Yet another huge thanks to Netgalley for giving me this ARC sampler in exchange for an honest review. Without further ado, let’s get started. 

I was actually really excited about this sampler. After reading the description it sounded like my kind of story, however, I was kind of disappointed. It just wasn’t what I wanted from it. Now, the book might get better, I did only have the prologue and first three chapters, but from what I read, I wasn’t that impressed. 

Plot
A war rages between two kingdoms over powerful magic and dark scrolls containing secrets. With the war, a king dies, forcing his wife to take a blood oath with a guard to protect the kingdom and find the scrolls, making the guard and his son under the rule of the queen until the task is complete. 

Years later, Shadow, an eighteen-year-old girl who has her heart set on joining the royal Guild, stumbles upon the battlefield of the war. She hopes that one day, she may become an assassin like Caledon Holt, the son of the blood-oathed guard. 

Cal is known throughout the kingdom as the Guild’s most dangerous and deadly weapon. Bound by the Queen’s magic, he is unable to leave her rule until the tasks are fulfilled and the scrolls are found. 

After Shadow finds the battlefield of the war, she realizes that she is being followed and there is someone trying to kill her. Caledon steps in and finds her, murdering the man who was pursuing her. 

I was kind of enjoying this plot, but honestly, it wasn’t what I wanted from this book. Maybe it gets better, but after these three chapters, I expected a bit more. 

Characters
We mostly saw Shadow in these couple of chapters and she seemed like an averagely OK character. I mean, she wasn’t that interesting, but it was enough to make me finish it. She also seemed pretty dense. The only thing that concerned her was getting into the guild, and clearly, her relationship with her mother isn’t that great. Overall, her character was enough to keep me interested in these few chapters, but I don’t think I could have read an entire book with her. 

Setting
I don’t really have much to say about this setting yet. I feel like I need to explore the world a bit more, but from what I did see, I thought that the battlefield and wreckage was pretty cool. 

Writing
This writing was definitely not what I expected. There were a few informational blobs in the middle of the story and it was a bit hard to keep up at times, however, it kept me interested enough to read. I just don’t think that I could read the entire book like that. 

In Conclusion… 
Not what I was expecting and a little disappointed. It might get better as the book goes on, but I don’t think I’ll be reading the rest of it.

Disclaimer: I got this ARC from @NetGalley

I'm a huge Melissa de la Cruz fan and this did not disappoint me!

This books is going to be so good. I wish I could have read the whole thing. That was a bit of a let down. But looking forward to reading the rest.

Since I've been reading more ya fantasy this year, I was interested to see if this sampler would pull me on.

It took me a little bit to get into what was going on and it's tough to make any strong opinions with what we've read. 

I'm definitely intrigued with the characters and storyline, but not sure how I feel about the alternating 1st and 3rd narration.

Not quite high on my TBR, but plan to read it.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

*** SAMPLER COPY - NOT WHOLE BOOK ***.
The beginning of this book is amazing and has left me desperate to carry on reading the rest of the book. Such a fantastic introduction to the story that had me visualising the story like a movie! 
A great introduction and teaser of the characters in the book and lots of mystery and intrigue to grab your attention.
I really want to carry on reading this book as soon as it comes out!

I looooove this book. I read it first when i came out and fell in love with the story. I would recomend it to anyone

This was a fleeting look into the world of The Queen’s Assassin. Given that this was a chapter sampler, much of the time was spent on world-building and setting the scene. I would be interested in learning where the story goes from here! It seems like there will be an epic quest of some kind, with Shadow summoned back to her mother’s side. I’m curious as to how her relationship with Caledon will change with this new development. This book seems like it would be a fun adventure! The Queen’s Assassin is out now. Thank you to Melissa de la Cruz, Penguin Young Readers Group, and Netgalley for a free chapter sampler in exchange for honest feedback.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a sample of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book sample is pretty good! The author did a great job with the setting of this book, and I can't wait to get my hands on the full version of this book! I think the only issue I have (It's a big one) is the gigantic info dump in the beginning. It almost convinced me not to finish the rest of the sampler. I think that maybe the author could have spread that information out a bit. Overall, I enjoyed the rest of this sampler, and I'm still going to read the rest of the book cause I want to see how it ends.

This was my first experience with the author but when I read the blurb, The Queen’s Assassin sounded right up my street! 

It didn’t start off well for me, there was a big info-dump at the start that immediately had my eyes glazing over and my concentration wavering but I pushed on. 

The plot seemed interesting enough but the writing style irritated me, it was quite jarring to read. I’m not sure in this moment if I would read the full book or not, I’m quite torn. I’ve had experiences in the past where a story has taken me a few chapters to really get in to but then I’ve ended up loving it so I wouldn’t necessarily judge this book purely based on the few chapters I read. I think I’d definitely need to read a bit more to make my mind up. 

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This sampler was an interesting read. I've read some of this author's work before, but it  has been years and her writing style seems to have changed. It wasn't insanely gripping in the first few chapters, but it was interesting enough that I would like to continue. There is already indications of court intrigue, assassins (unsure of their complete job description yet), and secrets waiting to be released. It seems to have a quick start, and the story doesn't trudge through a ton of detail and world-building before getting to some of the action. The world seems to develop more with the story. I look forward to reading this, and probably the sequel that comes out in 2021. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Books for providing a copy of this eARC sampler for review.

It starts with an infodump that immediately tanked my interest.  It could do with some more showing and less telling. It was more interesting when the main character’s storyline picked up, but probably still not enough for me to read the whole thing.

I’m still not interested in reading this book after reading this sampler. So I guess  it did it’s job. Thank you very much

I love this author's work, and I was intrigued by the blurb and the book cover. The Queen's Assassin appears to be a YA fantasy with many elements well loved by readers of the genre. You immediately get sucked into the storyline right from the start. I'm  definitely looking forward to reading the rest of the novel. 

I would love to thank Melissa de la Cruz,  Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for the advance sneak peek at this book.

I loved having a sneak peak into the latest Melissa de la Cruz book!  I've recently read her Alex and Eliza trilogy which I really enjoyed so to get the chance at her new fantasy book was a dream!

As this was a sneak preview it left me wanting more!  The beginning sets the scene for what will be a wonderful fantasy story line with hints at a possible romance in the future...

I cant wait until the book is released to get stuck in and find out more!  This is sure to be a 5 star read to keep you hooked from the beginning

Yes, yes, yes! First time reading this author. Was attracted to the cover and it did not disappoint. Even though it was just an excerpt, I look forward to seeing how the Kingdom of Renovia develops,  I like King Esban and want to see how Queen Lilianna manages the kingdom and the promise she and Cordyn Holt made. I really enjoy the Aunts and want to hear more about them and Shadow and the Guild. Plus, I cant wait to see how Shadow plays into the story , what the Aphrasians want with her and who will get the Deian Scrolls. Eagerly awaiting it’s release. Will now go search for other books by this author.

I enjoyed the shifting POV's (first person and third person) in this sample.  It made the characters stand out and kept things lively.   However, I struggled my way through this sample.  

I think my issue was that this appears to be a very plot-driven story (from what I could tell in the sample) and I am more into character-driven stories.  

Thanks to Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for the advance sample of this book

Hmmmm, decent enough setup and character development in this sampler, but I just wasn't drawn in as quickly as I would have liked. Nothing stood out as too exceptional, but it could pick up where my sample left off. While I enjoy multiple perspectives in a book, I didn't like the shifting POVs - in 1st and 3rd person!

Thanks to Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for the advance sample of this book.

I would definitely buy this book when it comes out
Even though it was just a piece, I was sucked in with every sentence. 
I am  ot a big fan of firt person POV, but I will make an exception for this.

The Queen's Assassin is a promising YA fantasy with many elements readers of the genre will love. It starts out in an intriguing and immersive way and definitely makes me look forward to reading the rest of the novel. 
Many thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group and Net Galley for the advance look at this book.

This seems like a good book so far! Nothing particularly exceptional, but who knows after one excerpt. It seems pretty typical YA fantasy but I really don’t know after just a few chapters.