Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas Pages: 404
on August 7, 2012
Series: Throne of Glass #1
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Adventure
Source: Bought, Hardcover
Also in this series: The Assassin's BladeAfter 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 exhilarating. 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.
I know I am super late to the party here, but holy cow! I now know why Throne of Glass got so much hype. And trust me, it lived up to all of the hype and then some. Throne of Glass is a young adult fantasy by Sarah J. Maas and I already know it is going to be one of my favorite YA fantasies EVER. I may be the last person to jump on the Throne of Glass bandwagon, but I am fully on board now. I loved this book, pretty much instantly. In fact, I was downright mean to anyone that interrupted me while reading. And my attention span was complete rubbish when I had to walk away from the book and function in the real world. It has been ages since I was unable to focus in school or at work because I was way too busy thinking about a book. But Throne of Glass completely grabbed me and did not let go. Even now, I am itching to go home and start book 2. (and thinking about putting an order in for book 5 so I don’t have to wait for it to be shipped out.)
I loved Celaena Sardothien so much. I think she is a kick ass main character and I can’t wait to see how she changes and matures in the series. I am trying my hardest to not read any spoilers because I know there are tons out there, but I really don’t want to find anything out prematurely. I was equally riveted by the mystery, the world building, the contest as I was with the romances. I liked both Chaol and Dorian, but I am totally in love with Chaol. I can see a lot of people liking Dorian because he is a great guy and I can already tell he is nothing like his father. Plus, hello bookworm! But the scenes with Chaol just made my heart race, even when they were not yet friends. I am rooting for him so hard at this point. He just makes Celaena push herself. I feel like he will have a big impact on her future growth within the series.
I love the complexity of the world Sarah J. Maas has created. I feel like there is so much more to Celaena than we have seen so far. I am beyond intrigued to find out more about the Wyrdmarks and what, if anything, they have to do with her and the castle. It was why I loved her friend, Princess Nehemia so much. I can’t wait to see what role she will play in the next book. Overall, Throne of Glass blew me away. I find it hard to believe that another fantasy series will top this one, this year. I must read the second book. (In fact, I think I feel a cold coming on…maybe I should go home early today. No, just kidding. Kind of…) If you are looking for a YA fantasy series that has it all- a kick ass main character, a great romance, awesome world building and more suspense and intrige than you can imagine, Throne of Glass is a series you should be reading. Most of you know this already, but if you are like me and you haven’t gotten around to this series yet. Stop, put whatever you are doing down and read Throne of Glass. Right now. And while you are at it, cancel your plans for tonight. You won’t be able to pull yourself away from this book.
P.S. this review was totally weird to write, because in all likelihood, the people that read it will be much further along in the series. I might be totally off based with this stuff from book 1. I’m very interested to see what you guys think. Without being spoilery I am totally curious to see if I am totally wrong about somethings.
About Sarah J. Maas
Sarah lives in Bucks County, PA, and over the years, she has developed an unhealthy appreciation for Disney movies and bad pop music. She adores fairy tales and ballet, drinks too much tea, and watches an ungodly amount of TV. When she’s not busy writing, she can be found exploring the historic and beautiful Pennsylvania countryside with her husband and canine companion.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Well, you officially aren’t the last person ever to read this series because I STILL haven’t gotten to it yet. I’m working my way through The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer right now and then I’m starting A Court of Thorns and Roses and then maybe I will get to this one after that. haha! Too many good books out there for me to keep up! So glad to hear that you loved it!
Julie, you need to read it. Trust me it is excellent!! I really need to read The Lunar Chronicles too!
So glad you enjoyed this book! Have you read the prequel, The Assassin’s Blade? It’s my favorite book of the series and it adds a whole new level of depth to the story and the characters. Ideally, I’d say to read that before Throne of Glass, but since you’ve already read it, I suggest reading TAB next 🙂
Brittany @ Brittany’s Book Rambles
I just got TAB for Christmas. and that is a great tip. I was going to hold off until the end, but now I am thinking I should read it before Crown of Midnight. Thanks Brittany! 🙂
Sarah Mass and this series is an author I have seen around for a while. I have not read any of the books, but they have been on my radar and your review only reminds me to check them out. Happy reading.
sherry @ fundinmental
Sherry, I am notorious for grabbing popular books and then never reading them. But this series is so worth a read. I loved it so much!
I’m even later to the party than you! I do appreciate the review and putting a fantastic book in front of me to remind me I need to read this or miss out on the fun. The characters and world sound excellent from what you wrote.
I’m late to the party too. It’s good to know the hype is justified.
Yeah, I totally worship at the alter of SJM. Glad you enjoyed it!
Haven’t read this series STILL!! I hang my head in shame!! ?
I’m glad you reminded me of this series. I’ve been collecting the books as they come out. I’m a binge reader and with 5 out in this series probably a good time to start it as 2017 is suppose to be the final book in the series. I also heard Hulu was doing a TV series on it.
No, you’re not the only one! I was vaguely familiar with this title but had no idea what it was about. Thanks for a great review on what sounds like a very engaging book!
This sounds like a great book, thanks for sharing!
I own this book and haven’t read it yet, even though I really should. It just sounds so wonderful and the hype is insane. The best kind of books are the ones you really can’t tear yourself away from, because when you’re apart from them, you just can’t function. I’m gonna have to read this one myself too!
I have read and loved the entire series. It just keeps getting better and better as time goes on.There are a lot of twists, turns and totally unexpected things happening. Read the entire series and then I would recommend reading her other series. The first book is A Court of Thorns and Roses and is just as good, if not better than The Throne of Glass series.
I’m so embarrassed but I still need to read this! ?
Ohh great review! I also haven’t read this series yet but now after reading your review I really want too read it soon. I have read Sarah J. Mass ACOTAR book first which I absolutely love and enjoy the first book. But I don’t think I am going to continue on reading that series. So I just want too read her Throne Of Glass books because I heard amazing reviews about them plus I absolutely love her writing style. Thank you so much for the awesome post!