Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Title: Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1)

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Release Date/Publisher: August 2nd, 2012 by Bloomsbury

Read: July 8th, 2012

Pages: 426-eBook (ARC-PDF)

Series:

0.1 to 0.5- The Assassin’s Blade
1. Throne of Glass
2. Crown of Midnight
3. Heir of Fire
4. Queen of Shadows
5. Untitled
6. Untitled

Synopsis:

In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king’s champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will befriend her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass—and it’s there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena’s fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

What I thought:

I received a copy of this through NetGalley, and the cover pictured is from the UK version, which is also my favourite!

Calaena, which is an awesome name, was taken in by the King of Assassin’s when she was an orphan at eight, and was trained in the ways of killing. After making a name for herself and inspiring fear, she got caught and sent to prison for a year. She managed to stay sane up until the day the Prince offered her a deal. Win a competition against other thieves, assassins etc. and become the King’s Champion. If she won, she would serve him for a certain amount of years, then be totally free, compared to rotting where she was and working in the mines. She takes this offer up of course, and then that’s when the awesomeness starts.

She is taken to the crystal palace, where she will stay during the competition under an alias, so no one finds out who she really is, her name is feared all around after all.

The King of Adarlan has outlawed any use of magic, has banished any mythical creatures including the Fey, and is also trying to take over everything while burning every forest he can down. I really liked the mention that there used to be magic, and that maybe it will come back at some point. I’m a sucker for magic and knights and swords!

The competitors start dying, being torn apart by some kind of animal before the tests. She sees symbols across the palace that are unknown, and starts weird dreams of visits from a dead Queen, but she doesn’t know how they link up together. Someone is behind this, and she is urged to find out who before evil gets the upper hand.

I loved the characters in this so much! Most of the story is told through the eyes of Calaena, but certain parts of the chapter get told through Prince Dorian, the Captain of the Guard Chaol, and one really annoying lady who wants to marry the prince. There is lots of action with swords and the training they go through, but Calaena is also really smart. I really liked that she reads in her spare time, and her attitude was just perfect for the story, proud and defiant but she can also be nice.

I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a good fantasy story with action, some hinted at magic, and small hints of possible romance to come.