THRONE OF GLASS (Throne of Glass #1)
by Sarah J. Maas
PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury Publishing
RELEASE DATE: 2nd August 2012
FORMAT: Digital Advance Reader Copy, 426 pages
GENRE: Paranormal, Young Adult
Meet Celaena Sardothien. Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness. In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught.
Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted? (Goodreads)
REVIEWER: Becs
THRONE OF GLASS is being released on the 2nd August and after seeing a lot of positive reviews and publicity on this new release I was intrigued. When I managed to get my hands on an advance reading copy I was ecstatic. The downside to being so excited about a book is that sometimes it doesn’t reach expectations. However, I was not disappointed.
THRONE OF GLASS is mainly told from the point of view of the main protagonist, Celaena, an eighteen year old notorious assassin. Celaena had been imprisoned at the salt mines of Endovier, dubbed the death camp after an assassination attempt on King Adarlan went wrong. Despite the odds, Celaene had survived and was sought out by Prince Dorian to be his entry into the Kings Champion Tournament. Given the choice between dying in the salt mine or in a tournament, Celaena would rather go out fighting, and so accepts the Prince’s offer.
“If you win, and prove yourself both skilled and trustworthy, my father has sworn to grant you your freedom. And, while you’re his Champion, you’ll receive a considerable salary.”
At first there seemed to be some similarities to The Hunger Games, a dictatorship rule from King Adarlan, a tournament where 23 people from different kingdoms battle it out for the privilege to become Champion.
The similarities end there, THRONE OF GLASS is set in a world of Sarah J. Maas’ creation, where faeries and magic exist. King Adarlan has banned the use of magic and anyone found using it would be destroyed. Magic outlawed, Celaena is surprised to find ancient symbols in and around the palace and seeks to find their meanings, especially as there appears to be a link between these symbols and some unexplained gruesome murders.
Celaena trains at the glass palace of King Adarlan under heavy guardianship of the captain of the guard, Captain Westfall (Chaol). The relationship between Celaena and Chaol is tense with enjoyable banter and it’s great to see how their relationship evolves as Chaol realizes there is more to Celaena than just a dangerous assassin. Outside of training, Celaena is heavily guarded but she is allowed to wander the castle as a lady and meets the Princess of Eyllwe, Nehemia. Celaena and Nehemia become great friends and are both strong minded, outspoken women warriors who are great heroines in this book.
With any great heroine, a handsome man is usually on hand, and Sarah J. Maas gives us two to choose from with Dorian and Chaol. Both these characters have a different type of relationship with Celaena which allows her to fully shows her likable personality and brings out a lighter side in the dire situation of the tournament.
THRONE OF GLASS provides lots of action, not only through the trials in the tournament but because something sinister is lurking in the castle and some of the competitors are brutally murdered a day or two before each trial. Celaena, worried that she could be next, tries to figure out who or what is responsible, before it becomes too late. Help always comes when needed and when Celaena receives it from an unexpected source she needs to figure out if she can trust it and what will be required in return.
The finale comes with the last trial between the four remaining contestants resulting in a thrilling ultimate battle, and a great conclusion ready for the next instalment in the THRONE OF GLASS series.
VERDICT:
I enjoyed THRONE OF GLASS, it has a bit of everything; mystery, romance and lots of action. Some things are a little predictable, but is a great story none the less. There are a few novella’s that precede THRONE OF GLASS, which I will be buying shortly. Celaena is a great heroine and I wish to find out more about the little deadly assassin. I’m excited for the next book in this series.
RATING: 
SARAH J MAAS ONLINE
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BOOKS IN SERIES ORDER
0.1 The Assassin and The Pirate Lord
0.2 The Assassin and The Desert
0.3 The Assassin and The Underworld
0.4 The Assassin and The Empire
1. Throne Of Glass
BUY THE BOOK
4 Comments
Sounds like a really promosing start to a new series. I do fear that we will get oodles of Hunger Game Clones, like we did with Twilight and now 50 shades of Grey. Will put this on my wishlist
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I was worried as I began reading about the prison and starving conditions then going to the Capitol. I’m pleased to say that was the only likeness. I don’t think you can compete with the hunger games. A good YA series with a great heroine.
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I agree with Gemma, this does sound like a good start to a series. There will always be people jumping on the band wagon of popular series, but sometimes it births some magnificent series. If it wasn’t for Twilight, Harry Potter etc, there wouldn’t be an increase in the paranormal here in the UK. We have always been behind with regards to this genre, but it is getting better.
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I agree sometimes a great series prompts an idea in another author which contributes to another good series being born. I’m just not a fan of copy cat writing and I’m pleased it didn’t happen here xxx
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