The Assassin and the Empire

Throne of Glass #0.5

by Sarah J. Maas

Celaena Sardothien is the assassin with everything: a place to call her own, the love of handsome Sam, and, best of all, freedom. But Celaena won't be truly free until she is far away from her old master, Arobynn Hamel - so she and Sam decide to take one last daring assignment that will liberate them forever. And that's how Celaena learns that having everything... means everything can be taken away.

This fourth e-novella gives readers an inside look at the characters who appear in the full-length novel THRONE OF GLASS. Don't miss it!

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Novella, Short Stories, Fiction, High Fantasy

94 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 20, 2012

About the author

Sarah J. Maas is the #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author of the Crescent City, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and the Throne of Glass series. Her books have sold more than twelve million copies and are published in thirty-seven languages. A New York native, Sarah lives in Philadelphia with her husband, son, and dog. To find out more, visit sarahjmaas.com or follow @therealsjmaas on Instagram.

Reviews

[~Calliope~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

"She didn’t want to go out into a world where he didn’t exist. So she watched the light shift and change, and let the world pass by without her."

“My name is Celaena Sardothien,” she whispered, “ and I will not be afraid .”

[Ben Alderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried ALOT

[Isa Cantos (Crónicas de una Merodeadora) · Rating 5 out of 5]

"She was fire, she was darkness, she was dust and blood and shadow".

Sarah J. Maas lo hizo de nuevo. Incluso siendo esto una precuela a Trono de Cristal, e incluso sabiendo qué pasaba desde antes, esta mujer logra arrancarnos el corazón y hacerlo trizas.

Celaena y Sam han pagado la deuda que tenían con Arobynn Hamel y ahora viven juntos y fuera de la Assassin's Guild. Sin embargo, ahora tienen poquísimo dinero y con la idea loca de Sam de irse del continente para ya nunca volver a estar al alcance del Rey de los Asesinos, ambos tendrán que recolectar aún más dinero para pagarle a Hamel su cuota de partida y que los deje en paz para siempre. Así, Sam consigue un trabajo para los dos, un trabajo imposible, un trabajo que ni la Assassin's Guild pensaría nunca en aceptar: matar a Rourke Farran y a Ioan Jayne, los dos grandes Lords del Crimen de Rifthold.

Y... bueno, ya todos sabemos cómo empieza Throne of Glass, por qué Celaena terminó en los Campos de Endovier, a quién perdió y quién la traicionó. Pero, a pesar de saber todo esto, el enterarnos de cómo sucedió, de las emociones que estuvieron en juego, de la angustia que sintieron los personajes en cada momento... joder, te destroza. Sobre todo porque ni Sam ni Celaena sabían que estaban caminando directo a una trampa. Duele porque la frialdad que demuestra Arobynn Hamel te deja congelado en tu sitio, te hace odiarlo profundamente y te hace desear que tenga una muerte tan horrible como la de Sam. ¡Qué digo tan horrible! Una muerte peor, más lenta.

El momento en el que todo empieza a salir mal y Celaena se da cuenta de que algo no funcionaba bien es tremendo. La manera en la que Sarah J. Maas describe el tiempo, la espera, la incertidumbre y la impotencia te hiela todo. Luego llega el contraste de la ira cegadora de Celaena, el momento en el que todo se ve rojo y ella no sabe que está yendo directo hacia su perdición, hacia todo lo que la terminó llevando a Endovier. Este relato es, ciertamente, una montaña rusa de sentimientos.

He leído muchísimas escenas de pérdida, de muertes trágicas y de corazones rotos, pero nunca había leído algo tan crudo como cuando Celaena entiende que Sam está muerto, cuando ve su cuerpo, su cara destrozada, sus manos frías. Es una escena que lleva en ella todo el poder de las emociones, del shock, del amor, de la pérdida y del hambre de venganza. De la perdición.

En The Assassin and the Empire algo en Celaena se quiebra y queda destrozado para siempre, pero al mismo tiempo una llama de venganza y de rabia se enciende dentro de ella. Y esa pasión, esa promesa de retribución por todo lo que sufrió a manos del Imperio, a manos de Arobynn Hamel, es lo que la impulsará a sobrevivir a Endovier, a seguir siendo fuerte y a no olvidar que:

"I am Celaena Sarsothien... and I will not be afraid".

[Pearl Angeli · Rating 5 out of 5]

“My name is Celaena Sardothien, and I will not be afraid.”

This novella was too much for me to take. I knew it was coming but still, it left me utterly unprepared for what happened to Celaena and Sam. It was just so heartbreaking and painful. Everything was brutal I’m so surprised to find myself being able to handle it without breaking my heart into tiny bits of pieces.

I’ve read Throne of Glass prior to reading this and now everything already made a perfect sense. What happened to Celaena was so unbearable. Now I understand why it was hard for her to keep herself together whenever she remembers her past, especially the part where she was betrayed by someone she couldn’t point out.

After reading this novella, I felt the rage Celeana endured and the need to find justice and revenge. I also felt hopeful that somehow Celaena will be able to avenge herself and Sam. Despite the horrible things that happened to her in this novella, everything was perfectly executed by Sarah J. Maas. I couldn’t stop myself admiring her writing style that can absolutely carry me away and basically steal my heart and wrap myself with so many emotions.

Rating: 5 Stars

[Imme [hiatus] van Gorp · Rating 3 out of 5]

|| 3.0 stars ||

We finally got the climax we have been waiting for since the very beginning of these novellas. And, although I thought it was good, I had expected more from it.

When it comes to Sam (and Celaena’s relationship with him), I must admit that I am simply not very impressed. I failed to see them really connect, and I am certain that their relationship could have had its much needed depth if only the author had put a little more time and effort into their interactions.
Therefore, the emotional turmoil of this novella did not reach its full potential for me, merely because I did not feel that deep connection to Sam. Whereas I could have been heartbroken on Celaena’s behalf, right now I wasn’t really.

Arobynn and his relationship with Calaena, however, I do find incredibly interesting. I still have no clue what is going through this man’s mind exactly, but I do know he scares and intrigues me. I feel so much hatred for this man, but I also want to know more.
I cannot wait to eventually witness a showdown between Arobynn and Celaena, and I am so desperate to find out how Celaena will react to the reveal of his ultimate betrayal. It has the potential to be so so so good!

But honestly, the way that everything happened in this novella was very… stupid. Seriously, it was like Sam and Celaena never stopped to think about their actions this time around because they genuinely did a lot of dumb things here:
Why did Sam have to go kill Rourke on his own? Why did Celaena let him? Why was she not peeved by Arobynn knowing of their plans? It was so ridiculously stupid. The fact that Celaena did not see the second betrayal coming I can excuse because she was clouded by grief, but in all honesty, that was extremely stupid too.

In all fairness though, I’m sure this whole novella would have hit a lot harder emotionally if I had not already known what would happen due to having read the first three books previously. Thus, I can’t really speak on behalf of what the reading experience would be like for people who start the series by first reading these novellas. Which, by the way, is not something I would recommend doing because I think the novellas will feel much more important if you already know Celeana and her world beforehand.

All in all, I thought this particular novella was something we all needed to get a better grip on Celaena’s backstory, but I personally feel like it could have been done better in certain areas.



'Throne of Glass' series:
1. Throne of Glass - 4.0 stars
2. Crown of Midnight - 4.5 stars
3. Heir of Fire - 4.0 stars
4. Queen of Shadows - 3.5 stars
5. Empire of Storms - 3.0 stars

Novellas:
0.1. The Assassin and the Pirate Lord - 2.5 stars
0.2. The Assassin and the Healer - 3.5 stars
0.3. The Assassin and the Desert - 4.0 stars
0.4. The Assassin and the Underworld - 3.5 stars
0.5. The Assassin and the Empire - 3.0 stars

[♥ℂĦℝΪՖƬΪℕÅ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 STAR'S

“She didn't want to go out into a world where he didn't exist. So she watched the light shift and change, and let the world pass by without her.”

Wow, this was another awesome and final novella in the Throne of Glass series. I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Assassin and the Empire very very much :) It was addicting and I couldn't read it fast enough. I love all the sweet moments in Celaena's apartment with Sam. Sam is quite the catch and there is no way in hell you can't fall in love with the guy. And even though I knew it was coming it did absolutely nothing to soften the BLOW to my heart! The ending was one of the saddest damn endings I've read in this series and I don't know how I'll ever recover. I'm broken and even kinda mad at this point. Even if you know what Sam's fate is going to be before this it's obvious that the mission is gonna be a complete and utter failure, also even before you learn of the setup. But still, I really wished this could have had a different outcome and at the same time if this didn't happen I wouldn't have Rowan and well... I just wouldn't be cool with that. Anyways I love all the action and even though this left a gaping hole in my chest it's still one of my favorites and therefore it's also a must-read.

“She would tuck Sam into her heart, a bright light for her to take out whenever things were darkest. And then she would remember how it had felt to be loved, when the world had held nothing but possibility. No matter what they did to her, they could never take that away.”

“My name is Celaena Sardothien,” she whispered, “and I will not be afraid.”

[Alana · Rating 4 out of 5]

FOUR STARS BECAUSE MY HEART IS NO LONGER A PART OF MY BODY AND I AM HOPELESSLY DEAD INSIDE.

Originally I said I have so much to say about this book when I finished it in June, its now August and I have nothing to say. I'm still dead inside.

SAM DESERVED BETTER
I WILL NEVER GET OVER THIS!

Instead of reviewing this let me just leave you some gifs on how I felt while reading/still feel after reading this heartbreaker of a story.

“Tell me your deepest secret," she said softly...
After a long moment, he spoke. "The only secret I've borne my entire life is that I love you." He gave her a slight smile. "It was the one thing I believed I'd go to the grave without voicing." His eyes were so full of light that their loveliness almost stopped her heart.”



“This was some dream, or she had gone to hell after all, because she couldn't exist in the world where this had been done to him, where she paced like an idiot all night while he suffered, while Farran tortured him, while he ripped out his eyes and--
Celaena vomited on the floor.
Footsteps, then Arobynn's hands were on her shoulder, on her waist, pulling her away.
He was dead.
Sam was dead.”




No one will ever replace the hole in my heart that is Sam Cortland.

[Ahmad Sharabiani · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Assassin and the Empire (Throne of Glass, #0.5), Sarah J. Maas

This fourth fantastic e-novella gives readers an inside look at the characters who appear in the full-length novel Throne of Glass.

Celaena Sardothien is the assassin with everything: a place to call her own, the love of handsome Sam, and, best of all, freedom.

But Celaena won't be truly free until she is far away from her old master, Arobynn Hamel - so she and Sam decide to take one last daring assignment that will liberate them forever. ...

"Celaena Sardothien had been waiting for this night for the past year. Sitting on the wooden walkway tucked into the side of the gilded dome of the Royal Theater, she breathed in the music rising from the orchestra far below. Her legs dangled from the railing edge, and she leaned forward to rest her cheek on her folded arms."

https://allnovel.net/the-assassin-and...

تاریخ نخستین خوانش

عنوان: حشاشین و امپراتوری؛ داستان 0.5 از سری تخت شیشه ای؛ موضوع داستانکهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده 21م

نقل از آغاز متن: («سلنا ساردوثین» طی یکسال گذشته، منتظر این شب بود؛ نشسته بر روی راهروی چوبی که در کنار گنبد طلاکاری شده ی تئاتر سلطنتی فرو رفته بود، موسیقی را که از ارکستر بسیار پایین میآمد، نفس میکشید؛ پاهایش از لبه ی نرده آویزان شد، و به جلو خم شد، تا گونه ی خود را روی دستهای تا شده اش قرار دهد؛ و ...)؛ پایان نقل

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 25/02/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

[☆ Annie ☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the stars and all the tears...

[☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lavender soap. Such a tiny but heart-rending detail.
Q:
The body still smelled faintly like Sam. And like the cheap soap she’d made him use, because she was so selfish that she couldn’t let him have her lavender soap. (c)

An essay on the consequences of misplaced trust and Electra complex and lack of readiness to face the treacherous world. An interesting combo to ponder.

PS. Well, they should have ran. Regardless of libraries, perfumes, hot water, secrets and other rickrack. Hindsight, 20/20.

Q:
The word was just another weapon. (c)
Q:
She was … responsible for him now. And that was terrifying. (c)
Q:
He was hers. This magnificent, powerful creature was hers. (c)
Q:
“Whenever I’m scared out of my wits, I tell myself: My name is Sam Cortland … and I will not be afraid. I’ve been doing it for years. ”...
“Maybe I should try your little trick.” She took another breath. “My name is Celaena Sardothien, and I will not be afraid.” ...
“I think you have to say it with a bit more conviction than that.” (с)
Q:
then he surprised Celaena once by going into a bookshop—not to threaten the owner or collect dues, but to buy books.
She’d hated that, for some reason. Especially when, despite Sam’s protests, she’d quickly snuck in while the bookseller was in the back and spied the receipt ledger behind the desk. Farran hadn’t bought books about torture or death or anything wicked. Oh, no. They’d been adventure novels. Novels that she had read and enjoyed. The idea of Farran reading them too felt like a violation, somehow. (c)
Q:
She wondered if it was better to wind up as a slave here, or a prisoner in a brutal labor camp like Endovier. Both seemed like similar versions of a living hell. (c) Nice touch with foreshadowing.
Q:
But this place is designed like a death trap, and I’ve no desire to make my final stand here, or right now. (с)
Q:
Sam would never be like Farran. He’d never be like her, either. She sometimes wondered if he knew just how dark she could turn. (c)
Q:
We know how to do it, but we don’t enjoy it. That’s the difference. ...
“When we die, do you think we’ll be punished for the things we’ve done?”...
“When we die, ... I don’t think the gods will even know what to do with us.” (c)
Q:
There was no end to this silence. There would never be an end, only this beginning. (c)
Q:
...she’d stop at nothing to find him. And then she’d slaughter them all. (c)
Q:
Reality opened wide and swallowed her whole. ...
She didn’t want to go out into a world where he didn’t exist. So she watched the light shift and change, and let the world pass by without her. (c)
Q:
She was fire, she was darkness, she was dust and blood and shadow. (c)
Q:
When the roaring silence came to claim her again, Celaena walked into it with open arms. (c)
Q:
“Whatever gutter you grew up in, Farran, it must have been an unparalleled sort of hell.” ...
“You have no idea.” ...
“Why did you do it?” ...
“Because I don’t like sharing my belongings.” (c)
Q:
Pine and snow and lazy, golden summers—a city of light and music in the shadow of the Staghorn Mountains. ...
The breeze grew into a wind, and she closed her eyes, letting it sweep away the ashes of that dead world—of that dead girl. And then there was nothing left except something new, something still glowing red from the forging. ...
She would go into Endovier. Go into Hell. And she would not crumble. ...
She had not stopped breathing yet, and she had endured Sam’s death and evaded the king’s execution. She would survive this. ...
She would tuck Sam into her heart, a bright light for her to take out whenever things were darkest. And then she would remember how it had felt to be loved, when the world had held nothing but possibility. No matter what they did to her, they could never take that away.
She would not break. (c)
Q:

[P · Rating 3 out of 5]

“She didn't want to go out into a world where he didn't exist. So she watched the light shift and change, and let the world pass by without her.”

The tension built up since The Assassin and the Underworld. I read this book with a shaking heart even if I knew that the ending was not that bad, I still shocked when I was on the last page. Sam and Calaene take a new mission, which is abnormally hard for every assassion. Yet she thinks she can do it, and that will gain lots of money and it's enough for them to start their new lives.

Arobynn is a treacherous bastard since the first book. His scheme is not perfect but tricky enough to lure Celaena in. Sam, on the other hand, is tremendously changed. I had no idea why he was so different, but indeed he was.

The ending literally tore my apart, but I was glad that it ended like this.

“When we die," she said, "I don't think the gods will even know what to do with us.”

[♥ Rebecca ♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so angry right now I dont even know if I wanna read Throne of Glass any more. But the reason I read all these shorts this week is because I ordered it from my library and it will be here soon. But I dont think I could even stomach reading it right now. I am not just sad, I am angry. Almost seething. I usually avoid gifs because I like to write proper reviews, but I am too angry to write so...










That was me, literally. I took a shower to help me feel better. It didnt help.

[Mikee (ReadWithMikee) · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was pretty heartbreaking. :/ But at the same time I felt like everything could've been prevented. You don't have to even know Sam's fate to see that their mission was going to be a complete failure.

Farran was supposedly Celaena's equal. No offense to Sam and all, but considering how she's considered Adarlan's Assassin, he doesn't even come close to how lethal Celaena supposedly is. Sam was already dead the second he decided that he didn't want Celaena's help to take out Farran. Hate to say it, but that's the truth. :(

[Lucie V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

My heart is broken. 💔 😭

I am not okay. Not at all. I am sobbing right now. 😭😭😭

“Tell me your deepest secret," she said softly...
After a long moment, he spoke. "The only secret I've borne my entire life is that I love you." He gave her a slight smile. "It was the one thing I believed I'd go to the grave without voicing." His eyes were so full of light that their loveliness almost stopped her heart.”

"She didn’t want to go out into a world where he didn’t exist. So she watched the light shift and change, and let the world pass by without her."

“This was some dream, or she had gone to hell after all, because she couldn't exist in the world where this had been done to him, where she paced like an idiot all night while he suffered, while Farran tortured him, while he ripped out his eyes and--
Celaena vomited on the floor.
Footsteps, then Arobynn's hands were on her shoulder, on her waist, pulling her away.
He was dead.
Sam was dead.”

“My name is Celaena Sardothien,” she whispered, “ and I will not be afraid .”

Wow, I never thought that I could go through such intense emotions while reading a novella.

I will just go back to my crying now. 😭


The Assassin and the Pirate Lord ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Assassin and the Healer ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Assassin and the Desert ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Assassin and the Underworld ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐




Fanarts by Kat Adara, CJ Merwild and Madschofield


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[Lia Carstairs · Rating 5 out of 5]

"My name is Sam Cortland ... and I will not be afraid."

“My name is Celaena Sardothien,” she whispered, “and I will not be afraid.”

ADJSHJDKLFSFBH I AM DEAD THAT WAS CRUEL SJM I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU
FARRON-🤬🤬🤬
AROBYNN-🤬🤬🤬
Wesley...he tried...😭🥺

MY HEART I CANT TAKE ANYMORE PAIN😭😭😭

[Alz · Rating 1 out of 5]

A little novella in which nothing happens except things that Celaena could have avoided if she hadn't been so incredibly blindly stupid. She underwent no character growth, faced no real challenges except trumped-up excuses for plot, and acted so frivolous that it's no surprise that she ends up where she does.

For another thing, aspects of this book are way, way too modern--and I mean yes, this IS fantasy and all, but when it's set in Ye Elde Generic Fantasyland, I find it a bit much for her to have an apartment that has a fully-stocked kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and living room with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, running water, etc. And when discussion arises about moving away from Rifthold, they talk about moving with just the basics in luggage and having everything else shipped to them, and how they can just sell the apartment while they're away by...apparently writing letters to some kind of broker.

But back to the lack of plot and Celaena's stupidity. 100% of everything bad that happens in this book could have been avoided if Celaena had either bothered to listen to other people or just stopped spending their rapidly decreasing amount of money on lavender soap and frilly designer outfits--especially since (as it's revealed at the beginning) she and Sam haven't been able to find work for a month and are running low on funds. Also, I couldn't stand how head-bangingly stupid she was RE: Arobynn, a man who (she is aware) has manipulated her all her life, beaten her unconscious as "punishment", deceived her and tricked her and humiliated her, used her for his own ends that she hated, etc. etc., and yet whom she still trusts and takes at face value despite all her "oh noes, I don't trust him, of course" talk.

I barely tolerated Celaena's stupidity for 3 novellas before this and now I just can't stand it, which is why this is a 1-star. While not as depressingly terrible as the previous novella, this one exists solely to get her thrown into the terrible straits where the novel begins--in other words, this novella is much more a plot device than a novella.

Even the emotional parts of this book felt lackluster and contrived, to the point where I was bored and rolling my eyes when Terrible Things happened. Everything was too rushed, Celaena's responses were either hyperbolically exaggerated or bizarrely nonsensical (i.e. how she nags Sam to stop fighting for prize money because omg he might get hurt when hey, Celaena, HE'S A FRICKING ASSASSIN AND CAN TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF AND YOU NEED MONEY BECAUSE YOU'RE BUYING EXPENSIVE PERFUMES AND FURNITURE ON A SHOESTRING BUDGET AND YOU DON'T BRING IN ANY MONEY AT ALL), and the final plot twists in the end were so incredibly obvious I was wondering if they were going to be something else because it was way too obvious but nope, that was it.

I really wanted to read Throne of Glass before but these novellas are seriously putting me off reading the novel. But because I am masochistic and I have nostalgic memories of reading Throne of Glass when it was on Fictionpress many years ago, when I was younger and less jaded and critical, I will probably read the novel anyway. And then gripe about it afterward.

[Monserrat Maxfield Markov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me dije: no te encariñes con Sam, sabes como termina.

Y véanme aquí sufriendo y llorando como una magdalena.






¡Quiero venganza Celaena! Me duela más como murió Sam, como lo dejaron...

Sam en cierto modo me recuerda a Chaol y creo que mi corazón ya tiene bando.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything hurts 😢... Throne of Glass I guess your next. 😣

[Rosaline (Rosaline's Rolls & Scrolls) · Rating 4 out of 5]

" “I can wait,” he said thickly, kissing her collarbone. “We have all the time in the world.” "

This book is written to torture the heart. Every word and sentence is that much more heartbreaking because you know what's going to happen! You know how this young couple's dream of peace and love is going to end!
I hate this book for what it did to my soul. And love it, because unlike other prequel short stories written to show events that happened before the first book in the series, this one actually has a purpose. It actually feels like an integral part of the series instead of a ploy to get more money by milking a series.

This book shattered my heart into a thousand pieces. But at the same time, it gave me a closer look at what Celaena had to endure to get to where she is and how she became who she is. And I loved and loved and loved it. I think after this a reread of the series is in order before I tackle the 6th book and torture my soul all over again.

"And then she would remember how it had felt to be loved, when the world had held nothing but possibility. No matter what they did to her, they could never take that away.
She would not break."

This series will forever be one of my favorites and I'm sure I will keep coming back for rereads as I undoubtedly forget many parts of it. The feeling and sensation of this book, however, will stay with me forever.

" “My name is Celaena Sardothien,” she whispered, “and I will not be afraid.” "

[Morsal✨️(BTS' version) [on a break] · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a heartbreaking novella! Sarah J Maas WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?! I don't know if I can ever recover from this novella. 😭😭😭😭

“𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑤𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑒, 𝑑𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑤𝑒’𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑝𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑤𝑒’𝑣𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒?”
[...]
“𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑤𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑒,” 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑, “𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑑𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑢𝑠.”

I swear to god I couldn't sleep the whole night. My heart, my soul, my everything hurt. AND I CAN SEE MORE HEARTBREAKING ARE COMING! We know Sarah J Maas too well.

“𝑇𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡,” 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑓𝑡𝑙𝑦. 𝑆𝑎𝑚’𝑠 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠 𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑑, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑢𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑎 𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑑𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑑. 𝐻𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑛 𝑎 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ ℎ𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑖𝑟, 𝑠𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑝 𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑑𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒𝑠. 𝐴𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑎 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡, ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑘𝑒. “𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡 𝐼’𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑟𝑛𝑒 𝑚𝑦 𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢.” 𝐻𝑒 𝑔𝑎𝑣𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑎 𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒. “𝐼𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐼 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝐼’𝑑 𝑔𝑜 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑔.”

Sam. Sam. Sam. Sam. Sam. Sam. Sam. Sam. Sam. Sam. Sam. Sam. Sam. Sam.

“𝑀𝑦 𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝐶𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑒𝑛𝑎 𝑆𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑒𝑛, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑑.”

Go, girl! You're my only hope! Give them what they deserve. My queen! Show them you're a badass! 💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽

𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒, 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠, 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑑𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑑𝑜𝑤.

[Monika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily, "The Assassin and the Empire" was my favorite of the four novellas. So emotional and the ending just kills me. Yea... from the description of the "Throne of Glass" you know how it ends. But step by step, you see what caused this situation. And you can not help but feel sorry for Celaena and for what she went through. And Sam? Read and find out! You won’t be disappointed.

[Kilikina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I KNEW THIS BOOK WOULD BE PAINFUL, BUT I DID NOT EXPECT IT TO RIP MY HEART OUT. WOW

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was certainly a heart-shattering story and Sam's death was unfathomably painful to me. The beginning of it was too dreamy to be true, the way Sam and Celaena believed in the possibility of leaving Rifthold and starting their new life without the control of either Arobynn Hamel or the Assassins' Guild; however, the ending was something entirely unexpected. Such a dramatic twist was hard to endure, honestly.

Although the killing scenes were bloody as usual, I think the Crime Lord of Rifthold was truly sadistic. Imagine a human being enjoying torturing his victims and playing with their corpses until they didn't have any blood to splatter. Farren disgusted me most, for his unmeasurable cruelty and extreme brutality, and his sick personality. And again, Celaena fell right into their(Arobynn and Farren's) little trap just like her last time. I felt pity for her but also secretly hoped that she'd listened to Wesley's warning or at least didn't allow Sam to dispatch the notorious Crime Lord. So many things/accidents would be avoided if she thought twice before she leaped. The story left me with a lot of what-ifs but I guess some are just...inevitable and her fate was doomed because of the ones who betrayed her could benefit most once she was gone.

Therefore, the last of the novellas was just the beginning of Celaena's suffering and it was surly not a happy ending. You know, everything has its price to pay and she's got to be responsible for all the lives she took during her notoriously proud "Adarlan's Assassin" moments. The reality will swallow her wholly and it's time for her to seek revenge face the music. But I know she's going to survive the so-called death camp, Endovier, because there'll always be a beloved person carved into her deepest mind and he'll still serve as a reminder for her to stay alive. I also believe that there's a possibility after all this mess is eliminated. As an old saying goes, Every cloud has a silver lining.

She would tuck Sam into her heart, a bright light for her to take out whenever things were darkest. And then she would remember how it had felt to be loved, when the world had held nothing but possibility. No matter what they did to her, they could never take that away.

I'll miss you forever, Sam Cortland.

[Wren (fablesandwren) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally I am getting around to reading the adventures of my dear Celaena Sardothien. LOWKEY, I kind of love the assassin more than the queen, but that doesn't mean that I don't love the queen.

I wanted to read it before I read Empire of Storms BUT I kind of got distracted with other books that were coming out around the same time. I am not a huge fan of novellas, but I do know that some of the characters introduced in the last book were first introduced in some of these novellas in The Assassin's Blade. And because I love Sarah J. Maas's story telling and her writing, I am going to go ahead and read these beauties.

So, with that said, I am going to read and rate these so I can finally be completely caught up on The Throne of Glass Series: Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, Heir of Fire, Queen of Shadows, Empire of Storms, and Tower of Dawn.

The Assassin and the Empire (Throne of Glass, #0.5)
Heart is ripped out and barely beating on the table in front of me.

This is absolutely horrible. Maas just wanted to make us sob for days.



Like I feel as if Aelin/Celaena should have brought down more hell than she did in the series. She is the fire-breathing QUEEN. Arobynn deserved what he got (in the books, not in the novellas which would just be a lot of money basically) and like a thousand times more.

You don't like sharing your things? Well Aelin should have showed you just how much of "your thing" she is. For the life of me.

On the other side of things, this is me every time I see Lysandra



Like she's pretty awful in these novellas but I still kind of love her.

I just can't bring myself to talk about this one. I'm sorry but really I'm not because if you can talk about what happened in this book you don't have a beating heart.

[Layla · Rating 4 out of 5]

~ 3.5 stars ~

It was a good read. I liked how the ending connects to the first book. But other then that, a bit disappointed at the execution of this certain novella and certain aspects and how they played out.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

#0.1) The Assassin and the Pirate Lord ★★★
#0.2) The Assassin and the Healer ★★
#0.3) The Assassin and the Desert ★★★★
#0.4) The Assassin and the Underworld ★★★★★
#0.5) The Assassin and the Empire ★★★
#1.) Throne of Glass ★★★
#2.) Crown of Midnight ★★★★
#3.) Heir of Fire ★★
#4.) Queen of Shadows ★★

I love all the scenes in Celaena and Sam's apartment. Oh, how I wish things in this story could have gone differently. We get to see all the filth that goes on in the Vaults, and, unfortunately, Sam is making money fighting there.

Sam wants to leave Rifthold very badly, and even though Celaena is unsure, she agrees. They pay Arobynn a huge sum of money to leave his assassin's guild, but Sam wants to finish one last mission on Rifthold before they leave the whole continent.

We've all read Throne of Glass, so we all know how this turns out. That doesn't make the events that take place any less heartbreaking.

That white stag though.



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[Cardan Greenbriar · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh dear no
they're not tears
i just have 2 huge tree barks in my eyes
STARTS WAILING

[Avani ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Welcome to the world 🌍

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Get it here:
Amazon US * Amazon UK

I'm officially hooked on this series and simultaneously cursing the girl that made me read these. I have a feeling I'm in for a lot more heartbreak once I get to the full novels.

[Zain Otoom · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Damn it, Celeana! It was so obvious!
Also, Arobynn, you've got some serious issues that you need to work out.