Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)

by Sarah J. Maas

The first book in New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas's sweeping fantasy saga - now available in hardcover with a new look to match the series!

When magic has gone from the world, and a vicious king rules from his throne of glass, an assassin comes to the castle. She does not come to kill, but to win her freedom. If she can defeat twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition to find the greatest assassin in the land, she will become the king’s champion and be released from prison.

Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. And a princess from a foreign land will become the one thing she never thought she’d have again: a friend. But something evil dwells in the castle—and it’s there to kill. When her competitors start dying, horribly, one by one, Celaena’s fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the source of the evil before it destroys her world.

• ISBN10: 1599906953
• ISBN13: 9781599906959
• Publish Date: 3 December 2015 (first published 2 August 2012)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 18 January 2023
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Imprint: Bloomsbury YA
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 416
• Language: English

Reviews

[Ashley]

Names are not important. It's what lies inside of you that matters.

My review of this book might change as I continue with the series

I LOVE a strong FMC, and Celaena is everything I could want in one. Despite her young age, she has endured so much and continues to rise stronger every time. She might be my favorite FMC so far!

That said, I didn't enjoy the "love triangle" that much. It was clear from the start that she wouldn’t end up with either man, so the back-and-forth felt unnecessarily drawn out. There was more focus on one, despite what the other also did for Celaena, yet I couldn’t truly see her with either of them. I think I'm just not a fan of love triangles—or maybe I'm still caught up on you know who and wish they had more time. I did enjoy, however, getting to learn more about Dorian and Chaol and seeing their friendship with Celaena grow. My absolute favorite friendship was Celaena and Nehemia, though! Knowing what I know from The Assassin's Blade, it was lovely to see their bond grow. I'm really hoping for more of this in the later books!

Overall, the pacing wasn't too fast or too slow. It was somewhere in the middle, which was perfect. The world-building was incredible, and I liked that Throne of Glass leans more into the fantasy elements rather than being romance-heavy. I started with The Assassin's Blade in my reading order, but this was a great start to the main story!

03/17/2025: My reviews of the Throne of Glass series
- The Assassin's Blade
- Crown of Midnight
- Heir of Fire

Unfortunately, Celaena is just unlikable in this book. There is such a thing as too much sass, and it turns into brattiness. You can tell the writer was herself very young at time of writing. I'm glad I continued because the series goes from 2 to 5 stars in the end, but this one was a painful read.

[Inkslinger]

While I know Throne of Glass is several years old at this point, as with most big series and authors.. I was late experiencing them. At the time most of these series started to debut, my life was chaos and I just didn't have a lot of time or energy for reading.

 

That being said, when I did finally check out Sarah J. Maas.. I began with the new release at the time.. Crescent City's House of Earth and Blood. It just didn't make sense to force myself to go back and read an older title first, when there was an entirely fresh new series coming. I loved it, of course, though I did have a handful of minor complaints.. and that's to be expected from me with most titles.

 

However, going back to her debut novel, I was surprised to discover the things I complained about in Crescent City, were an absolute non-factor in Throne of Glass. There's no massive information dump towards the end of the story.. and nowhere are characters being forced away from their natures just to drive the tale in a specific direction at will. That really makes me wonder what happened along the way.

 

Obviously, being a debut novel, the character and story development are as filled out as her newer titles, but it's not like it felt like I was missing anything either.  

 

Dorian and Chaol are both lovely. She makes it clear that there's much more beyond the surface than she's allowed us to see in book one and I can't wait to continue.  

 

Celaena is likable, mostly. More so than the average lead. If a little wishy-washy both on her choice of romantic partner and just her general day-to-day attitude. Leads like this have a tendency to not really be multi-dimensional, so much as script flipping. One moment they're brash and mouthy and the next they're blushing like a delicate belle. That's just something I've come to expect though, whenever an author is attempting to craft what they see as a 'strong female' character.

 

Nonetheless, I loved the book. The worldbuilding was interesting and as usual, Maas isn't afraid to get graphic. The idea of a 'non-magical' option for powers was really well done and the tension was spot on throughout the book. Honestly, there were times I wasn't sure how people might even manage to survive their situations, and if I've learned anything from Crescent City.. it's that I can't trust Maas to just spare them. 

3.5

[herseriallife]

Just finished my 2nd read of this awesome series and I still love it very much. It's the book that made me discover the amazing Sarah J. Maas who is now one of my favorite author! And Throne of Glass is one of my favorite series.

[FranJessca @ A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog]

I first read Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas back in 2015. Thanks to my local library, I was able to read it. Now I have all the books in my home library. I’ve decided it’s time for a re-read (in 2021) since I have the last two books that I never read. I’m determined to read them finally. 

Storyline: Celaena Sardothien is an 18-year-old assassin who is about to gain her freedom from the salt mines of Endovier, but there is a catch to it. Prince Dorian wants her to be his champion in a competition that her father, the King, has created. She’s forced to go through a competition with other assassins, warriors, and thieves to find the next royal assassin for the King. Unfortunately, most of the other competitors are being killed off, and Celaena is afraid she will be next. She’s a strong female character that knows how to handle herself and what is out there. She ends up becoming friends with a princess in the castle and something else entirely trying to help her, which Celaena doesn’t think she should trust at first.

My Thoughts: Throne of Glass is one Young Adult fantasy that had me continuously turning the pages to find out what will happen next. I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of this book, and I loved how Sarah introduced the characters in this book. It was even better reading Throne of Glass a second time after I read the novellas. The novellas help me realize why Celaena was the way she was in this book. It takes a while for her character to grow on you, but she has been through a lot. 

Celaena is my favorite type of character with her kick-butt abilities and her will to help others. (She assists Nox and Nehemia in this book in different ways.) Although, her kick-butt qualities don’t come out in this book much, which is why I recommend reading the novellas first before diving into this book. You will find out how Celaena was before she went to the Salt Mines and was put into a competition.

Poor Celaena is not only having to deal with what is happening to the competitors, but she is also dealing with two guys that have an interest in her. Yes, there is a love triangle in this book. One of the guys will not admit he has feelings, but the other already made his attentions clear to Celaena. 

I’m actually rooting for her to hook up with one particular character, but I already know what’s going to happen. I read the first few books already, but I’m not going to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read this book or series.

The King is one ruthless King, who definitely is not my favorite. I’m kind of cautious of what he has planned. I can’t trust a character who goes out and kills without remorse, and this King is just like that on killing without remorse. It’s like he has no soul.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. I give this book 4.5 stars and look forward to diving into the second book very soon (again for my re-read). If you are a fan of Young Adult fantasy, then I would recommend this book/series. Some readers may not like the first book, but I promise it gets better. (I do recommend reading the novellas first before diving into Throne of Glass.) 

 I’m so glad I was introduced to Sarah’s books because I’ve found a new author I’ve placed on my auto-buy list. 🙂 (I mean, I do own ALL of her books now.) 

[Steph L]

Omg, this book was so good!!!!

[Mad Soul Child]

В следующей книге надо полагать ее хахалем будет Шаол.
Эх, а мне нравится принцулечка, как всегда буду страдать

[scarr]

I really did like this book - so the 3 stars is more because I can see the potential of the series but found this first installment a bit overwrought. I look forward to the second book!

[lady_of_the_night]

I loved the ending of this book. It made me incredibly happy that all of my theories were correct and some theories that I didn't expect happened as well. It was all in all a pleasant book to read and I can't wait for book 2.