A Reluctant Assassin is a dystopian novel set in a future United States, where monarchs rule, women wear big dresses, and princes must marry to become kings. The story opens at a ball where 25 of the most eligible ladies have been selected from the kingdom in order that the prince might choose his bride. Only one of them isn’t really a wealthy noble; she is an orphan plucked from the streets and trained to assassinate the prince. But as she gets to know him, will she have the heart to fulfill her mission?
I really, really liked this story. I ended up devouring it. The Order of the MoonStone series has the potential, if played right, of being a fan favorite. The story is told mainly from the perspective of the prince and the assassin. The author does a beautiful job of keeping each character’s voice distinct enough that I had no problem knowing whose head I was in without the need of subtitles. And I never experienced any dull or lagging moments in the plot. Everything in this book is there for a reason, not just to fluff the story. Given all this, let me add a disclaimer (or a few):
- The Reluctant Assassin is not long like most dystopian fandom books (i.e., Divergent, Hunger Games, etc.) and ends rather abruptly, but that wasn’t too bad because the “sneak peak” of the next book eases the reader out of the story while still keeping us pining for the next.
- It is formatted in British style, so be warned that there are no Oxford commas, some of the words are spelled differently, etc. Oxford commas are a pet peeve of mine, so I feel duty bound to warn others who feel as I do about having the additional comma.
- Read all the forward materials. They explain why the book is formatted a bit different than today’s traditional formatting. The author is formatting the book as if it were published at the time in which it is set. At first this was a bit hard for me, but a few pages in I got the hang of it. And the story was way too compelling to let a change in formatting keep me from racing through the pages to the end.
All in all, this was a very good read. If you like dystopian, I recommend A Reluctant Assassin as your next read.
I would like to thank J.C. Morrows, the author, for providing me with an ARC of A Reluctant Assassin in exchange for an honest review. MuggleNet is an Amazon affiliate.
