic main character, good scenery and description, fast pace
• Cons: Repetitive thoughts, conversation and actions, small amount of romantic tension