Robin Hobb is one of my favourite authors and this is the book that got me addicted.

Assassin's Apprentice takes a few chapters to get into as Hobb spends a lot of time setting up the world in which the protagonist, Fitz, lives. After that, the characters and story are so compelling you will not be able to put it down. I loved the rules of the world, reminiscent of medieval Britain. You see the world through Fitz's eyes as he grows from a stable boy, the bastard son of the King-in-waiting, to a valuable tool wielded by his grandfather, the King. You, as the reader, get to see the inner workings of a government in distress through a child's eyes. All of it is very believable, especially the characters of Burrich and Chade.

I'm going to cut this review short as I am about to start gushing.