Title: Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Age Group: Young Adult
Rating: 5 stars
Purchase: Amazon
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 four 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.
Incredible. Amazing. Superb. No amount of superlatives would do this story justice.
Celaena Sardothien is the most notorious assassin of Ardalan. She is kick ass awesome, trained under the King of Assassins, and managed to become the stuff of legend by the time she was a young adult. Then she spent a year in the mines of Endovier, and now the Crown Prince shows up with an offer she can’t refuse. If she goes to the glass castle and participates in a contest of assassins, one of which will be chosen as the King’s Champion, she will win her freedom.
The plot was hands down amazing. The writing was beautiful. From the moment I started reading, I couldn’t stop. I had no idea where the story would go next, and even in the spots where I did, it still managed to surprise me. I also liked some of the more mythical/magical elements that got added as the story progressed.
Celaena is easily my favorite heroine ever. She’s sassy, arrogant, vain, but somehow it all connects and in her heart, she’s actually quite a decent person – which is a weird thing to say about an assassin but is true all the same.
The love triangle was the best ever. Seriously. I usually end up having a slight preference, but here? Nope. I love Dorian. I love Chaol. Both are decent men, and both are awesome in their own way. Dorian has that allure because of being a Crown Prince and thus a relationship with him would be almost impossible. But Chaol is mysterious and charming… I can’t choose! How the heck will Celaena ever choose?
If you enjoy fantasy, I totally, wholeheartedly, utterly recommend Throne of Glass. It is the best fantasy book I’ve read in years. In fact, I just finished it and already want to reread it, AND I ordered my copy of the sequel late last night, that’s how addicted I am to this series.
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