There are some minor spacing errors, but overall it's a great story. It has a very interesting plot and even more interesting characters. Would definitely recommend!!

The sampler was a bit hard to follow since it was just an intro into the book. I have read from this author before and have liked her writing.

I have to approach this review in two parts: the front matter, then chapter one and onward.

Were I not actually evaluating this, I would have put it down long before getting to chapter one. I have no problems with front matter or prologues, I read them all the time. But I found the history and prologue sections of the book nearly unreadable. Every page was packed with new names and places, making it just impossible for me to juggle all at once - not only that, but the writing style feels completely different from what you get in chapter one.

All that said, I was able to retain almost nothing from the front matter, and yet the book still made sense from chapter one. Which is problematic, because the thing that was written in such an off-putting way wasn't even necessary at all. Starting from chapter one I would say it's a decent start to a book, and while it didn't captivate me in a deep way, I would have pushed onward through at least another couple of chapters.

My rating is for chapter one onward, since I would have put it down otherwise.

First things first: this was a hundred times better than blue bloods. What a beautiful roller coaster this was. I loved the secrets, the chaos, the twists and turns. WHEN CAN I HAVE THE SEQUEL

I got to read the sampler for this book, and it left me wanting to know more! I can already tell that the main character, Shadow, is going to make things quite interesting with her rebellious side. Since it is only a “sampler” I have so many questions starting with Caledon Holt. He saved Shadows life while she was exploring in the woods far from her home. I’m left to wonder what he was doing out in the woods? Or was he the person/thing following her the whole time? Because I didn’t get to read further, I’m wondering if she is the possible heir he was sworn to protect and that is why he was following her through the woods? The last question I have is why do we only know her nickname and not her actual name? I have so many theories I’m going to have to find a way to get my hands on this book quick!

This is definitely an interesting start. I want to know more f the world history and how everything plays out.

You know a book is going to be good when the introduction has you hanging on the edge of your seat. I'm hooked and need to know what happens to Shadow!

Caledon Holt is the Queen's assassin. This responsibility was handed down to him from his own father and it is his sworn duty to find the Deian Scrolls.

Shadow has been training to become part of the Guild her whole life. While living with her aunts on a bee farm, she has learned many skills that are preparing her for this responsibility. What she wants most is to become an apprentice to Holt and serve the kingdom that way. Unfortunately, it is not her decision. When she runs away to pursue this desire, she encounters many obstacles and possibly growing feelings for the man she means to apprentice under.

A fantasy book that is good for fans of action and romance. Overall it was a good book. I wouldn't say I loved it, but I certainly enjoyed the story and will read the next in line!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. I got just a snippet and then went and found the book so I could get the whole story!

This sampler was amazing. It did a good job pulling me into the story. Unfortunately this was just a sampler and not the entire book... BUT this sampler makes me want to grab the book and read the entire story!

It was difficult to get into it and there were lots of things I didn't get, I suppose it is because I only got to read the first two chapters and it is all introduction. Even so, I would still like to read the book, it has something that drowns me to it.

I struggle with writing anything negative about a book if I haven't read it in its entirety, but this sampler fell flat for me. The prologue didn't draw me in, and I walked away lacking connection to any of the characters, even Shadow, whose chapters were told from first-person POV. The way this book is written didn't evoke an ounce of emotion from me, which I fully attribute to the amount of "telling" vs. "showing". While I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity to read this sampler, I won't be picking The Queen's Assassin up.

Note, there was a lot of weird formatting in the sampler. I'm not sure if the publisher did that to prevent plagiarism, but considering that it's only a couple of chapters from the book, the formatting issues were extremely frustrating as a reader.

I really had high hopes for this read and really wanted to enjoy it. While I have only read the sampler, I struggled with finding uniqueness in the premise.

I will definitely give it a second look once I have the entire book, in hopes that it will peak my interest later on.

Sounds pretty good from the thirty or so pages but I can’t really review off of that. Characters seemed developed and interesting, I’d definitely read the series.

As I was reading this sampler of Melissa de la Cruz’s The Queen’s Assassin I was thrust into a world of magic, kings and queens, and assassins. After a brief history of the world, we are introduced to Caledon Holt, the queen’s assassin, formerly the king’s assassin before his death in battle, who must make an impossible vow to the queen. He must find the Deian Scrolls, which is the source of all magical history and knowledge, that was stolen and presumed lost. He will have to team up with Shadow, who longs to be a part of the guild after being taught by her two aunts while her mother serves in the Queen’s court. The writing in this book was beautiful and really well depicts this world of danger and magic. I cannot wait to read the rest of it and be brought on Cal and Shadow’s secret and lie revealing journey to find the Deian Scrolls and hunt down a threat to the kingdom of Renovia.

There was a lot of explanations concerning the history and the set up of the story within this sampler. It felt a bit info-dumpy at times and it doesn't leave as much room for the author to introduce the characters. However, I do have to say that my interest was piqued and that I would like to read the full book one day !

This preview of The Queen's Assassin starts off with a war and just how Cal entered the blood promise. Years later, we meet Shadow who is traveling through the forest and stumbles upon something forbidden and meets Cal. I'm sorry for the lackluster review but the sample didn't give me much to work with. I wasn't captivated like I had hoped. I grew up reading Blue Bloods so I had high hopes for this series. Granted, I am fourteen years older and much more critical of novels than my preteen self. However, the characters didn't grab my attention. I didn't care much for them at all, despite their unfortunate backstories. Maybe once the full book is released, I'll try again but I don't have much anticipation.

First off, I only received the first few chapters to give me an idea...and supposedly hook me...about the novel's writing. So, this 'review' is going to be relatively pin-pointed and only based on a glimpse.
But what I saw didn't overly impress me or make me dislike it, either.

The tale starts out with enough action. There's a war going on, hints at dark secrets, danger, tension, and all sorts of those types of things. The writing is in first person and, from the technical side, done well enough. The thoughts from the characters run deep and do draw in. If I had the entire novel, I would have kept reading...and that's why I'm giving it 3-stars. Because to say it was not worth a read would be wrong. It is a tale to enjoy. I think.

But I can't say I was horribly hooked, either, and won't be picking up the book when it comes out because, despite those first chapters, I honestly didn't care about the characters enough to fever for them. Although written from the character point of view, there wasn't enough heart to really develop tons of empathy. The tale might get better as the story goes on...there was plenty of room for amazing moments to come, but just from my glance, I can assume it will be a good read, just not great.

I received several chapters through Netgalley and am leaving my honest thoughts.

I want to believe that the rest of the book is better and I will read it (sooner or later). However, this is the sample I'm reviewing and I didn't like it. The most important thing you have to know about this sneak peek is that it is all info-dump. Was it really necessary to have the explanation of the history of the kingdom all together in the prologue? Furthermore, it completely destroyed that little "surprise effect" that there might have been when the protagonist true identity is going to be revealed (I'm totally convinced they pulled a "Sleeping Beauty" on her and sent her living in the forest with the three "aunts" while in truth she is the princess, hidden for her protection... and seriously, I've had enough of princesses whose identity has been hidden for protection. I'm pretty sure she would not have risked her life like that and would have been a lot safer if she had known she was the princess.)
As I said, before, I will read the rest of the book, but not thanks to this sneak peek.

I read a lot by this author as a teen like I remember positively binging her Blue Bloods series in high school and waiting for each new installment to come out eagerly. It's because of that that I picked up this sampler. Her writing made me very nostalgiac for those days. I do think her writing is best for binging and perhaps a younger audience as I'm now a lot older but it was still an enjoyable sampler. i could definitely see me running through this very quickly as an audiobook but it might be a slower read than I used to do for her writing.

I love this snippet. I want to keep reading. It has all the makings of an immersive fantasy with fun characters and high stakes adventure. If this sounds like something you like, I highly recommend reading this sneak peak.