Throne Of Glass

A Synopsis:

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. 
(Taken from Goodreads.)

Review: (spoilers...sorry!)

Throne of Glass is a high fantasy six book series that has recieved an abundance of hype within the blogosphere and Booktube community. I bought this book a year ago and have put it off due to other series being published. However, over the summer I picked it up and found myself surprised. The book starts off slow and nothing really happens until halfway through the book. The pacing was consistent however and never dragged nor left you clinging on due to its fast action sequences. 

I thought the main character Celeana was interesting to read about as she was complex and refreshing. The reader got to peek inside her mind and discover the thoughts she had which were very reminiscent of those of Adelina from Marie Lu's 'The Young Elites'. I found her character interesting and something not commonly found in typical YA. The other characters in this novel included Chaol, Dorian and Nehemia. I found Chaol and Nehemia full of character and were very easy to relate to. Their relationships with Celeana were awkward, hilarious and emotional all at once and felt real. Dorian on the other hand was annoying and whiney. I understand how people like his character but to me he felt like a pretty typical YA love interest *cough Jennifer L. Armentrout cough*. I did not enjoy his interactions with Celeana and hopefully it discontinues in future books (also it was pretty insta-lovey).

The story was predictable in some aspects however, me being the clueless idiot that I am, didn't pick up on it. I felt that the tests weren't really explained or looked into in depth but were rather glossed over despite the fact that they were the reason Celeana was at the castle. The plot was a cycle of 'Champion death, flirting with Dorian, training, reading, researching Wyrdmaks, Test' rinse and repeat. It was frustrating that Celeana was always saying how dangerous and badass she was when she practically swooned for Dorian. Although I liked her character, some of her interactions were contradictory to her nature.

Sarah J Maas' writing was executed brilliantly in this novel. For a debut, I was surprisingly impressed. She managed to explain the fundamentals of the fantasy world without spilling info-dumps onto the reader. Her descriptions were vivid and colourful. I felt that her writing was definitely the strongest aspect of this novel and is the sole reason I am continuing on with this high fantasy series.

To conclude, Throne of Glass was a refreshing read with somewhat cliché characters and plot arcs. However, it was an enjoyable read nonetheless and proved to be a promising start to an epic fantasy series. Be sure to pick the next one up!
3 and a half books.
(Reviews now Monday and Thursday, happy reading!)

Have a good one, J Woo.