The Queen’s Assassin by Melissa de la Cruz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I really don’t know what to think of this book. I finished it almost a week ago and I can’t make up my mind how to rate and review it.
I mean, I liked it well enough to finish it and it didn’t feel like a chore and punishment to do so. You know how you sometimes force yourself to read through a book just for the sake of finishing it?
That was definitely not the case with this book.
But something felt missing. I’ll discuss the little things that have been nagging me as much as possible without giving anything away.
The protagonist was interesting enough with just the right amount of personal conflict to keep me interested in her story throughout the book. I felt that she had gumption and courage to make her own way in the world, yet I felt that changed quite a bit during the main part of the story.
It felt like she was losing sight of what was important in order to move the actual plot of the story along.
The second main character, for lack of a better term, since the story is narrated from alternating perspectives between Shadow and Caledon, came across not very gentleman-like. The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced of seeing typical romance tropes in the dynamic and subsequent work relationship/friendship between the two characters.
The secondary characters all filled their roles very nicely and added a sense of mystique and intrigue to what is actually going on behind those fancy doors.
They kept me on my toes, and I was entertained by guessing, who had ulterior motives and who was not a bad guy.
I think my biggest struggle came with the plot. The synopsis for the book and the beginning of the story promised a certain type of story, but the middle unfolded to be about something entirely different, only to have the ending remind us of what the beginning had originally promised us.
It gave me the impression of a very long, very elaborate introduction to a sequel to this story.
I had nothing against the writing. It was a quick and easy read. It was a fun read and didn’t feel exhausting or too elaborate. It was only after I finished the book and thought about it that I realized too much time was spent on the things that weren’t actually that important to the promised story.
Overall, I have to say that I’m confused about this story. As I said before, in retrospect it felt more like a 400-page set-up for a sequel, but I’m not quite sure where the author will take the story from where she left it at the end of this installment.
Unfortunately, the story lacked depth. Initially it was an interesting story interrupted by a pointless love story.
I have never been this undecided about recommending a book. It was entertaining, but misleading. I’m not even sure, if I would read the sequel, yet I’m curious to see where the author will take the story.
