Short Story Review – The Assassin and the Underworld (Throne of Glass, Novella 0.3) by Sarah J. Maas (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young AdultGenre: Fantasy
Size: 1827 KB
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Release Date: May 1, 2012
ASIN: B007N6JEQ0
Stand Alone or Series: Third novella prelude to the Throne of Glass
Source: Bought for Kindle
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the third in a series of four novellas that take place before the Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas. All of these novellas tell about Celaena and her adventures as an assassin before she ended up where she was at the Throne of Glass. I didn’t enjoy this novella quite as much as The Assassin and the Desert, but it was a still a good read that does an excellent job of developing Celaena as a character.

Celaena returns from the desert to confront her master, Arobynn, about the beating he gave her before she was sent off. She has enough gold to buy her freedom, but is confused when Arobynn treats her with the utmost respect showering her with gifts. Then when Arobynn offers her the chance to assassinate someone high up in the chain of slavery, Celanae accepts the job excited to use her assassination skills for good.

Celaena comes off as a bit naive in the story. I was somewhat disappointed that she wasn’t more committed to leaving the abusive situation she was in with Arobynn. I was also a bit disappointed that she didn’t do more background checking on the assassination assignment she was given. After all Arobynn did to her she still blindly trusts him.

It was great to have Sam back in the story again. Him and Celaena have a prickly relationship, but he is always respectful and steadfast to her. Things do heat up between her and Sam, which was a fun turn for the story to take.

This is the novella where you finally start to see how Celaena ended up in the situation she was in at the beginning of Throne of Glass.

Overall an excellent addition to this world and series. I love Celaena as a character and have really enjoyed reading about how she gets to where she is in the beginning of The Throne of Glass. All the novellas/books in this series are highly recommended to those you enjoy adventure fantasy with a strong female lead.