Title: Throne of Glass
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Page count: 404
Date published: August 2012
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars!
Summary (from Goodreads):
After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.
Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for four years and then be granted her freedom. Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.
Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.
[Initial thoughts immediately after reading]
I've heard so many good things about this series. At one point it seemed like everyone on my timeline had either read this series or was reading it. I knew that I wanted to read it but never had the opportunity to because I was always busy with another book. But I got this book for my birthday [thanks Alyssa] and I was super pumped. So here I am, jumping on the bandwagon as well.
Can I just say that I love Celaena Sardothien? She's rough, brash, arrogant, stubborn, impulsive, and quick to anger. But at the same time she's also loyal, driven, cunning, and wise beyond her years. And if you're lucky enough to gain her trust and become a friend, she'll do anything to keep you safe. Yes, she's an assassin, and yes, she has killed many people. But that doesn't mean that she's heartless. In fact, out of all the characters in Throne of Glass I think that Celaena is most quick to put her heart on the line.
[Initial thoughts; end]
Celaena's goal is to win the competition, become the King's assassin, and earn her freedom. If she loses she goes back to Endovier where she'll die. If anyone has the right for motivation, it's Celaena. She's willing to do anything to win this competition. But winning it's going to be as easy as it seems - especially when competitors begin dying off one by one. Horrific deaths. As Celaena searches for answers, the mysterious killings are not the only thing she has to worry about. Others in court are determined to have her ruined or, if it comes down to it, killed.
Celaena isn't stupid. She knows that people can't be trusted at court. Most have their own hidden agendas. Celaena has had her fair share of betrayal and she isn't willing to let that happen again. But as she learns the ropes of court and spends more time in the castle, she begins to settle down. Sure, Celaena is a wildfire - fiery and ready to burn everything at a seconds notice - but she learns to slow down and enjoy her time at court. And the food and books. Especially the books.
As she learns to navigate the whims of the court, she begins to make allies. Maybe even friends. The Eyllwe princess, Nehemia, takes in interest in Celaena and the two hit it off immediately. I rather enjoyed their relationship. Both are very strong female characters and they don't take crap from anyone.. one can imagine how interesting that is in court. The reader knows that both girls are hiding secrets and it starts to hinder their friendship but I believe that their relationship is lasting. Nehemia has a fire about her that I haven't seen in YA princesses in other books. It doesn't bother her to hurt people's feelings. She doesn't care about following the rules of tyrannical kings and queens. She is driven - hell-bent on saving her country from the King who is trying to take over her country - and I admire that about her. She's not a ditzy, glamorous, annoying brat and it could have been easy for her to fall right into that stereotypical column. Paired with Celaena passionate nature and Nehemia's loyalty, the two make a really great team. I look forward to seeing their relationship grow in future books.
If you don't already know this, this book has a love triangle. The ill-fated element that most YA authors use in their books is also used in this one. The romance in this book was rather weak. I didn't feel much chemistry between Celaena and Chaol, the Captain of the Guard, and Dorian, the Prince. Both relationships seemed strained, although if I had to pick I'd choose Chaol as their relationship was more natural and slow-progressing. I'm hoping that the romance element will get better as the series progresses.
My favorite aspect of this book would have to be Celaena and how awesome she is. I really like how strong-willed and cunning she can be. She doesn't care about hurting feelings or making enemies. She's smart and knows that many people can't be trusted. I really like that she has to fight her way through the book in order to become the King's Champion, but I wish that I would have gotten to see more of the trials. The action was a little lacking in this aspect.
I'm excited to see what's going to happen in the second book considering the events that took place in Throne of Glass pave the way to make the second book even more thrilling. As you will learn as you read along, there is a magical element to this story line as well. The darkness is coming.. The lives of everyone might fall onto the shoulders of Celaena. We shall see!
Until next time,
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