Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Series: Throne of Glass #1
Genre: YA Fantasy, Romance

Publication: August 7th 2012 by Bloomsbury USA Children’s

Length: 404 pages

Format: ebook

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.

Before starting this review, I’d like to answer a few questions. Yes, this was my first time reading THRONE OF GLASS. No, this is not my first Maas book; I read THE ASSASSIN’S BLADE before officially starting the series. Yes, I have been spoiled for this series multiple times, but I’m still going to read the series. (How’s that for hardcore? 😉 ) Please please please do not spoil me on the rest of the series.

With that being said, I totally agree with the hype. Maas deserves her NYT Bestselling Author title. And I loved THRONE OF GLASS. I’m just a bit resentful that I didn’t read this series sooner. THRONE OF GLASS follows Celaena Sardothien, as she has to fight in a competition with twenty-two other contestants in order to become the King’s royal assassin and win her freedom. I adored this concept and I flipped through the pages incredibly quickly.

My favorite part, besides the romance, of this book was the competition. I loved reading about Celaena’s development physically and mentally once she was out of Endovier, and the fight scenes were literally filled to the brim with action and tension. I adored the political intrigue that was present, especially with Nehemia (my favorite foreign princess) and the king.

Overall, the characters were amazing. I loved Celaena; I had learned some about her past in THE ASSASSIN’S BLADE and although she’s ruthless and so badass, she still has her humanity and hobbies of her own, which is why she felt so relatable and human to me. Celaena has definitely made her mark on my list of favorite female MCs. In addition, I adored Dorian; he was arrogant and lovely and handsome and so swoon-worthy. I loved the kissing scenes between him and Celaena. I know y’all Chaolaena shippers are going to come for me, but don’t fret! I loved Chaol too, just in a different way. At this point, I adore both Dorian and Chaol and this whole love triangle thing, so I’ll keep reading and see how I feel later.

I know my initial rating was a 4 out of 5 stars, but after writing my review, I don’t think this book was on the same level as THE ASSASSIN’S BLADE, and I honestly can’t find any aspect of this book that I didn’t enjoy. Maybe it’s the hype getting to me or maybe this book truly is a literary masterpiece by my standards, but I think I’m bumping up my rating. Not a full 5/5 stars because of all the spoilers I’ve endured, but this has become one of my favorite books.

Everyone and their grandmother has read this series. What were your thoughts? Or are you also a newbie to TOG? Let me know in the comments below!