Bookmarked: Staff Picks: Teen Fantasy Series

I just discovered this great teen fantasy series after one of my patrons recommended it to me. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes stories with strong female characters, and especially if you enjoyed Kristin Cashore's book, Graceling.

This is the story of a young girl whose family was murdered by an evil king. She was saved and raised by the leader of assassins. He trained her into a lethal killing machine, while helping her hide her true identity. You will grow up with this young lady and learn all about who she is and cheer her on as she and her friends fight to overcome the evil king, end slavery, and free magic.

You will meet several people throughout this series that you may not always like, as Maas has plenty of surprises in store throughout the series. I recommended starting with The Assassin's Blade, a collection of five short-stories that fill in some back history to the series. By the end of Queen of Shadows you will be clamoring for more, as there are two additional books planned for this series.