YA Review: Throne of Glass

Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, 1) by Sarah J. Maas, August 7, 2012. 404 pages. Published by Bloomsbury USA Children's. Source: Library.

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 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 exhilirating. 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.

First Sentence:

After a year of slavery in the Salt Mines of Endovier, Celaena Sardothien was accustomed to being escorted everywhere in shackles and at sword-point.

Because lots of people, awesome bookish people, on Twitter said I should give this one a shot. That is my sole reasoning for grabbing a copy of Sarah J. Maas' Throne of Glass from the library. It was one of the best bookish decisions I've made this year.

Alright, while I am a little behind the curve when it comes to starting this series, I'm glad that I gave this much talked about book a chance to win me over. I admit that I didn't even bother to read the synopsis, seem to be doing that a lot lately, and just went with it because everyone said it would be a good read. They were right.

What I personally liked about this book was the writing and the plot/world building. While I did enjoy Throne of Glass, I am wishing, for once, that I had checked out the novellas before so I could have a better idea on why Celaena ended up in the Salt Mines of Endovier. That being said, I found the characters to be quite interesting, especially Celaena herself. But what really made the characters interesting would have to be their interactions with each other. I loved the friendship between Chaol and Prince Dorian because it was interesting to see the way their long friendship gave them the ability to have that whole give and take... plus, I'm evil and look forward to seeing how they handle having feelings for the same girl.
   As for Celeana herself, I found her to be quite interesting as the hints about her back story and what I learned about her in Throne of Glass made just want to read more about her. I found her mix of bravery and doubtfulness to be quite good. As it made her more likeable because she had doubts- in herself and in whether what she was doing was right. What I'm most excited for in the next installment is getting a better picture, hopefully, on her past and seeing whether my assumptions are correct about her story.

So, while I would have liked to know more about why Celaena ended up in the Salt Mines within the book-without reading the novellas first. While I would have liked to have seen why she ended up there in the actual book, I did enjoy, which seems weird to say here, the way the author captured Celaena's dream of freedom from captivity because it was so well written.

I guess you could say that while I loved the story the writing is what made me devour it and promptly check out the next book from the library. Sarah J. Maas did a fantastic job on Throne of Glass and captured the tone of the setting and the characters quite well. Her writing is why I'm excited to see where she'll take the series in the next few books; as well, as why I find myself eagerly awaiting the opportunity to get my hands on the next book.

Final Verdict: Throne of Glass- Engaging fantasy world that'll take you on one thrilling ride. Definitely one to keep in mind for your next epic fantasy read.

Throne of Glass earns