Author: Cassandra Rose Clarke
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Release Date: October 2012
Pages: 320
Series: The Assassin’s Curse #1
4 Stars: I Really Liked It
And when the assassin, Naji, finally catches up with her, things get even worse. Ananna inadvertently triggers a nasty curse — with a life-altering result. Now Ananna and Naji are forced to become uneasy allies as they work together to break the curse and return their lives back to normal. Or at least as normal as the lives of a pirate and an assassin can be.
My Thoughts:
Ananna was 17 and the daughter of pirates. She loved the sea and the pirate life, but her parents tried to marry her off to another pirate clan so she had to leave. It was risky to have the first person voice have Ananna’s accent (improper English with ain’t used throughout). I think it worked pretty well. The voice was definitely unique. Would I want every book I read to talk like that? No, definitely not. It would get old really fast, but for this book it worked. Ananna was so brazen, funny, tomboyish, and tough. She could also be kind and a fiercely loyal friend. She really grew on me.
Naji was interesting and very mysterious, but the romance was painfully slow and aggravating. The swearing annoyed me. I felt like it was frequent, but I guess it could be compared to a PG-13 movie. The ending was frustrating, but honestly I’m hooked.
This was a great book, very unique and exciting. I will definitely be reading book two when it comes out next summer.
Content Ratings: highlight between ( ) to view details
Sexual Content: mild ( mention of breasts, whores, and lovers )
Language: moderate ( h***-24, d***-22, sh**-10, a**-3, bi***-2, bloody-1, f***-1 )
Violence: moderate ( magic and knife fights, blood, wounds, murder )
Other: mild ( she steals throughout, drinks rum as a teen but not same standards as our culture and time )
I received the book from Strange Chemistry via netGalley. Thank you! I am not paid for my reviews. My reviews are solely my opinion.
Reviewed by Kathryn Cooper
Creator of Clean Teen Fiction
[ Amazon
/ The Book Depository ]
Kathryn Cooper 
Jessica- Yep, the cover grabbed my attention for sure. It was definitely entertaining. You might like it.
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Sarah- I listened to the beginning of a bloody jack book a long time ago. I had forgotten about that until you mentioned it. Yeah, I guess the voices are similar. I can't remember why, but I didn't listen past a few chapters.
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I love the covers for these books. I might have to try them out! Thanks for the review 🙂
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Have you read any of the Bloody Jack books? I listened to a couple audiobooks and they're first person POVs from a girl pirate who has a very distinct voice. I think they're by L.A. Meyer? The narrator (Katherine Kelgren) was great, too! And as far as I can remember, not much profanity at all. Thanks for commenting on my blog! Always makes me smile 🙂
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