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A review by lovelymisanthrope
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I was very intrigued to start this series. I have never been a huge fantasy lover, but I read all of the "A Court of Thorns and Roses" books last year, and I was curious about Sarah J. Maas's first series. I was also curious because I read "House of Sky and Breath" earlier this year and (spoiler) it reveals that all of Sarah J. Maas's universes are about to be connected when the third book comes out. With all of this in mind, I was excited to dive into this series, but I did not have high expectations because it is Sarah J. Maas's first book AND it was published ten years ago.
This first book lays the foundation for an epic fantasy novel about a young assassin who is trying to gain her freedom through adverse circumstances. Celaena Sardothien is a powerful young woman who is visited by The Crown Prince who makes her the deal of a lifetime. She can leave her hard labor, slavery life behind and compete to become the King's champion. If she is successful and she works for a few years, she can then have her freedom. Celaena knows she has the skills to defeat anyone, so she accepts and is taken to the castle to start training and competing. However, she soon discovers this arrangement is much more than anyone of them could have bargained for. The competitors are slowly being murdered one by one, and there are no leads to figure out why. It is also clear that the King is rooting against Celaena. Can Celaena prevail and continue on her quest for freedom?
I thought this book was very approachable to read as a fantasy and very interesting. The magic system is not overly complicated but, it was still really enjoyable to read about. The "action" scenes are high-stakes and often times had me at the edge of my seat. My one qualm is that this has the cliche YA trope of an unnecessary love triangle. I am sure for the target audience, and if I had read this ten years ago when it came out, this love triangle would be really exciting to read about, but I was more focused on the competition than I was about Celaena and her gentleman callers.
Overall, I am excited to continue in this series soon!
This first book lays the foundation for an epic fantasy novel about a young assassin who is trying to gain her freedom through adverse circumstances. Celaena Sardothien is a powerful young woman who is visited by The Crown Prince who makes her the deal of a lifetime. She can leave her hard labor, slavery life behind and compete to become the King's champion. If she is successful and she works for a few years, she can then have her freedom. Celaena knows she has the skills to defeat anyone, so she accepts and is taken to the castle to start training and competing. However, she soon discovers this arrangement is much more than anyone of them could have bargained for. The competitors are slowly being murdered one by one, and there are no leads to figure out why. It is also clear that the King is rooting against Celaena. Can Celaena prevail and continue on her quest for freedom?
I thought this book was very approachable to read as a fantasy and very interesting. The magic system is not overly complicated but, it was still really enjoyable to read about. The "action" scenes are high-stakes and often times had me at the edge of my seat. My one qualm is that this has the cliche YA trope of an unnecessary love triangle. I am sure for the target audience, and if I had read this ten years ago when it came out, this love triangle would be really exciting to read about, but I was more focused on the competition than I was about Celaena and her gentleman callers.
Overall, I am excited to continue in this series soon!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Murder, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent