Assassin’s Heart audiobook

I REALLY liked this book. Was really unique in the best of ways and such a cool high fantasy to read!EDIT: WAIT THIS IS A SERIES?! It ended up so nicely! Whattttttt????

Super brilliant novel.I loved the Assassin's world and how it is organised! I really enjoyed the use of Ghosts in this novel. For some reason I got a very 'Return of the king' vibe from the use of Ghosts, which FYI is a super good thing! I can't wait to see what happens in the next novel. This book was VERY fast paced, made me cry and scream and on the hole i really enjoyed.Minor issue: The introduction to the mythology in the novel felt slightly rushed. I don't think this is a fault of the author, more the editor. But once you finish the novel is some what makes sense, enough to answer all my questions but some. SAYING THAT, the fact Sarah has this mythology and 'God' system is very unique. VIBES:ROMELORD OF THE RINGSTHRONE OF GLASS ASSASSIN BASSASSSSSSSSROMEO & JULIETGHOST WHISPER Cant wait for book two!

Move over, Katniss Everdeen and Arya Stark. The Sacred Order of Badass Young Heroines has a new member: Oleander Saldana. Assassin's Heart is a thrilling, hard-pounding, intriguing adventure full of richly realized characters, romance, a gripping plot, and palpable descriptions of sight, sound, and smell. I inhaled this book, and believe me when I tell you that it's way off my beaten reading path. I don't read a great deal of YA fantasy, but I know masterful worldbuilding when I see it. Here, Ahiers creates a lush, lamplit society—evocative of Renaissance-period Florence or Venice—with unique history, customs, religious beliefs, magic, and a warrior class that is utterly credible. Some serious research and thought went into this book. To say nothing of the research and thought that went into the various and devious killing methods on display. This may be marketed as a young adult book, but there is nothing childish about it. I would not hesitate to recommend it to an adult. This would also be an excellent book to recommend to young people who are reluctant readers.

FINISHED! This was really good and not at all like Throne of Glass! The ending threw me off a bit though, as it was quite open and left a few of my questions unanswered but it turns out that it's actually going to be a duology so I'm hoping the sequel will tie up everything better. Not sure how I feel about it having a sequel as on one hand I thought Assassin's Heart was a mostly excellent standalone novel but on the other hand it was so good I want MORE! Excited but a bit nervous to see where the sequel goes :)PREVIOUS MUSING:I wonder if Oleander Saldana is a relation of a certain Celaena Sardothien..

3.5 stars.***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***Assassin's Heart by Sarah AhiersPublisher: HarperTeenPublication Date: February 2, 2016Rating: 4 starsSource: eARC from EdelweissSummary (from Goodreads):In the kingdom of Lovero, nine rival Families of assassins lawfully kill people for a price. As a highly skilled member of one of these powerful clans, seventeen-year-old Lea Saldana has always trusted in the strength of her Family. Until she awakens to find them murdered and her home in flames. The Da Vias, the Saldanas’ biggest enemy, must be responsible—and Lea should have seen it coming. But her secret relationship with the Da Vias’ son, Val, has clouded her otherwise killer instinct—and given the Da Vias more reason than ever to take her Family down.Racked with guilt and shattered over Val’s probable betrayal, Lea sets out to even the score, with her heart set on retaliation and only one thought clear in her mind: make the Da Vias pay.With shades of The Godfather and Romeo and Juliet, this richly imagined fantasy from debut author Sarah Ahiers is a story of love, lies, and the ultimate vengeance.What I Liked:I'm giving this book four stars BUT, please note that my rating is really 3.5 stars. Four stars seems way too generous but three stars seems too low. I liked this book overall! I just didn't love it, and I can't see myself rereading it (although again, I did enjoy it).Lea Saldana is the daughter of the First Family, one of nine power families that are revered and respected. She is a clipper, one who assassinates marks. Where she lives, people hire clippers all the time - it is te work of Saefrella, the goddess of death and resurrection. But in a sudden turn of events, all of the Saldanas are killed - except Lea - and by the Second Family, the Da Via clan. Now Lea's Family is dead and Lea knows that she must never see her suitor, Val Da Via, again. Lea must turn to a long-lost legend for help in her quest for vengeance - she won't stop until the Da Via's are all dead.The beginning of this book introduced us to clippers, what Lea does on a normal basis. Lea is a very skilled assassin, and she's a rare one that has a liking towards poisons. But don't underestimate her - she is an excellent fighter, good at combat and handling swords and knives and all sorts of weapons. One thing she isn't good at is not fraternizing with the enemy.The Saldana and Da Via Families have been at odds for years. Lea loves Val and vice versa, but they keep their relationship a secret. But when Lea's Family burns, Lea knows that either Val knew and helped the Da Via's do it, or he knew and said nothing/did nothing, which was just as bad. So... you know that their relationship is doomed. You can kind of see how this could have been worked into a Romeo-and-Juliet-esque romance, but the author didn't go in that direction.Just a general rule when it comes to YA - if there is a boyfriend or love interest or crush at the very beginning of the book, it is VERY rare that he will end up being the one with the female protagonist at the end of the book. Take that as you may.I like Lea. She is such a good assassin, and she wields her power justly and honorably. When her Family perishes, she becomes full of vengeance, and she's determined kill all the Da Via's or die trying. But she's smart enough to realize that she can't do it alone. I like that Lea isn't stupid enough to think that Val was completely innocent and blind to his family's plans. I like that Lea was strong and brave (and reckless and slightly crazy), instead of totally crazy and/or grief-struck. She kept her head, and she never stopped being bada**.The story really picks up when the Saldana Family is all dead (except Lea). She must travel to Yvain to seek someone who she hopes might help her. She finds trouble and more trouble in Yvain, but also someone unexpected who quickly becomes an ally. But the Da Via's are just behind her, as are the lawmen of Yvain. Lea discovers many secrets from when she fled to Yvain to the end of the book, which helps reader comprehension (a loooot of things start to make sense!).Lea meets Alessio (Les) in Yvain. Les is eager to learn what Lea is, and wants to be just as good a clipper as her when he sees her in action. Les is sweet and kind but also a bit proud and very stubborn. Les is a good friend and a calm influence on Lea. He's also our primary interest, and I much preferred him to the guy in the beginning (Val).NO love triangle despite what you might think. Val is not a good boy... Lea knows that she can't ever think of him again, not after his Family killed all of hers. I like Les and Lea together. There weren't many physically intimate scenes of any sort in this book, but just the way the two of them sync up is special and something to watch (or read?).I like the Italian influence on this book. The characters' names, the locations' names, the infrastructures (canals) - there were a lot of Italian influences present in this book, which I thought was cool. The role of religion is pretty significant in this book, and I liked seeing this theme.Overall, I liked the book. I didn't love it, and it's not a new favorite or anything, but I liked it. It's a good debut and I definitely want to see more from this author in the future!What I Did Not Like:I feel like some aspects of this book weren't all that well-written. For one, Les falls for Lea super quickly - his feelings become apparent really fast. It's not quite insta-love since Lea doesn't fall for him very quickly, but Les reminded me of a puppy a bit, in Les and Lea's first couple of interactions. I'm fairly certain this book is a standalone, which bothers me a bit because I would have liked a slightly more resolved ending. Don't get me wrong, most of the major aspects - if not all - are resolved; but there were one or two smaller ones that weren't (which I can't say without spoiling anything). Unless there is another novel in the series that hasn't been announced, I'm not *quite* satisfied with this book's end! It was very happy, but I wanted a few more tiny details!There were some points in this book when I was reading and I thought to myself, yup, debut author. Some parts just seemed very cliche or poorly written, or badly worded or structured. Not a huge deal but I remember thinking this several times while reading. So, not a perfectly sound story, but still a good one, in my opinion.Would I Recommend It:I'd recommend this book to fantasy fans. It's not the most thrilling and amazing and to-do-for fantasy novel out there, but it's a good read. I liked it, and it was fairly unique. Not one that I'd probably return to, but I see others enjoying this book like I did. I wish the publisher would stop playing up the Romeo and Juliet thing though - especially when the synopsis clearly states a rift between Lea and Val. Smh.Rating:3.5 stars -> rounded up to 4 stars. I'm feeling slightly generous, I think. I liked this book! It was worth the read. Also, the cover is great! Nicely done, HarperTeen.

This review is also posted on my blog, Anatea's Bookshelf. When I read the description of Assassin's Heart I immediately knew that I just have to read this one. The plot sounded so interesting and I just couldn't help myself, so I went ahead and downloaded it from Edelweiss. The sole premise: "With shades of The Godfather and Romeo and Juliet", told me I can't skip on this one. I really love The Godfather theme. Anything that relates to mafia intrigues me, and I always find books like that interesting because there is not much of them. Add to it the forbidden romance of Romeo & Julia - which is my favorite kind of romance - and you not only have me interested, you have me adding this book at the top of my TBR because I know I have to read it right away. And we shouldn't forget the whole assassinations on which the book is based. WIN!Lea, short for Oleander, is a clipper - assassin in a modern world. She is a member of the most influential Family which ranks #1 out of 9 clipper families. They clip in the city of Ravenna, a territory which they share with their rival Family ranked #2, Da Vias. For Lea, the rivalry is not that important, as she is seeing Da Vias son Val. But still, Family comes before family. When one night she wakes up in the middle of night to find out that their home has been discovered and that they are under the attack, she tries to save the members of her Family that are still alive, but with no success. At last, she is the only live Saldana and she only has one task before her. To get revenge and kill all the Da Vias.The author - Sarah Ahiers - did a fantastic job with world building. It is amazing how smoothly she incorporated the setting, history, religion and the little facts of the world together. The setting and the whole kingdom of Lovero reminded me of Italy so much. In my mind, I saw Yvain as Venice and Ravenna as maybe Florence or Milan. Everything was described in so many details that I wished I could live there, minus the whole clippers thing. Religion played a big role in Assassin's Heart. Clipping is done to honor the Goddess of Ravenna who grants the killed people a new life and protects the city of evil things that lurk outside the city walls. I know that probably some people will have a problem with justifying killing like a good deed, but I just look at it as a way it's done there - like our world doesn't exist. [This paragraph contains some mild spoilers.] I loved Lea as our protagonist. She was a strong character and even if her whole world has just been shattered, she found a way to cope with it all - revenge. That was the only thing on her mind. How to survive and kill all the Da Vias. I mean, her boyfriend, assumably betrayed her to kill her and her family. She was alone with no one to turn to until she met Les, our real love interest. Even though it may seem like there is a love triangle in this book, there isn't one. Val was out of the game as soon as the Saldanas were killed. I am probably the only person who will think this, but I really hoped things with Val would turn out differently and Lea will be able to patch things up with him, but yeah. The author went in totally another direction, which I did like in its own way, I just think I would prefer the one I planned out in my own head. Les was sweet and sometimes clumsy, but he is still very dear to me.Assassin's Heart is so far my favorite read of 2016. I love it when my fantasy books have fast pace from start to finish and there are no slow beginning or slow middle parts. In Assassin's Heart we have fast pace throughout the whole book. Some people were afraid that this book will be similar to Throne of Glass, and while I am happy it isn't, I am sure you will probably enjoy this one if you enjoyed Throne of Glass. Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

I really enjoyed this book! It's a wonderful fantasy adventure set in a lush, interesting world full of imaginative politics, religions, ghosts, traditions, and social structures. I love the Lea, the main character, and I was thoroughly engaged enough by her anger, her grief, and her determination to go along for the ride. She changes and grows over the course of the book, as she meets people and travels outside her beloved home city and is faced with reality of a future unlike any she had ever imagined. I would love to see more of Lea's story and this beautiful world.Speaking of people she meets: Les is an absolute darling and I want to steal him for my very own. (I read an advanced reader copy of this book.)

The Assassin’s Heart is hands down one of the most exciting debuts I’ve come across in ages. The fast pacing leaves very little time to breathe, but with such an exciting story in hands, breathing becomes secondary anyway, and all you care about is the fate of the characters. Sarah Ahiers has an excellent sense of her characters and knows just what to do to keep us at the edge of our seats. I loved several things about her debut, but more than anything, I loved how it enveloped me completely, to the point where I refused to go to bed until I finished it.Lea is an assassin for the Saldanas, one of nine prestigious assassin Families in the kingdom of Lovero. With the law of the kingdom and the goddess of death behind her, she kills quickly and efficiently to earn money for her Family and to keep them in their goddess’ good graces. Her Family is the strongest of the nine, with only one serious rival – the Da Vias. Being in love with Valentino Da Via, Lea hopes for the impossible, a resolution of their conflict and a marriage. But her world comes crashing down in fire and betrayal, and pretty soon she’s all alone, with neither money nor status to keep her alive. Although the Assassin’s Heart is exciting from start to finish, it’s certainly not without its flaws. On the contrary, it has many. Some of the things about Ahiers’ world made little sense and the social structure required a major suspension of disbelief. It made no sense that people could pay an assassin legally to kill someone over petty grievances. With so many assassins working in such a small country, there would be no people left in a matter of months. I’ve also noticed how often in YA characters that are described as competent and practically invincible in the beginning turn out to be less than capable as the story progresses. At the beginning, Lea was presented as one of the best clippers (assassins) not just in her family, but in all the rest as well. The more challenges she faced, the more it became clear that she’s really just a girl, and she herself used the word sloppy to describer her actions on several occasions. I can understand characters losing when facing overwhelming odds, but to have them lose repeatedly because of sheer stupidity really grates on my nerves.Nevertheless, I found myself enjoying Lea’s story even when she racing toward another stupid mistake. I liked her determination and those occasional bursts of wisdom that made me want to get to know her better. I also truly enjoyed all her companions along the way, including her grumpy, long lost uncle. According to Goodreads, we should be getting a sequel eventually (although I’ve found no mention of it elsewhere). Be that as it may, this book functions perfectly as a standalone with its beautiful story arc and a more than satisfying ending. While I’m hoping for a sequel, and a very good one at that, I feel great about where we’ve left these characters.

This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight Ah, the kind of book a mini-review was made for! You know the kind- spoilery stuff happens within the first like, 20% of the book making it nearly impossible to tell you anything else about the book? Yep, this is that stuff!I wasn't sure about it at first, to be honest. The beginning was a little "meh" for me- not for very long, mind you, but the very beginning was a bit underwhelming, even with assassining. ("Assassining" should absolutely be a word by the way, and I am adding it to my dictionary.)I was kind of nervous about the whole mafia-themed assassins storyline would be really unbelievable, but the way it was presented made it really work in the story. I accepted the premise behind it, so that was good. I can't say much (seriously, this may be the most impossible review to write ever), so I will just give you the vaguest bare minimum of things I liked a great deal: Lea is a fabulous protagonist. Coming from her background, you know she is going to be tough on the outside, but she grows a lot on the inside too during the book. There are a lot of other characters who were very well done. No matter if I loved them or hated them (and there were characters that I really hated), there were feelings involved. And, their motives made sense and fit with their characters. There were some fabulous themes running throughout the book. The one that was my favorite, and that I can definitely mention, is family, and how important it is. The negative? Well, there were some points where I felt that things were getting a bit drawn out and repetitive. Like, we get it, you hate those guys. Let's move along now. But luckily it did move along, and I was pleased with the story as a whole. Bottom Line: Definitely a win for me. I enjoyed the characters, plot, and world building, and I am very excited to see what happens in the next book in the series.

I'm a sucker for a good star crossed lovers romance. Add in a family filled with deadly assassins all fighting to be top dog and you have one read that I just couldn't resist. And while this wasn't quite the star crossed Romeo and Juliet lover's story the synopsis promised, this was the assassin story that I was hoping it would be and I found myself caught up in it before I even knew it.This was such a fun read. It wasn't anything too special or mind blowing but it was well written and just plain entertaining and sometimes, that it is all that matters. From the medieval Romeo and Juliet feel, to the adventure and action around every bend this novel was fast paced, quick, and flowed together nicely and best of all was a stand alone that left me feeling quite satisfied when it was all over. It truly was something spunky and fun in the genre and I'm so glad I took a chance and read it and am truly looking forward to whatever the author puts out next.*ARC copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

Istyria book blog ~ B's world of enchanted books4.5 starsWhew, that was quite a ride! Celaena, Cinder, Scarlet, Alina, Yukiko & others have a new friend to join their club of kickass heroines! Please welcome the awesome Oleander "Lea" Saldana, everyone! For reals, the girl can kick some ass. And who

Nicely written with decent world building and a female protagonist who really knows how to win in a fight...well, she is a professional killer after all. Lea Saldana is a clipper, or professional assassin, in a family of assassins, living in a country where the patron goddess is Safraella, goddess of death, rebirth and resurrection.After her entire family is killed, Lea becomes obsessed with the idea of avenging them, and accepts she will likely die in the process. However, she soon learns that there are other things that may make her life worth living. I liked the redemption angle, and even if it wasn't completely original, it was still enjoyable, and that's what counts.

Ahiers has created a fresh new fantasy world in ASSASSIN'S HEART, one that gives fantasy fans a lot to love. Lea Saldana is a daughter of the Saldana Family, one of the many assassin's Families that reside in Lovero. These Families take lives in service of Safraella, the goddess of death and resurrection, and the Saldanas are the top Family. When Lea's Family is brutally slaughtered by the next ranking Family, the Da Vias, Lea's world flips. No longer does she enjoy the privilege of Family status--instead, she's focused on one thing: revenge.What makes this story so interesting is that murder and death are not the moral questions readers will linger over. Instead, in this world death and ghosts and gods mix in an organic way, and assassins become heroes. We cheer for Lea as she struggles to put her life back together, whether that means processing the guilt of having had a relationship with one of the Da Via boys, fighting against ghosts in the dead plains, or struggling in her for new allies.The action ranges far and wide, but always circles back to the central themes of loyalty and family: in the end, those are the only allegiances that matter.(I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.)

I am blessed to have read this in several early drafts, and I love love love the world-building in this book. Sarah has a tremendous, rich imagination and you will feel like you are IN this original world she has created. The characters ring true and real. I highly recommend!

This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction AddictionThis is one of those times when I’m actually glad I went into the book relatively cold – I had just barely perused some reviews of the book well before I read it and didn’t read the blurb right before I started reading. So, I had NO idea what was going to happen, and I appreciated that. Having said that, in order to review the book, I have to at least mention details that were in the blurb, so if you’re planning on reading this one soon and like to be surprised, you might want to just skim my bullet points and skip right to my final thoughts!What Fed My Addiction:Love or not? I loved that this was one of those books where you truly weren’t sure whether the love interest was guilty or not. When Lea’s family is killed, all signs point to her boyfriend having betrayed her, but there’s some definite doubt woven in as well. Is it a coincidence? If not, did Val willingly betray Lea or was it all some sort of mistake? Was he being used or was he an actual participant in the betrayal? I loved these kind of questions and was actually pretty thrilled with the conclusions.Lea. In general, I was a big fan of Lea and empathized with her and the really horrible situation she was in. My connection to the characters in this book is definitely what kept me turning the pages. Lea had some shortcomings for sure (for a master assassin, she kind of made a lot of rookie mistakes), but I connected with her so I was willing to forgive when she did something a little dumb. For me, this is the sign of a skilled author because I didn’t always agree with Lea’s actions or even her motives, but Ahiers still had me wrapped up in her enough that I wanted to see her succeed.The romance. I actually don’t want to say much about this at all except that I was a huge fan of where the romance went.What Left Me Wanting More:Questionable morality. Okay, the one thing that really kind of marred this book for me was the lack of logic behind the moral code. Lea and her family were part of an assassin family – as far as I could tell, anyone was allowed to pay for their services and have someone killed. It’s not like they were only killing really horrible people who definitely deserved it. I mean, the implication was that only people who had done something really wrong would end up being targeted, but there were no rules around this or true limits beyond the fear of retribution. The implication was that this was okay because the assassinations were worship to their god, but I didn’t see how that made it all that much better. It just made me think not as highly of their god. THEN when Lea’s family is killed it’s SO horrible – because somehow it’s not done in honor of their god but out of greed. But I just didn’t see how the other deaths that were bought couldn’t be done out of greed too, so I felt like it was a bit hypocritical to complain about it. (By the way, this was addressed in the book, but the explanation didn’t make enough sense to me to assuage my misgivings.) Still, I did just kind of let this go for the most part and told myself that this was a part of their religion I just couldn’t understand, and I went with it. If I’d dwelled on it too much, it probably would have bothered me a lot more.So, if you can look beyond the somewhat conflicting moral messages in this book and just enjoy the ride, then you’ll be very pleased. I appreciated the intriguing society that Ahiers created (even when I wasn’t sure I agreed with all its rules) and I was strongly connected to the characters. Overall, I give this one 4/5 stars.***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***