Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)

by Sarah J. Maas

The book that started the phenomenon. Sarah J. Maas's global #1 bestselling THRONE OF GLASS series has taken the world by storm.

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?

• ISBN10: 140883233X
• ISBN13: 9781408832332
• Publish Date: 2 August 2012
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 24 April 2023
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Imprint: Bloomsbury YA
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 416
• Language: English

Reviews

[Silvara]

Check out my other reviews, discussions and link ups at Fantasy of the Silver Dragon

I liked that even though she was an assassin, and apparently the best one ever, as well as much younger than anyone expected her to be... she had morals. Not to say that assassins are supposed to be evil creatures or anything, but she had specific things that she would never do. Like kill children.

She likes pretty dresses, and playing the piano, and reading. And the fact that she likes these things, and takes the time to do them even though she needs to be training up for the competition, helps make her three-dimensional. She doesn't skip practices, she still hones her skills. But she also takes a little time to do other things, things she enjoys.

And along the way she makes friends, stumbles upon a bit of a magical mystery, and still manages to place well in the competition. Even though she is supposed to be hiding her skills for the most part, to trick the others into underestimating her.

I loved her interactions with Chaol, the Captain of the Guard. Yes this book does have the dreaded love-triangle. I was rooting for Chaol from the first meeting though. Just something about him appealed to me more than Crown Prince Dorian did. I liked Dorian too, I just was really hoping she wouldn't pick him. And I'm not going to tell you which one she seemed to be picking by the end of the book. Especially as it's possible the next book may change that outcome since it wasn't clear-cut who she chooses.

There were a number of different plot threads going on during the book. And they moved smoothly from one to another. There was definitely a lot of magic, as well as murder and mystery, and the threads of romance. So many things happened I'm still deciding on what my favorite bits were. But it was never so involved that you get lost as to what is happening or forget anything important.

If you like a little mystery and romance with your fantasy, well-developed memorable characters, and a detailed world, I would highly recommend this book.

This review was originally posted on Fantasy of the Silver Dragon

[Stephanie]

This review was originally posted on Once Upon a Chapter



Where do I even start with this review? First of all: I'm sorry. I'm sorry that it took me so long to pick up Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. I have had it for at least a year if not longer. I think that the insane amount of hype surrounding Maas's work just made me anxious. What if I was the one person who just couldn't get it? I always think this and typically I'm wrong. I end up loving it. This time; however, I had good reason to worry. I had read the first chapter or two when it first came out and couldn't get into it. It just didn't hook me the way that I thought it would.

For the most part I enjoyed the book. Celaena Sardothien is the kind of girl I want to be when I grow up. What she wants you to see is a bad ass assassin who can be as cold and clinical as a physician when it comes to murder. And she can be, but she's also a reader. A girl who loves fancy dresses and baubles. A loyal friend. A person just as capable of loving and hurting as you and I. And she's not afraid to cut a bitch if you mess with those she cares about.

Normally I don't do love triangles. I feel like too many books use it as a crutch because they can't find a better way to add conflict to the novel. In short, it's lazy...when it's the only conflict. The signs were all there and I knew we'd see a Chaol/Dorian/Celaena triangle. I dreaded it. Maas does it subtly. I'm not blind and I knew the majority of people were "team Chaol". Hell I'd never even heard of Dorian before reading Throne of Glass. I thought you were all nuts. Dorian was clearly the one meant for Celaena. Until that thing at the ring. Chaol won me over with that one act. It was heartbreaking and beautiful.

Maas has become one of my favorite new fantasy authors. She blends a beautiful world with enough realism that you feel like you could visit Rifthold. Her characters are flawed but you still want to be their friend. I don't think I mentioned the intrigue. Did I mention the intrigue? It had me pressing the page turn so quickly my thumbs were sore. I am so glad Alexa and I decided to buddy read this for Dewey's. It was just what I needed and I can't wait for the next book!

[shannonmiz]

Good news is, the next book is already en route.

[lindsey]

Review coming soon.

[inlibrisveritas]

4.5 Stars

Throne of Glass was kind of a reluctant read. I’ve had the book on my shelf for the better part of two years and the more I heard about, the more the hype monster set in and I was terrified to even touch it. I have high standards in fantasy novels as it is, it becomes even worse when everything is telling me I need to read it. However Throne of Glass definitely came through and I found myself enjoying it immensely.

Celaena is a young assassin, in fact she’s the best in the land and is stuck in a slave camp because of it. Until Crown Prince Dorian chooses her to become his representative in the trails for the spot of Royal Champion. I loved Celaena. I adored how ruthless and wild her thoughts could be to begin with and how over time she lost her hostility but kept her strength. Celaena has that pure badass thing down, while still maintain enough softness and grace to mingle with nobility when she needs to. Though she’s still a bit rough around the edges at times. Both Celaena and Dorian possess traits of pretty much every character to ever end up on my extensive book boyfriend/girlfriend list. They are both witty, intelligent, and fluent in sarcasm. And their dynamic together is just perfect. Chaol was likable when he wasn’t being Mr. Morality and I appreciated his camaraderie, but I never really felt the chemistry between Celaena and him which was sort of odd because it’s fairly obvious this is a love triangle. Then again it could be because I’m definitely not interested in a relationship between them forming. And I can’t I leave out Nehemia, who is another badass female that I can’t wait to see more of.

I loved the overall plot and how there was magic weaved in it, which I didn’t really expect. I even love that some of the world building and character backgrounds remain mostly a mystery at this point, but I definitely want to know more about the wars & burnings and Celaena’s past in the next book. The writing is excellent

I’m really happy that this one lived up to it’s reputation. I’ll definitely be continuing the series and buying the physical copies.

[Kelly]

http://www.divabooknerd.com/2015/01/diva-uncensored-throne-of-glass-by.html
Every so often a book comes around that leaves you spellbound. The Winner's Curse did it. These Broken Stars did it, and now Throne of Glass has done it. It was fucking awesome. Why may you ask? Celaena. It seems readers either love her or loathe her. She's the epitome of what a feisty young heroine should be. Sassy, sarcastic and uncensored. She's an assassin and even a year after being incarcerated within the mines, she's still feared by the townspeople. She had me flipping pages faster than a fat kid chasing an ice cream truck and within a few chapters, I was ready to confess my girl crush and shove Chaol and Dorian out the way.

Captain of the Royal Guard Chaol, and Prince Dorian. Apart from his overly effeminate name, the Prince didn't win me over as being worthy of our Celaena. He was nice enough, but felt a little too seedy and likely to fall into the first warm bed he found. Now Chaol? He's a love interest I can get on board with. Although he never shows any romantic intentions towards Celaena, it's a delicious slow burning attraction that left me fanning myself. Celaena seemed oblivious to the male attention she was attracting, until one lunges for her.

The world building is absolutely incredible, the oppressive rule beckoned to my inner troublemaker and even though the series hints at the outlawed magic of the kingdom returning. I'm hoping the series doesn't explore the magical pixies or fairies in too much detail, I have a deep seeded loathing for fairies, regardless of how incredible Celaena is. Unless you're granting wishes for Disney, you have no place in young adult.

For all of you that shoved Throne of Glass at me, thank you. You bloody bastards have me completely hooked. I'm even wondering if I can forgo life completely until I finish the series. Hope you're all happy that you've sucked me in now as well.



Crown of Midnight awaits.

[Cocktails and Books]

My 8th grader had picked this up at BN to read for AR. When I read the blurb and it said two men loved the heroine, I figured I better read it first to make sure he wasn't going to get an eyeful of something he shouldn't. Despite the somewhat slow start to the story as the author was building the world, the book was very entertaining and I found myself unable to put it down. Needless to say, I'm now hooked on the series

[tweetybugshouse]

Totally loved this book, loved the hint of faeries, the action, the love triangle, kept me reading and thinking about the book every min up until i finished it. Really need the next book like yesterday.

[Amanda]

I picked Throne of Glass up because it was on sale for 99 cents, but then picked up and read The Assassin's Blade (novella compilation) first because Daphne told me to. And I'm glad I did (Thanks, Daphne!) because I can see where people struggled with Celaena and Throne of Glass without the back story. I would've been annoyed without it.

But I found myself intrigued by Celaena. She's an interesting character with an interesting background. (Ah, interesting. You're a versatile word.) Bad ass is apt, I think. But she's also still a young girl, trying to make the best of a bad situation. And I wanted to cheer for her.

I also wanted more information, both about her past and the world, but I'll give Throne of Glass a pass on this one, since it's the first book of the series. Also, I reserved book 2 from the library as soon as I finished Throne of Glass, so I should get that information soon. (If I don't...)

Though there is romance---and a love triangle of sorts---I wasn't bothered by it. Celaena isn't a normal girl, and the way she views men and relationships is... dammit, I'm going to say it again... interesting. Does Celaena understand what love is? She knows lust and wanting, but love---that's the missing ingredient that made watching her budding relationships so fascinating.

Throne of Glass (and The Assassin's Blade before it) promises a rich and intriguing world, and yes---I want more.

[Vicki]

4.5 stars