A.K. LEE

In the fourth novella, The Assassin and the Underworld, we see Celaena put in a rough position as she needs to decide what she truly wants while also trying to break free of Arobynn’s hold on her. Faced with the slave trade once again, Celaena and Sam team up once more to see if they can solve her problems together. I really enjoyed this one! We finally got to see Sam as more than just an annoying brat like Celaena which made me really like him because it made me see him as m

The Assassin and the Desert follows Celaena on her trek through the desert to meet with the Mute Master and gain his approval or be disowned by Arobynn back in Rifthold. Put in close quarters with strangers for the first time in a long time, Celaena needs to learn what she really wants. This story started out long and boring, Celaena being spoiled and full of complaints as usual. However, it picked up as Celaena got more and more comfortable with Ansel and Mikhail and even Il

The story of The Assassin and the Healer is set almost immediately after The Assassin and the Pirate Lord. After having returned to Arobynn and revealed that she freed 200 slaves, a beaten and bruised Celaena has been banished to train with The Mute Master in the Red Desert. On her way there, she stops in a hellish hovel of a town called Innish where she meets an interesting young healer. I liked this story a lot more than the previous one. Sure, Celaena is still miserable so

The story of The Assassin and the Pirate Lord follows Celaena and her companion, Sam, in a moment set before the series begins. Sent away after the death of some of Arobynn’s best, Celaena and Sam are charged with doing business with Pirate Lord, Captain Rolfe, and end up in a situation neither of them particularly likes… The slave trade. While I enjoyed the story and it’s nice to see that even when she was being ruthless, Celaena cared for people in need, I was annoyed with

(This post first appeared in Lucien's site.) At last we have come to the conclusion of Crown of Midnight! If you haven’t finished the book yet, beware of the spoilers below! Given my thoughts on Throne of Glass, the main thing that struck me with this sequel is that writing. Compared to book one, Crown of Midnight is significantly better in terms of world building and even character building. I felt that those in the background had a little more weight to them and I felt like

Coming at you a little behind schedule, it’s the third checkpoint for the #TWOTOGCountdown read-a-long! By now I hope that everyone participating has had the time to get up to the end of Chapter 42. If you haven’t, beware of the spoilers below! When we left off last week, Chaol had just revealed that he had been keeping information from Nehemia and Celaena regarding threats on the Eyllweian (did I spell that right?) princess’s life. Rushing back to the castle as if she had ma

It’s the second checkpoint for the #TWOTOGCountdown read-a-long! By now I hope that everyone participating has had the time to get up to the end of Chapter 28. If you haven’t, beware of the spoilers below! Hello everyone, and welcome to the Roast of Chaol Westfall! Ugh. Okay. I don’t even know where to start on this one if I’m being 100% honest. I told a friend of mine that I was reading Throne of Glass for the first time and she’s been teasing me with her wondering of how mu

It’s the first checkpoint for the #TWOTOGCountdown read-a-long! By now I hope that everyone participating has had the time to get up to the end of Chapter 14. If you haven’t, beware of the spoilers below! Crown of Midnight starts off with a bit more of a bang than how I felt Throne of Glass started, and for that I’m thankful. It’s nice for Celaena to have a bit more free-reign and to see her outside of the castle, but it’s nicer to start off the book with her being an assassi

We are following Lucien Welsh on his readalong of the Throne of Glass series. The second book is Crown of Midnight, and the theme for the Photo Challenge in March are as follows: Read along with us and tag us (Lucien: @lucieninthestars on Instagram, @WelshLucien on Twitter; AK @aklee_writes on Twitter) with your photo challenge responses. There will be prizes! #throneofglass #crownofmidnight #readalong #lucienwelsh

(Originally on Lucien's Blog) We did it! We finished Throne of Glass! And let me tell you, I do have some thoughts. So let’s start with the fluffy parts. I was really routing for Celaena and Dorian to get together if I’m being honest. The way they kept sassing each other spoke to me and I was really routing for them. Chaol was a close second, but didn’t quite prove himself to me until the very end. Either way, I look forward to the other eligible bachelors I’ve heard about in

*SPOILERS* for those who have yet to read to our mid-point mark! So we’ve hit the middle of the month and therefore (hopefully) hit the middle of the book! So shall we do a little recap? So far, Calaena has been rescued from her enslavement to compete in a competition of criminals that will grant the winner freedom from their horrid sentences as well as the title of the King’s Assassin. For someone like Calaena, it’s a walk in the park right? She was born to be an assassin, t