The Assassin's Curse - Pre-reading

*I received this as an eARC from Strange Chemistry on Netgalley.com*

Title: The Assassin's Curse
Author: Cassandra Rose Clarke
Year Published: 2012
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Synopsis:  Ananna of the Tanarau is the eldest daughter of a highly-ranked family in the loose assortment of cutthroats and thieves in the Pirate's Confederation. When she runs away from the marriage her parents have arranged for her, they hire Naji the assassin to murder her. When a mysterious woman in a dress shop offers her magical assistance for dealing with the assassin, Ananna accepts. She never went in much for magic herself -- she lacks the talent for it -- but she's not quite ready to die yet, either.

Unfortunately, the woman's magic fails. Fortunately, Ananna inadvertently saves the assassin's life in the skirmish, thus activating a curse that had been placed on him a few years earlier. Now, whenever her life is in danger, he must protect her -- or else he experiences tremendous physical pain. Neither Ananna nor the assassin, Naji, are pleased about this development. Follow Annana and Naji as they sail across the globe, visiting such mysterious places as the Court of Salt and Waves, in their desperate effort to lift the curse. Soon they will discover that only by completing three impossible tasks will they be able to set themselves free.

Why?: There are pirates, assassins, and magic all wrapped up in one book. How much better could it get?! Also, it seems like there will be a great deal of world-building, of which I am always a fan. And I always enjoy reading things by authors I've never heard of before!

Expectations: I expect an epic journey filled with mystery and magic. Some swashbuckling too. I've never read anything by Clark before, so I'm not sure what to expect from her writing style, but I hope to be surprised.

Judging a book by its cover: The cover kind of looks like something out of Aladdin. It also has a big boat between two cities, so maybe Ananna and Naji have to sail back and forth. If I saw this on a bookshelf somewhere, I would probably pick it up if I saw it, but I might also skip over it since the cover isn't very bright or eye-catching.


--Ashley