|| Top 5 Saturday | Books With Badass Assassins ||

So, every Saturday Mandy over at Devouring Books hosts Top 5 Saturday, you can find a list of the upcoming topics through the link above.

As you can see from the title, today is about 5 books with assassins,
Let’s go…

Codename Villanelle (Killing Eve #1) by Luke Jennings

Villanelle (a codename, of course) is one of the world’s most skilled assassins. A catlike psychopath whose love for the creature comforts of her luxurious lifestyle is second only to her love of the game, she specialises in murdering the world’s richest and most powerful. But when she murders an influential Russian politician, she draws a relentless foe to her tail. 
Eve Polastri (not a codename) is a former MI6 operative hired by the national security services for a singular task: to find and capture or kill the assassin responsible, and those who have aided her. Eve, whose quiet and otherwise unextraordinary life belies her quick wit and keen intellect, accepts the mission. 
The ensuing chase will lead them on a trail around the world, intersecting with corrupt governments and powerful criminal organisations, all leading towards a final confrontation from which neither will emerge unscathed. Codename Villanelle is a sleek, fast-paced international thriller from an exciting new voice in fiction.

I actually can’t remember much about this (obvs) and I haven’t watched the TV adaptation either, all I know is that I gave this 4 stars so I’d love to carry on with the series.

Legend (Legend #1) by Marie Lu

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.
From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

I really enjoyed this, it was one of the first YA books that I read and I was pleasantly surprised. I have the rest of the series on audio from Scribd, so I will be getting around to them soon.

Orphan X (Orphan X #1) by Gregg Hurwtiz

The Nowhere Man is a legendary figure spoken about only in whispers. It’s said that when he’s reached by the truly desperate and deserving, the Nowhere Man can and will do anything to protect and save them.
But he’s no legend.
Evan Smoak is a man with skills, resources, and a personal mission to help those with nowhere else to turn. He’s also a man with a dangerous past. Chosen as a child, he was raised and trained as part of the off-the-books black box Orphan program, designed to create the perfect deniable intelligence assets—i.e. assassins. He was Orphan X. Evan broke with the program, using everything he learned to disappear.
Now, however, someone is on his tail. Someone with similar skills and training. Someone who knows Orphan X. Someone who is getting closer and closer. And will exploit Evan’s weakness—his work as The Nowhere Man—to find him and eliminate him. Grabbing the reader from the very first page, Orphan X is a masterful thriller, the first in Gregg Hurwitz’s electrifying new series featuring Evan Smoak.

I read this so long ago, I’ve been waiting to come across the second in the series from my library or second hand as I didn’t enjoy it enough to seek it out and pay full price.

Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicles #1) by Jay Kristoff

In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.
Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.
Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she’ll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church’s halls, the bloody secrets of Mia’s past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves.
Will she even survive to initiation, let alone have her revenge?

Nevernight, do I need to say anymore? I actually listened to this on audio 2 months ago but didn’t feel that I had the full experience as the audio doesn’t include the footnotes. I’ve recently bought both this and Godsgrave in these stunning paperback editions so I plan on rereading it this month.

The Assassin’s Blade (Throne of Glass #0.1 – 0.5) by Sarah J. Maas

Contains all five novellas.
Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan’s most feared assassin. As part of the Assassin’s Guild, her allegiance is to her master, Arobynn Hamel, yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. In these action-packed novellas – together in one edition for the first time – Celaena embarks on five daring missions. They take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, where she fights to liberate slaves and seeks to avenge the tyrannous. But she is acting against Arobynn’s orders and could suffer an unimaginable punishment for such treachery. Will Celaena ever be truly free? Explore the dark underworld of this kick-ass heroine to find out.

This may not have been the best move but it’s the first that I’ve read in the Throne of Glass series, I do have the first 3 books so I’m hoping to get around to them before the end of the year.

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See you in the next one…

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