Knight Assassin {by Rima Jean}

Title: Knight Assassin

Author: Rima Jean

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Seventeen-year-old Zayn has special powers she cannot control—powers that others fear and covet. Powers that cause the Templar Knights to burn Zayn’s mother at the stake for witchcraft. When a mysterious stranger tempts Zayn to become the first female member of the heretical Assassins, the chance to seek her revenge lures her in. She trains to harness her supernatural strength and agility, and then enters the King of Jerusalem's court in disguise with the assignment to assassinate Guy de Molay, her mother’s condemner. But once there, she discovers Earic Goodwin, the childhood friend who still holds her heart, among the knights—and his ocean-blue eyes don’t miss a thing. Will vengeance be worth the life of the one love she has left?

I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this one. It has two of my favorite things just in the title--knights and assassins. So, I knew I had to at least give it a shot. And while there were some things I'm not sure about (Assassin's Creed, anyone?), this was still a very enjoyable read. 

Zayn lives with her mother in a small town, where they mostly keep to themselves. Due to Zayn's powers, that she doesn't really understand or know how to control, the villagers don't trust her, calling her and her mother witches. But one day, the son of the lord whose land they live on, Sir Guy de Molay, comes and does the unthinkable--he accuses Zayn's mother of witchcraft and burns her at the stake. Zayn wants to kill herself, until a mysterious man comes and tries to recruit her to be one of the Muslim Assassins, promising her revenge on de Molay. And so she goes. 

One of the things I liked most about this book was culture. Zayn is a Muslim, in the time of the Crusades. So, there's a lot of culture and history weaved into this book. I definitely enjoy things from this time period, and so this story drew me in with the historical aspect. However, that's also where this book lost me at times. (I realize that doesn't quite make sense.) Some of it, especially when talking about the fictional part, would confuse me, and I wouldn't quite understand what was going on. 

I had my issues with Zayn as well. Now, I am not saying that I could ever imagine going through what she did. I cannot imagine how it would feel, nor can I imagine the feelings I would have as well. However, too much of Zayn was revengeful, making it so that's really the only characteristic I can think of to describe her. I did not feel any connection to her. I'm not saying she was a bad character, but there definitely could have been more to her. In fact, that's almost how I felt about all of these characters. I never really connected with any of them.

The plot was so fueled by Zayn's need for revenge, that at times, I'm not sure I completely understood what this was about. Is it about Zayn becoming an Assassin? Her revenge on de Molay? Or the bigger picture of Saladin and the war? In fact, I'm not quite sure I still know. But, it was still very action-packed and full of suspense.

All in all, this was still a pretty good book. I would definitely recommend it for fans of knights and assassins. It did not take very long to read, but for the most part, held my attention. I would definitely consider reading other works by this author.

I received an eARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. This does not affect my opinion in any way.

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Rima Jean:

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