The Pirate's Wish by Cassandra Rose Clarke

The Pirate's Wish by Cassandra Rose Clarke
Series: The Assassin's Curse #2
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Release Date: June 4th, 2013
Pre-Order: Amazon

Goodreads Summary

After setting out to break the curse that binds them together, the pirate Ananna and the assassin Naji find themselves stranded on an enchanted island in the north with nothing but a sword, their wits, and the secret to breaking the curse: complete three impossible tasks. With the help of their friend Marjani and a rather unusual ally, Ananna and Naji make their way south again, seeking what seems to be beyond their reach.

Unfortunately, Naji has enemies from the shadowy world known as the Mists, and Ananna must still face the repercussions of going up against the Pirate Confederation. Together, Naji and Ananna must break the curse, escape their enemies — and come to terms with their growing romantic attraction.

I waited for so long to get this book. So so long. When I got accepted on NetGalley, I ran around the house screaming. The Assassin’s Curse was one of my favorite books from last year and well the sequel was going to have to be the best thing ever.

And it kind of was. I don’t think I can say it was better than the first book but it was definitely something.

Ananna is a great female lead.  I’ve had a girl crush on her since the last book and my mind has definitely not changed about that. Of course she is far from perfect, there are times when you want to smack her and wish she would understand but then there are times you want to hug her and tell her you understood. Although I’ll say this, sometimes she is just completely irrational and I missed the kick ass Ananna from the first book. Ananna also become slightly insecure about her appearance which bothered me because I thought that was Naji’s role. I mean it does make me a hypocrite to expect her to be completely awesome so I won’t hold it against her.

Naji becomes even more loveable in this book, how is that possible? He is still that brooding guy who is insecure about his appearance. I think that’s one of the reasons he appeals to me. The author doesn’t make him some hot shot who is full of himself, he is human and he has issues, everyone has some insecurities. As his relationship develops with Ananna, he becomes a lot nicer as well. Of course there are times you want to tell him to stop being so stubborn and admit his feelings for Ananna because seriously, they are perfect together.

The fantasy aspect of this one is definitely more entertaining because of the curse, the three impossible tasks and talking animals.

We know that in the end the curse will be broken but the question is how. There were times when I thought that they had it pretty easy what with them not having to work very hard to get their answers. So I may have been slightly disappointed because of that but when I thought about it again (after re-reading the book) I realized that the time span was pretty big so it probably wasn’t as easy as I thought.

There are a lot of opinions about the romance and a lot of people found the romance to be disappointing. I personally found it to be confusing. It was what I wanted but at the same time it wasn’t. Because although Ananna tried to not let Naji’s actions get to her, they did and she became … pretty angsty. And then there was Naji getting jealous (or at least I thought that he was.. could have been my imagination). When Naji finally snapped out of it.. it wasn’t as believable as it could have been and they kind of progressed really quickly from there (or it seemed like they did).

The ending. Well usually I’d love that kind of ending but but I kind of wanted a Disney ending. I mean if you’ve read the first book you know that one of the impossible tasks was a true love’s kiss. That was kind of how I wanted the book to end. Yes I know how stupid I sound right now, believe me, and I also know how cheesy that ending would have been but that’s what I wanted. Otherwise, overlooking my immatureness, the ending was actually pretty great. It felt good to have our Ananna back (she says something that made me pretty proud).

I wouldn’t say it was worth the wait but the sequel was pretty good. If you loved the first book then definitely give this one a shot.