Literally Celaena was so amazing! LITERALLY THE EPITOME OF A STRONG FEMALE LEAD! THE BEST KNOWN ASSASSIN SINCE SHE WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD! Her sassy, witty, sarcastic remarks, always trying to push Chaol’s buttons and just overall making this story so fantastic! I immediately fell in love with everything about Celaena!

This was a series that originally I was always hesitant to start since it has A LOT of books in the series, but I finally gave in haha. Now my only regret is not having read this book sooner. In the beginning, it was a bit slow but that was warranted since the story needed to be set up and to properly introduce the main characters such as, Celaena, Chaol, Dorian, Nehemia, and others. Celaena was the type of girl who knew her strengths and despite the obstacles and struggles she faced during the duration of the competition, she always persevered. Celaena was no stranger to enduring pain and suffering and from the details she mentioned about her training in becoming an assassin, I was shook! Homegirl was ruthless and honestly I found her past and present experiences admirable since she was able to still keep that spark of hers alive inside her throughout the years. 

Throughout the story, I had a feeling there was going to be a potentially love triangle between Chaol, Dorian and Celaena. Especially with some of the descriptions of how Chaol and Dorian I was like, “OOOOOO YOU LIKE HER!!” Always mentioning how beautiful Celaena was and how good her skills in fighting were like come on, of course those guys would find Celaena irresistible. 

The mystery surrounding who and what was killing the champions added a level of not only suspense, but also intrigue since it led to more significant parts of the story. Specifically, with Elena (The Queen) telling Celaena about the evil lurking in the castle and how despite magic being outlawed, someone found a way to use magic to call upon a horrible creature to kill. 

As the story progressed, the pace started to pick up and I was suddenly immersed into the plot. I absolutely loved reading about Celaena and even with her being this cool assassin, she had her funny moments. You wouldn’t think there be humor in a story like this, but you’d be surprised. Even with this book being only the introduction to the series, it was clear that there was so much waiting to be revealed and I was totally excited about it. By the end, the plot only covered the beginning of what would eventually revealed in the other books. If you’re looking for a fantasy book filled with action, strong female lead, some humor, mystery and little bit of romance, i highly recommend this book.