Thursday 26 September 2013

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas.

After serving out a year of hard labour 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.

Why?
Many years ago I saw this story on FictionPress but never got around to reading it! I was so excited to see it published and to get a second chance to read it!

What I loved:
Celaena- I really like Celaena, she is such a strong female lead! I love her personality and her wit. It was so interesting to see her recovering from her imprisonment while training for the champion competition, I found it very realistic to read. Especially her training sessions and covering up her real talents. Celaena also came across a lot more compassionate than she even seemed to realised from the way she treated servants and the other contestants to the way she was with animals. I did at times find her a bit distant as a narrator and I found it hard to work out what she really felt with regards to certain things! Celaena is definitely one of the most layered and interesting characters I've read in a while and I have a feeling she'll be intriguing me for awhile yet! 
Side Cast- Chaol was another interesting character, he was bar far the most rigid rule follower and how seriously he took Celaena as a danger to. I liked how he grew to like and respect Celaena despite himself, especially their morning training routines. Dorian was a lot of fun to read! I loved how confident he was and how he teased Celaena. It was interesting to see how he interacted and responded to his Dad's extreme politics. I'm looking forward to see how Dorian develops as a character and as a prince! Nehemia added a very different dimension to the book. She served as a reminder of the world outside of the palace and how ruthless the King could be. I loved how she embraced Celaena and their friendship was one of my favourite things about Throne of Glass. Philippa was a great witty addition to the cast, she treated Celaena like anyone else and even teased her! I loved Fleetfoot, she sounds adorable! I also liked lots of the minor characters such as the other competitors etc. who I hope crop up again in the series!
Plot- Throne of Glass had such a clever blended plot. I loved the world building especially the history of Erilea and the magical aspects. The champion competition, which I had my doubts about, was well written and masked a bigger plotline. I liked how the plot is clearly part of a series long plot, I found myself asking questions and making lots of guesses which I think makes for a great first book!
 

What I didn't love as much:
Cain- I found Cain very creepy! I think his size and skill just made the whole character arc a lot more scary!
King- Another horrid character! Apart from being very intimidating and scary, he is also so ruthless! I don't think he'd blink twice at killing his own family if he thought he'd gain land! I'm intrigued by what his end game is going to be.


Rating!
Absolutley adored the plot, the side characters and Celaena! I can't wait for more!

Check out my predictions for Crown of Midnight!
Did you love Throne of Glass?
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx

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