You can also read this review on my blog 
 In short: The Assassin's Blade shows that Sarah J. Maas excels as a storyteller, even in novella format. 
 Now THIS is how novellas should be done. Too often when I read series novellas, the characters are underdeveloped, the story is superfluous, and I'm left thinking, "What is the point?"; I could easily read the series and skip the novellas and it would make absolutely no difference because the novellas are inessential and unimportant. But THESE Throne of Glass prequel novellas!! They are not only relevant and significant to the overall series story, but they are also each as strong and entertaining as an actual full-length novel. 
 I don't know how Sarah J. Maas does it, but somehow she is able to give the reader a feel for what Celaena is all about within the first few pages of the first novella, The Assassin and the Pirate Lord. Those who were turned off by Celaena's cockiness and inactivity in Throne of Glass should definitely give these novellas a read as Celaena demonstrates another side of herself as a gutsy and tenacious heroine with a heart of gold. And then there's Sam. Following Throne of Glass, I was firmly Team Chaol, but even I was swayed and swooned by Sam and his hate-turned-love relationship with Celaena. 
 Sarah J. Maas excels as a storyteller, not only when it comes to tension-ridden romances, but also no-holds-barred action scenes and gut-wrenching heartbreak and feels. And the fact that she is able to accomplish all this in short novella format when you would normally have to turn to novels to get this much depth? Well, that's just genius. My only regrets are a) that I didn't read these prequel novellas before reading Throne of Glass, and b) that I haven't read Crown of Midnight yet (seriously, what am I waiting for?!).