Book Review: Bloodless Assassin by Celine Jeanjean

2021 Book Review: Bloodless Assassin by Celine Jeanjean

Today, I want to share my review of Bloodless Assassin by Celine Jeanjean. Of all the books I've read so far this year, this book is definitely one of the front-runners, so I'm excited to gush about it a bit.

 

I'm not a big steampunk fan, so the fact that I've read no less than four steampunk fantasy novels in the past couple of months is a pretty big deal for me. So maybe I'm a fan now. We'll see.

Bloodless Assassin follows the story of Rory, a girl who lives on the streets of Damsport and whose friend and survival buddy betrays her on her most important day: the day when she can finally have her shot at becoming a sword preceptor's apprentice. Her friend's betrayal ruins her chances at getting a better life for herself, but not all is lost, because Rory finds out about the famous Viper's weak spot... his phobia of blood! She blackmails him into training her, but soon finds herself embroiled in a series of deaths throughout Damsport that seem to link back to her new teacher, the illustrious assassin with a penchant for poisons.

The clock-like divisions of Damsport were really interesting, and the visual was familiar enough that I could imagine the place much more easily. And then there were the modes of transportation - and a very interesting character that drives like a maniac - that added cool worldbuilding details to the story and that weren't just bells and whistles - they actually did play a role in the story later on.

I really loved the character of Longinus, who is an assassin known to the public as the Viper. He has a perfectionism, and arrogance, and a fixation on being a gentleman that work together to create a night, light mood for an otherwise heavy topic: the deaths of numerous people throughout Damsport that point back to him. And while he is an assassin, he didn't do them! 

I especially loved how Rory and Longinus interact, because while Longinus is so prim and proper and fashionable, Rory is really very much the opposite, and as a result Longinus finds offense in so many things she does. There is a makeover scene that was both surprising and fun, and acted as the perfect segue into the plot itself and got the story started.

None of the events and scenes in this book felt like additional extras that could have been deleted, which is nice. Everything fit in perfectly, like a jigsaw puzzle, and I appreciated that. As a result, the pace of the story was great, and the banter between our two main characters made it all the more fun to read - and at the end of the book, I really wanted more! 

I would definitely recommend this cool steampunk fantasy if you're looking for something to read this summer!