The Assassin and The Pirate Lord (Throne of Glass #0.1):
Meet Celaena Sardothein, assassin for hire. She sets out to collect a debt owed to The Assassin’s guild, a group she’s been a part of ever since she was found and taken in my Arobyn Hamil. Her life is theirs and what they tell her to do, she does.
But despite her orders, the debt collection does not sit well with her. While she comes off as a person who has a hard heart, you see her soften when she sees the debt is slaves, not money. And she vows to free them, no matter the consequence.
I love this first glimpse of Celaena. I love that we see she has a conscience from the beginning, despite her profession. She’s feisty and smart and very strong. But you do see some of her insecurity start to bleed through at times, and I think it’s an important part of who she is and who she is to become. And I love that she sees the same in Sam. While she demonstrates a dislike for Sam at the beginning of the novella, you see that Sam is really the only would she actually trusts. And as their friendship grows stronger, she realizes he would help her do whatever needs to be done.
Excellent introduction to this world and its characters.

The Assassin and the Healer (Throne of Glass #0.2):
Celaena has betrayed her boss and she pays dearly for it. Arobyn Hamil beats her and then sends her off on a trek to the desert as punishment. Separated from those she knows, she stops at an Inn during her journey and meets Yrene, a barmaid who gets in the middle of a brawl.
I like that in this novella we get to see Celaena from Yrene’s perspective. Yrene is scared of her, sees her as feisty and arrogant. Yet Celaena quickly softens and teaches Yrene to defend herself. Celaena feels a pull towards this woman whose home in Ardalan was ripped away from her. Once again we see her softer side.
This was more of a short story than a novella. A way for us to get a better glimpse of exactly who Celaena is.

The Assassin and the Desert (Throne of Glass #0.3):
Arobyn has sent Celaena away as punishment and also to hone her craft. She has a month to study with The Silent Assassins, particularly to study with their leader and get his stamp of approval. While there, despite not wanting to, she does become friends with some of the other assassins: Ansel and Mikhail in particular. But things are not what they seem from within the compound. There is a traitor and when the compound is attacked, it takes all Celaena’s courage to defend it against the one person she thought she could trust.
Celaena has a ton of growth in this novella. She’s quite arrogant upon arrival, not really believing she needs to hone her craft. Not understanding that despite her excellent abilities as an assassin she still has so much to learn. And learn she does. What she learns is something she definitely uses, not only within this novella but also in future books.

The Assassin and the Underworld (Throne of Glass #0.4):
Celaena has returned to the Kingdom of Ardalan and she’s given an assignment by the King. And while this novel is about her adventures in trying to do what the king has asked, it is just as much about her reconnecting with Sam. I love how Celaena slowly works through her feelings, how she slowly comes to realize that there is much more to Sam than she ever thought there was. I honestly think that this blinds her somewhat to what is actually happening around her, especially as Arobyn tries to woo her back with gifts and a plethora of apologies. She is more trusting of those she should not trust at all. She does begin to question things, but not enough to see that in the end things may not work out as she expects them to. I did like how the romance progressed and there was tons of action and moments where I held my breath. But I also know that something bad will happen soon because nothing is ever as it seems in this world!

The Assassin and the Empire (Throne of Glass #0.5):
I. HATE. AROBYN. There, now that I got that out of the way!
It’s really hard for me to review this one because of the emotions it brings up.
In this one we get Sam and Celaena, broken from Arobyn and trying to make it on their own. But Arobyn is sly and has no intention of letting Celaena go that easily.
This novella is filled with betrayal and sadness. I hated reading it. I thought for sure at the end Maas would say “surprise”, but alas she did not. And since I read this before the first Throne of Glass, I had no idea how it would end.
How and why Celaena gets shipped off to the Salt Mines is also revealed at the end of this novella.
A great addition to the series that gives important insight into Sam and Celaena’s relationship and what he really means to her as well as shows that the people who surround her are NEVER what they seem!