Review: The Assassin and the Underworld

Title: The Assassin and the Underworld (A Throne of Glass Novella 0.3)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publication Date: May 1 2012
Publisher: Bloomsbury
ISBN: N/A
Length: 92 Pages
Link to Synopsis: Goodreads
Source: Purchased (Kindle Edition)
Buy It: Amazon US / Amazon UK

My Rating: 4 Stars

I am surprised at how long it took me to finish this little novella.  It is not a reflection on the book itself necessary, as I did like it but I just couldn't get really excited about it.

At the end of the last novella Celaena was leaving the red desert and heading back to Adarlan in order to pay off her debt and leave the services of her master, Arobynn Hamel.  She had also thought through some of her feelings about Sam and was looking forward to seeing him again.  So... we start this novella and what happens?  She doesn't leave Arobynn Hamel (who in the last book had done enough to warrant her services as an assassin let alone not wanting to work for him any more) and then she goes back to arguing with Sam and treating him like dirt. What?  Did I miss something? 

Even though I felt the storyline took a bit more to get into than with the previous two novellas I still think they are important to read in order to get the full back story of Celaena.  However, I do maintain that the full novel, Throne of Glass, should be read first.  I am still a bit iffy about Celaena's attitude in these.  She seems so humble in Throne of Glass although I'm sure that attitude is going to come from the events of the final novella and the year she spent in the prison of the salt mines.  I am still unsure if I would have liked her as much as I did in Throne of Glass if I would have read these first.

There is quite a bit of character development toward the end of the novella and we see some characters for  who and what they really are. I mean we did already know but it was nice for some actions to come to light so that everybody is now on the same page.

I am also missing Prince Dorian and Chaol but as she does not properly meet them until the full novel I knew they would not be a part of these novellas.   Now with that said, how excited was I when Celaena is at a party and they make a surprise visit?  Nothing was confirmed by names but you know while you are reading it that it is the pair of them and I couldn't stop smiling.  It was quite pathetic how excited I got over the maybe half a page that they showed up.  But I do really love them both so it was a lovely little surprise to see them.

I am now off to start the final novella and will be able to have that review up and posted soon. Then it will just be the wait until book 2 is out sometime next year.