Review: An Exciting Read!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 4, 2014
From her fast paced plot line, to the characters and vivid setting, Rima Jean totally hooked me with Knight Assassin. I didn't take me long until I totally found myself immersed in her story. I enjoyed reading this book! Rima did a fabulous job at combining the elements I love in both a YA fantasy and YA romance, and created something both new and exciting.Zayn is an awesome heroine. She deals with so much in this book, that even I was amazed at the incredible strength she had to go on. This poor girl literally goes through hell. From being shunned by her own town's people, to losing her mother in a tragic way, to a brutal attack that left her broken, Zayn somehow found this inner strength to keep going, even when it would have been ok for her to just give up. She is a survivor. She's a fighter, and she's not someone who gives up. Instead all her grief, brokenness & passion for revenge into fuels her desire to not fail at her mission as an elite Assassin.Zayn can kick some serious butt. She is not someone anyone wants to cross. She's got nothing to lose and everything to gain, and that makes her a deadly weapon. Combine that with her training, and Zayn is a force to be reckoned with. That doesn't mean that she's still not vulnerable. Earic is the only boy who's ever had her heart. Since they were kids these two had something. Even though at first we see Earic through Zayn's memories, it's obvious that he's always held her heart. These two always protected each other, and helped each other. When Earic re-enters the picture, that doesn't change, but now there's a lot more at stake, and both of them are a danger to each other.I loved Earic. He matches Zayn in strength, but he, at least to me, seems to be a little bit deadlier than she. While Zayn fights for revenge, Earic fights for a cause and purpose. He's been trained longer than she has, and he believes in his cause. What I admire about Earic is he is still just as fiercely loyal and protective of Zayn as he always was, and then some. Despite the dangers, and the opposing sides of the political battle these two are on, there is no denying the chemistry these two still have that's always simmering just below the surface. Even though these two aren't in a lot of scenes together, it's still evident that their romance means something to each other. I love it when a romance has that kind of power in a story. That even though both characters aren't together for a portion of the book, it still feels like they are.Knight Assassin's setting is something I really enjoyed. It's so vividly described that I felt as though I was there. It's not a setting that is all that common in YA books. Rima did a beautiful job at introducing me to the rich, Arab culture of Zayn's world. I don't know a whole lot about this culture, but I know some, and I felt that Rima either really knows a lot about this culture, or she did a lot of research into making sure she got it right for her book.Strong characters, danger, plenty of action, and a well written romance, there is a little bit of something for everyone in this book. My only complaint is, I really hope this book eventually gets published into a paperback/hardcopy format, because I want to add this one to my shelves. **Warning, there is a non graphic rape scene. Being non graphic doesn't take away from what happens to Zayn. It's one that may not be suitable to younger YA readers.