Assassin

Assassin #1

by Maryam Durrani

There lives an assassin in a far away kingdom called Astodia. She works under the strong reign of King Sadim, taking down an organization called the Rebel Army leader by leader, cutting down their roots to make sure her kingdom stays safe. But what happens when the one closest to her is poisoned by one of the rebels—a spy that lives in the castle right under her nose? Will she be able to sacrifice the ones she loves most, or will she make a decision in time that could save one life but destroy many more? Will Adalia the Assassin be able to stay true to her title, or will she be defeated by only thing that can take her down forever: her own heart?

324 pages, Paperback

First published June 18, 2015

About the author

Maryam Durrani is a young author from Virginia, USA. She wrote her first novel, Assassin, at age 13, publishing it a few years later, and then the sequel, Ascendant, at 17. At 18, she followed it up with the final book in the trilogy, Apprentice.

She is well known online where she writes for young readers, her work reaching over two million reads.

Reviews

[Severus Snape · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book. Maryam Durrani, whoever she is ;) , has this way of writing that makes you unable to put the book down. She writes with details and shoves you right into the story, and sometimes, shoves the story under your nose *coughdragonwhisperercough.*
Our english teacher constantly told us to, "grab the readers attention, and make them eager for more," maryam pretty much did that, though im not sure how she learned that cuz she was always writing her other story the dragon whisperer during his class.....no joke. he used to compliment her note taking skills.....it was pretty bad. but yeah
shes a dedicated writer. and she used to give her story filled binder to me to read in the middle of class as well.....so yeah shes shoved stories under my nose before

The book takes you through Astodia, to the rebel base, makes you feel part of the book. and other than all the bloody murder, its actually a nice story. brushing aside the fact that the xavier/lance thing is a bit like the gale/peeta . and that its obvious the writer read the hunger games, percy jackson, and harry potter cuz you see little bits of each within the story. that doesnt make it a bad story though. :D

though there are things in this book that can be changed/clarified, its a pretty good job for a 15 year old writer. (i think she might've been 14 when she started....idk) its really easy to say that you can write a better book, but when you start.... :| '_' basically its not easy

WORST PART. the epilogue......like dude,,,,srsly??? it was on wattpad, but then drani took it off and didnt put it in the book....like no epilogue at all. nothing. zip. zilch. nada. zippo. zot........

SO yeah...........its pretty good and Id recommend it to pretty much everyone.

[Saeed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I have ever read. It steers away from cliches and I can never put the book down. Just one question. WHAT HAPPENS TO XAVIER?? :(

[Igor Eliseev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Assassin truly sucked me in with every turn of the page. I'd recommend this book to young adult readers, although it's fit for everyone over the age of twelve. Her bond with the Prince of Astodia is one I hope will never break, no matter where they are. It was emotional, hilarious, and thought-provoking.The main character, Adalia, teaches that no matter what conditions you were raised under and how pressured you can be to make a choice, your heart always knows what the right decision is. The moral is that anyone can create their own future. In the end, you will always find your way.

Credit goes to the sixteen year old author who managed to put this page-turner together.

I'm looking forward to hearing more from Adalia in book two. I hope her adventures never come to an end.

[spoderman]

dis book betir be ligit. I sware, if dis book sux and iz nuthing liyk the diskription then I wil vote hillrey klintun fir prezidunt. that shuldnt happn.

(btw vote spoderman fir prezidunt. Spoderman has sweg.)

[Maricel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nothing new to the plot really. The book is about an assassin for a king to take out his enemies. The girl assassin was sent to infiltrate a rebel camp to kill its leader and was rushed to her mission when someone important was poisoned. Might be interesting enough but the problem is that no scenes stand out, no mind boggling revelations or plot twists to keep you interested. Some scenes seems to jump from one to another without precedent. Adalia's identity and role in the kingdom is supposed to be secret (known only to the king and maybe some important authority) yet even a maid knows who or what she is, and she nor the king seems to be alarmed. She's supposed to be fierce and feared yet every people interacting with her old and new are too carefree and jovial around her. She's always angry (often without reason) and easily irritated. In short she is not a likeable, endearing nor inspiring character. In fact no character is interesting enough to keep you reading, everyone is too one dimensional, not depicted as what their character is supposed to be. Everything in this book is more of a tell than a show. Even the ending is not compelling enough for you to eagerly anticipate the next book.

[Minahil Razzaq · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started reading Assassin a couple of days ago and couldn’t put it down till the end! First of all, let’s talk about the fact that Maryam published a whole trilogy by the age of 19. That’s so freaking amazing. Most people just dream of writing a book.
Her writing skills are great. Her characters very well written. I laughed out loud at some points and almost cried at others. Didn’t like Xavier’s character at first but he grew on me.
“Assassin” starts with action and it remains the same way throughout. The stakes are high because if Adalia doesn’t succeed in getting the antidote to the poison, prince Xavier will die.
Adalia is such a strong, empowering female protagonist (who wouldn’t read a book that has that?) but all the same time, she makes mistakes that have consequences.
Overall, loved this book and I cannot wait to read the other two! So excited to find out about Adalia’s past.

[Layla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was told about this book from one of my friends that actually lives in the same City as you and told me it was an AMAZING book series and that she was on the last book reading it now! So far I love the theme of the book and it sounds like its gonna be an interesting adventure book that I can't wait to finish reading!

[Layla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was told about this book from one of my friends that actually lives in the same City as you and told me it was an AMAZING book series and that she was on the last book reading it now! So far I love the theme of the book and it sounds like its gonna be an interesting adventure book that I can't wait to finish reading!

[James Murtling · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this was a really great book. Especially for being written by a teenager. I made this account just to leave a positive review of this book after a friend of mine made me read it. I can happily say that I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of this writing. When I began reading, I had put my expectations somewhere on the level of some silly fanfiction that a girl had written and decided to publish. I was surprised when the flow of the book began to grab my attention and next thing I knew I had finished the book. Great job and I hope I can see another book following this soon. Out of my own curiosity, what school do you go to? I have a few friends of mine that live in Virginia and I was wondering if perhaps you knew some of them or if they were aware of your book.

[Noor Mujadidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far the best book I have ever read. Maryam is an amazing writer. But that ending doe where is adalia going?? Is there going to be another book?!? And why did you have to kill Xavier

[Fatima Durrani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Interesting, with the perfect amount of action, adventure and romance.