Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas | Book Review

(Throne of Glass #1)

Published: August 2nd 2012

Synopsis:

Meet Celaena Sardothien.
Beautiful. Deadly.
Destined for greatness.

In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught.

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?

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My Rating:  4.5/5 (Amazing)

Book Information

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Genre(s): Fantasy, Young-Adult

Page Count: 404

Format: Paperback

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Hello! Today I have for you a review on Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, the first book in the epic fantasy series of the same name. Since Queen of Shadows (SO EXCITED), the fourth book in the Throne of Glass series, is being released very soon (September 1st, to be precise) and I plan to read it as soon as I receive it (I pre-ordered it), me being me, I decided I had to review the previous three books. So here I am, with a review on the first book, from where the adventure all started!

I’m usually terrible at reviewing a book in a series when I’ve already read its accompanying sequels (and it was a while back too) but I’ll be giving it my best shot! To write a more accurate review, I’m going to be [attempting] writing the review from the viewpoint of when I first read it, without the knowledge of the events in the second and third book. Let’s get on with it!

Plot

I love this story so much! Everything about it had me addicted. However, one thing that might irk some readers is the fact that it isn’t constantly in action. There is action, though, if you’re patient enough to stick with the story. From the very first page we’re thrown right into the story, and from there the plot and storyline builds up everything rather slowly (but artfully) to its end point where all hell breaks loose. I found myself enraptured with the whole story, even if we were at some point where it wasn’t exactly an active scene. (And there was magic included! Magic! I absolutely love when there is magic involved in a story, there are so many open gates for the author, and the reader, to explore which allows for quite the enticing story.) There was just enough going on (despite the lack of constant action) in the book, what with the incredible world-building, the romance, the mystery, the magic, and it all flowed together seamlessly. It was truly magical!

Characters

“My name is Celaena Sardothien. But it makes no difference if my name’s Celaena or Lillian or Bitch, because I’d still beat you, no matter what you call me.”

I loved Celaena. She is everything I love in a strong female protagonist and more! She is by no means perfect, but her personality (a mix of fierce, arrogant and feminine) is perfect for her occupation and is quite endearing, if I’m to be honest. Her wit and sarcastic nature led to amusing interactions with other characters, which I truly enjoyed quite a bit! But what I love about her the most is the fact that she’s an amazing representation of a strong, female lead. How? Well. I know lots of readers think negatively of the fact that Celaena comments positively on her own looks, and think that makes her arrogant and selfish. But while Celaena may be arrogant (she says so herself if I’m not mistaken), is being confident in her looks a bad thing? There are so many female leads out there who are insecure about how they look, and I loved how Celaena wasn’t like that.

In short, Celaena Sardothien was blessed with a handful of attractive features that compensated for the majority of average ones; and, by early adolescence, she’d discovered that with the help of cosmetics, these average features could easily match the extraordinary assets.

Also, did I mention she loved books? Yep, along with being one of Erilea’s most feared assassins, she’s an avid reader.

“Libraries were full of ideas–perhaps the most dangerous and powerful of all weapons.”

Despite being who she was (a self-confident and kick-butt assassin) she was so relatable and girly, even. Which is, of course, another thing that puts her apart from other characters. She proves that you can be feminine and still be a badass, and be a badass and still be feminine. Amazing, really, when you think about how few books there are with characters like that.

Next we have Prince Dorian Havilliard, who wasn’t completely what I expected. He was a typical character in that his princely roles, obligations and duties were familiar (needed to marry, obey his father, etc. etc.) but I did not expect to like him as much as I did. He wasn’t a stuck-up and arrogant snob (well, not too arrogant, at least) like some royals I can name (*Cough* Eadlyn *cough*), but instead a caring and thoughtful person. He is quite charming and his and Celaena’s interactions were quite cute and fun to read. However there is a teensy little problem…

…Which comes in the name and form of Chaol Westfall, Captain of the Guard. He is amazing. I loved him, really. He’s all scowling and gloomy, but really, he has a heart of gold. So why wouldn’t I love him? (I’m almost not even joking, he’s simply to die for.) His interactions with Celaena are more different than the ones she had with Dorian, but no less entertaining and cute to read about. Their relationship is more subtle, and really, more stronger in my opinion! Though do not let my judgement influence you. 😉 Overall, Chaol is still a total cutie pie!

Writing Style

“Sometimes, the wicked will tell us things just to confuse us–to haunt our thoughts long after we’ve faced them.”

I refuse to believe this is the debut of Sarah J. Maas. Nope. The writing in this novel was absolutely fantastic. First off, I loved how the world was written; we aren’t given, like, heaps and mounts of information on this world we’re in, but we’re able (or at least *I* was able) to imagine the world we’re in, understand its history and what it’s like. And I loved that, because often in books of the fantasy genre, it’s hard to fully get a grip on the world we’re in, but for Throne of Glass, it was like second skin. Another thing I loved about the writing was that it was seemed so poetic and flowed so nicely with the tone and mood of the book. It was effortless, reading this book, and I enjoyed reading it so much because it was written so nicely!

Book Trailer

Overall…

This is a book you should not, under any circumstances, pass on, because it is truly wonderful. The plot is crafted so well that although it isn’t jam-packed with action (trust me, there’s plenty of that in the next book) it’s compelling and incredibly hard to resist. For me, anyway. It might take some time to get into it for some, but it’s definitely worth your time! I absolutely loved the characters, especially Celaena and the love interests, because they were created marvelously! Celaena is a fantastic representation of feminine badass assassin, and we definitely need more female leads who are confident and not insecure of who they are. She may be seen as arrogant, but that so-called arrogance gives her the ability to acknowledge her strenghts, something that countless other characters undermine. This was simply so refreshing! There is a love triangle, but it is more subtle and doesn’t take over the whole plot, and instead provides some excitement and emotional attachment from the reader. The writing is poetic and perfectly fits the story. Really, must I go on? I say not, because bottom line is: this book is fantastic. And I must say, if you do not at least give a chance to this book/series, I shall be quite offended and will unfriend you. 😛 Just kidding. But still. I command you to read it!!

Have you read this book? If you have, I shall be quite sad if you don’t join in on my fangirling!! (Especially with Queen of Shadows being released very soon!) And even if you haven’t, I will be equally sad if you don’t leave a taste of your thoughts on whether you will read the book or not. 😉 Bottom line: talk to me! I’d love to hear from you. ❤

Now, I’m off to bed! I think I’m kind of sleep-deprived right now… Enjoy your day/night, bookworms! Just remember, this book must be gobbled up asap. 😀