Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Released- July 31 2012
Published-Bloombury USA

Purchase- Amazon / B & N / Chapters

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 three 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.

My Thoughts:

After a year of being enslaved in the Salt Mines of Endovier, Eighteen year old, Celaena Sardothien was doing her usual job of cleaning the salt from the mountains when she was dragged off to a secret meeting to see no other then the crown Prince of Adarlan/Erilea himself, Dorian Havilliard. 

He has a proposition for her. His father, the King of Adarlan is looking for a Champion, someone who will...take care of his more difficult opponents and since Celaena is imprisoned for being one of the greatest assassins in Adorlan, naturally, the Prince would remember her. If she chooses to accept this offer she will be granted freedom after a few years of service, if not then she goes back to the Mines to surly die.

But there's a catch. The position isn't her's yet. The King has made arrangements for a little contest between other thieves, assassin's and warriors. They are to be trained at the glass castle and ultimately compete. 

The one to win will be the 'official' Adarlan Assassin to the King and Prince of Adarlan.

Throne of Glass is a very rich and deep high fantasy story that has just about everything you could ask for. Suspense, intrigue, mysterious graphic deaths and even a touch of magic to satisfy any fan of this genre.

It's hard to believe this is the Sarah J. Maas debut novel. Her writing is fantastic. For such a detailed plot she does a remarkable job of knowing exactly where each scene should fall. 

In any high fantasy reads I always expect some kind of politics, something that's my least favorite aspect in my reads, but it wasn't overly expressive and I was able to keep up. Court is stiff and dull but it also had it's moments of amusements. My favorite part of the story was the intense training, testing and fighting. Maas knows how to write one helluva fight scene. Very entertaining and exciting stuff. And then there is also the mystery of what or who has been killing the competing champions so viciously. It wasn't overly graphic mind you, but it was enough to paint a rather horrific picture. That was an unexpected little twist in the plot, further proving that Maas knows how to keep her readers on their toes.

I was surprised how quickly I got attached to these characters. Celaena is such an amazing protag to cheer for. She's fiery, fierce, spunky, witty, brave, skilled and arrogance. But it was also great to see a warmer side to her. The side that enjoys reading and dancing. The side that makes her feel more human and less hired killer.

Prince Dorian rather surprised me as the story moves on. I mean, he's a prince, royalty, you would think that people like Celaena would be someone to squish with his shoes and yet, he turned out to be kind and charming and very different from his ruthless and cold father. I really enjoyed those moments between them.

And then there's Choal Westfall, Captain of the Guard. When we first meet Choal he's obviously not well liked. He's harsh, unfeeling and doesn't think twice with someone who is a mere thief and prisoner, but as the story moves on and he starts to train her for the competition, we see some of those bitter and guarded walls come down as she earns his respect and admiration. I loved the banter and playfulness between Celaena and Choal. The affections and attraction was subtle but obviously sweet at the same time. They made me laugh and smile one of those stupid grins. 

Now, I know that some readers don't like the whole love triangle thing, but I myself don't mind it. Always did love the spin of complications and conflict. As for this particular one, I actually like both men so much that I can't decide who I like more. I am however very curious how things will play out in future books.

All in all, I really enjoyed myself with this book. The writing is outstanding. There is a lot going on plot wise but it doesn't drag or isn't dull down. There always seems to be some part of the story thickening up which kept the experience absorbing and interesting while these characters won my heart and kept me invested from start to finish. 

Can't wait to see what happens next!

An amazing debut! 

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