Assassin and the Empire. Read it.

As a fan of the THRONE OF GLASS novellas, it’s kind of hard to see the last one release today…

To know there won’t be more stories before we’re thrust into the actual series of THRONE OF GLASS… It actually makes my heart ache. Sure, I am absolutely elated at the prospect of the series beginning…but I’ll also be sad to see young, fearless Celaena go.

And go she does–young Celaena is no more at the end of this novella. Nor, I’m afraid, was my heart. This novella–ASSASSIN AND THE EMPIRE–ripped my heart to shreds and didn’t put it back together. I know this was Sarah’s intent (to show us how truly awful things were for Celaena before the start of THRONE OF GLASS), but honestly: nothing prepared me for just how devastating Celaena’s life turned.

And nothing prepared me for just how much this devastation–and Celaena’s ultimate overcoming of it–would move me.

Celaena Sardothien is the assassin with everything: a place to call her own, the love of handsome Sam, and, best of all, freedom. Yet, she won’t be truly free until she is far away from her old master, Arobynn Hamel; Celaena must take one last daring assignment that will liberate her forever. But having it all, means you have a lot to lose . . .

I’ll be honest guys: this novella made me weep like a baby. For hours. Then it thrust me into an emotional funk. For days. Why are you trying to write? my brain demanded. You’re a hack! THIS is what real storytelling is!

But then, amazingly enough, I took some advice from Celaena’s book, and I pulled myself together and vowed to keep on going. This book might be absolutely heartbreaking, but it’s also absolutely uplifting.

Without a doubt, it’s my favorite of the four novellas. ASSASSIN AND THE PIRATE LORD is my favorite for fun and adventure. ASSASSIN AND THE DESERT is my favorite for character growth and friendship. ASSASSIN AND THE UNDERWOLRD is my favorite for romance and action. And then came along ASSASSIN AND THE EMPIRE…and it’s my favorite for deep, gut-wrenching emotion. For powerful love and even more powerful strength of character.

I honestly don’t know how I’ll survive the next 2 weeks before THRONE OF GLASS is in stores.

To celebrate the release of the fourth and final novella in the THRONE OF GLASS series (or at least pre-book-release novella…I pray there will be more novellas further down the road!), we’re giving away a copy here on Pub(lishing) Crawl! All you have to do is fill out the form below and leave a comment telling us if YOU’VE read the novellas yet. If you have, which was your favorite?

And make sure to spread the word about ASSASSIN AND THE EMPIRE!