I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

After a year of hard labor in the Salt Mines of Endovier, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has won the king's contest to become the new royal assassin. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown – a secret she hides from even her most intimate confidantes.Keeping up the deadly charade-while pretending to do the king's bidding-will test her in frightening new ways, especially when she's given a task that could jeopardize everything she's come to care for. And there are far more dangerous forces gathering on the horizon -- forces that threaten to destroy her entire world, and will surely force Celaena to make a choice. Where do the assassin's loyalties lie, and who is she willing to fight for?

Short and Sweet Review

After winning the King’s contest Celaena is back as the King’s assassin. But Celaena isn’t exactly loyal to the crown and if she’s caught pretending it could cost her everything. Celaena has been sneaking the kings enemies out of Adarlan and faking their deaths because she doesn’t consider them to be threats. Now Celaena has been asked to kill someone she knows and now she has to decide whether or not she can keep faking peoples deaths or do something different. Celaena is a strong character and has a strong moral compass and tries to do the right thing. There wasn’t a lot of romance in this book but there was more of a development in the love triangle between Celaena, Chaol, and Dorian. Nehemia is also a good friend to Celaena in this book and I liked how they supported and got to know each other. The character development in this book was great and I enjoyed this book a lot. The plot was great and I can’t wait to continue on with the series.