(Throne of Glass # 1)
By: Sarah J. Maas
Pub. Date: August 7, 2012
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Children's Books
Pages: 416
Source: ARC
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 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 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've had a copy of this book since April and it took me
forever to read it. I kept putting it off, even though everyone kept telling me
to read it, and boy, am I glad I finally listened! Throne of Glass was so much more then I was expecting! Sure, it is
a pretty big book. So big in fact, that my hands were actually hurting from
holding up the ARC, but every single page is filled with action, romance and secrets.
I wanted, no I needed to know more about Celaena, Chaol, and Prince Dorian!
Celaena is an 18 year old master assassin, that in itself is
pretty awesome! She spent the last year working the mines, being beaten and
starved, but she is still strong and would not let the prison break her. The
Prince promises to release her if she fights to become his father's champion,
which means she must win against 23 other opponents, then work for the King,
for a few years, killing exactly who he says. Celaena knows she can will be
able to fight and win!
I loved Celaena. At first I didn't think I would, but she
really opened up to me. She had a very sad back story, and you understand why
and how she became as assassin. She
might be the best there is, but that doesn't mean she likes doing it. She still
has a heart, and doesn't want to hurt those that don't deserve it.
I was a little disappointed with the boy factor though. I
didn't feel connected to either Chaol, Captain of the Guard or Prince Dorian.
Both of them had sweet moments, but Chaol was way too hot and cold for me, and
while I definitely liked Dorian more, even he had some pretty dumb moments. Overall,
I just wasn't impressed.
Throne of Glass is
not a fast read. It took me over a week to read this one. It is a heavy book,
literally and figuratively, but it is also an enjoyable read. I am very excited
to see where the story is going to take us next!
I wasn't really feeling the guys either-I saw there was potential for the swoon but it never fully came through for me. Glad to hear you liked this!
ReplyDeleteI was disappointed in this book also. I was expecting something really EPIC considering everyone was marketing as the next 'Game of Thrones' for YA but . . . I'm still looking forward to the sequel. Hope it's better and answers more questions for me. Great review!
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