Allison: Throne of Glass | Sarah J. Maas | Book Review

Celaena is a badass assassin. From the moment, she is introduced as one of the main characters of Throne of Glass, I was in love. She’s tough and sarcastic and doesn’t take crap from anyone. She also has a huge problem with admitting defeat and allowing submission. She refuses to take orders from anyone but herself. She also isn’t afraid to admit that she cares about her appearance from time to time AND she loves to read. Essentially, she is everything that I love to read about in a book that deals with a strong central female character.

When we first meet Celaena, we learn that she was the world’s greatest assassin, who was finally captured and sentenced to work in a salt mine. She has lasted longer in the salt mine than most because of her skills and her strength for survival. It is because of her skills that she is offered the opportunity for an out – she must take part in a competition to be the King’s champion and win.  She must fight for her freedom going against the toughest male assassins, thieves, and ex-guards that the King himself could find. Oh, and did I mention that there is a mysterious murderer roaming the castle? It is so suspenseful!

Sarah J. Maas did a brilliant job of writing this story. I loved the snark, the action, the mystery and all of the dynamics between the characters. I found the third person narrative to be a very effect way to tell the story. I enjoyed the insight that it gave me into the other characters emotions and thoughts. Of course, this did get frustrating on occasion as I witnessed them clashing heads knowing that if they were to actually express themselves or listen to each other then their arguments would never happen. I also missed the opportunity to deduce on my own what the characters were feeling or thinking. Still, I appreciated the level of intensity that I felt the third person narrative brought to the story at just the right moments.

There is also a love triangle in Throne of Glass, and for once I didn’t really mind reading it. On the one hand, you have Dorian who is the prince, and who is very aggressive and open with his feelings. He never fails to bring up his desires whenever he is alone with Celaena. Also, he has no doubt that in the end he will be the one to end up with her since he’s so used to getting what he wants a member of royalty. On the other hand, there is Chaol. Chaol is the Captain of the Guard, and he is very conflicted on his feelings regarding Celaena. At first he hates her but slowly learns to respect her … and maybe even care for her. He doesn’t agree with these feelings, doesn’t understand them, and wants to believe that if he just ignores them, then eventually they will go away. As the reader, it was interesting for me to learn all of the different strengths and weakness of both male characters, and figure out which one I feel was more balanced with Celaena. Hint: It’s not the prince.

I am very excited to continue with the characters of Throne of Glass in the second book of the series which is called Crown of Midnight. I want to be able to spend more time with them and learn about them and learn from them. I want to know everything about them and the world in which they live in. It is all so interesting, and suspenseful, and mysterious – you do not want to miss this!

Disclosure: Purchased copy

Other reviews of Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas:

Booked Up: “Throne of Glass will deliver everything you could ever hope to gain from a book.”

Coffee & Wizards: “There is nothing I hate more than wasted potential, and that is the kindest thing I can say about this book: it had a lot of wasted potential.”

Alexa Loves Books: “Fantastic story, multi-dimensional characters, an intriguing lore, a love triangle well done – these elements have made THRONE OF GLASS such a success to me.”

April’s Review: “Throne Of Glass by Sarah J. Maas was an enjoyable read and I am dying to get my hands on the sequel.”