Scan barcode
A review by multitaskingwithbecca
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
challenging
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I'm not really sure what I expected when I picked up this book but this was not it. I had heard about how wonderful and great it was and found it to be underwhelming. I have only read the first one as of right this moment so maybe that will change when I read more, but as of right now I'm not blown away.
I enjoyed it enough to keep reading but was really disappointed. The tests are often summarized and skipped over when I think they could have really added to the story. I wanted to see how great she really was instead of just hearing about. Yet, we never really do. The action scenes are a lot like this too. For an assassin's story it was very lacking in the action department.
I also found Celaena to be really spoiled and vain for someone who was supposedly a slave for the last year, not to mention kind of dense. She accepts a dog as a pet, but doesn't want any of the responsibility of training and caring for it. She demands Chaol to bring her some slippers as if he is the slave instead. It feels like she spends as much time staring at herself in mirrors as she does performing tests. Then when she starts figuring things out she starts looking at her closest friend like she's a bad guy when she has literally seen the bad guy! Just can't seem to picture him as it, but can somehow picture it as her bast friend? WHAT?
Speaking of slavery, I do not get the point of it in this story. The people could have suffered just as much being locked away in a dungeon/jail/prison instead of becoming slaves. It wouldn't have really changed anything plot wise except remove the ickiness that is slavery. So why? Is the king that lacking in workers to mine these mines that he needs slaves or is he just that evil that he has to have them?
I do not really understand what is happening with the magic or anything of that nature. Maybe I am just missing that or maybe it is further explained later on? I have no idea.
Also, for a series about fae why have we only seen one? I mean I get that they're being slaughtered and magic is outlawed but besides seeing Elena and hearing about that forest...we do not get any back story. Maybe there's more of this later on????
A thing that really bugged me is that around the beginning of the story we hear about Sam alot. We hear about how hard this loss is. Then nothing. It is like she just completely forgets about him and is just magically over someone she loved. This happens with her mentioning of who betrayed her as well. She thinks about it all the time and then suddenly she just doesn't. It seems like all the really interesting aspects and layers of Celaena's story are just skimmed over. This is stuff that was interesting and stuff I actually wanted to learn about.
I liked her with Dorian, but I understand why they weren't meant to be. I think he was more in love with the idea of her than actually her. He wanted an adventure and something different. She was that for him, but he didn't really see her I do not think. Chaol sees her for what she is and not what he wants her to be. So I hope out of everything I actually wanted for this story that at least that works out. I do not know. I will see if any of my questions are answered in the next book and if my overall enjoyment raises.
I enjoyed it enough to keep reading but was really disappointed. The tests are often summarized and skipped over when I think they could have really added to the story. I wanted to see how great she really was instead of just hearing about. Yet, we never really do. The action scenes are a lot like this too. For an assassin's story it was very lacking in the action department.
I also found Celaena to be really spoiled and vain for someone who was supposedly a slave for the last year, not to mention kind of dense. She accepts a dog as a pet, but doesn't want any of the responsibility of training and caring for it. She demands Chaol to bring her some slippers as if he is the slave instead. It feels like she spends as much time staring at herself in mirrors as she does performing tests. Then when she starts figuring things out she starts looking at her closest friend like she's a bad guy when she has literally seen the bad guy! Just can't seem to picture him as it, but can somehow picture it as her bast friend? WHAT?
Speaking of slavery, I do not get the point of it in this story. The people could have suffered just as much being locked away in a dungeon/jail/prison instead of becoming slaves. It wouldn't have really changed anything plot wise except remove the ickiness that is slavery. So why? Is the king that lacking in workers to mine these mines that he needs slaves or is he just that evil that he has to have them?
I do not really understand what is happening with the magic or anything of that nature. Maybe I am just missing that or maybe it is further explained later on? I have no idea.
Also, for a series about fae why have we only seen one? I mean I get that they're being slaughtered and magic is outlawed but besides seeing Elena and hearing about that forest...we do not get any back story. Maybe there's more of this later on????
A thing that really bugged me is that around the beginning of the story we hear about Sam alot. We hear about how hard this loss is. Then nothing. It is like she just completely forgets about him and is just magically over someone she loved. This happens with her mentioning of who betrayed her as well. She thinks about it all the time and then suddenly she just doesn't. It seems like all the really interesting aspects and layers of Celaena's story are just skimmed over. This is stuff that was interesting and stuff I actually wanted to learn about.
I liked her with Dorian, but I understand why they weren't meant to be. I think he was more in love with the idea of her than actually her. He wanted an adventure and something different. She was that for him, but he didn't really see her I do not think. Chaol sees her for what she is and not what he wants her to be. So I hope out of everything I actually wanted for this story that at least that works out. I do not know. I will see if any of my questions are answered in the next book and if my overall enjoyment raises.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery