Vicki
Written on Sep 7, 2014
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
Mackenzie
Written on Aug 21, 2014
....Holy...I don't even know what to say! That was utterly fantastic!
Characters = amazing.
Plot = amazing.
Whole freaking book = amazing.
You know those books where you don't want it to end? You just want it to continue on forever and ever and be blissfully unaware of everything in this world except for this book? Yeah, that's definitely this book.
What I loved:
Celaena:
This, this is a strong female character. She kicks ass, she's strong, independent and sassy. She's got a sharp-tongue and sharper mind. She doesn't take crap from anyone and isn't afraid to speak her mind, no matter the consequences. But what makes her even more awesome? She's so unexpectedly girly. I love it that she can be physically tough, but still loves all things sparkly. She loves to dress up, wear make-up and flirt. She's the perfect mash-up of femininity and strength.
Dorian:
I must say, I was rather surprised I fell in love with Dorian as I did. He's a total playboy, confident flirt with a sarcastic sense of humor that I loved. But underneath that is a guy who you know will grow up to be a good leader one day. He's defiant, strong and smart. While I'm not sure I liked his and Celaena's relationship, I did adore him as a character.
Chaol:
While I actually ended up loving Dorian more than I thought, I'd be a big fat liar if I said I didn't fall head over heels for the ever stoic Captain of the Guard. He doesn't quite trust Celaena, but he's on her side. He's broody, stoic, honorable and incredibly loyal but you get those little glimpses of his dry humor and softer side. I can't wait to see more of him in the upcoming books!
Nehemia:
Another tough female character. That's right. There's not one but two tough female characters. Ha! And both are fantastic! She's intelligent, snarky and just all-around awesome! She's got an air of mystery that kept me guessing on what she had up her sleeve.
Character interactions:
By far what made me love this book were the interactions between the characters. Honestly, I don't think I've ever fallen in love with a set of characters as much as I have these. I was constantly laughing at the witty banter and relishing in the tension filled goodness between the characters. Simply perfect.
Plot:
I absolutely loved it! It was interesting and creative and I loved the competition. And the ending just blew up! The mystery was a bit slow at first, but then during the last half the mystery really comes into play and everything just happens and it's a crazy fast whirlwind of absolute awesomeness! Sword-fighting, princes, assassins, soldiers, knives, mystery, fighting princesses, crazy tyrants and complex worlds. What more could you want?!?! I love that there are little snippets here and there of more awesomeness to come! More fae and magic and more information about Celeana's past. I must say I was really surprised with the addition of the fae, but it keeps me hooked for book two. This book really only covered the surface of what this world is capable of and I really look forward to the expansion of the plot!
POV Changes:
While most of the book is from Celeana's point of view, you get random views from Chaol and Dorian and while they are sporadic, I must say I really enjoyed it. It allows you a glimpse into their lives and views of Celeana.
World-building:
Oh, fantasy. How I love thee. I could easily imagine this complex world and can't wait to explore even more of it! Though I do wish there was a map (however, I have an ARC so one may be included in the final copies). I really can't wait to learn more about Adarlan's tyrannical rule and all the interactions between the nations and their pasts.
1 minor problem:
Minor Spoiler Ahead:
It took too long to get to the mystery. But my main problem was that I felt that everyone (except Celaena) were kind of idiots when it came to solving it. I feel as if the author needed Celeana to be the one to solve it, so she purposefully made the other characters stupid when it came to the mystery. But the other characters were smart enough to have started to figure it out themselves ya know? I'm not saying solve it because obviously the MC is Celeana and she needs to be a big part of it, but the other characters didn't need to be quite that slow.
Overall:
To be honest, I could go on and on about all the fantasticness of this book. I didn't want to put it down. I literally ignored everything else in my life in order to finish this book and when it was done, I didn't want it to end! The characters by far made this book for me. Their interactions were fantastic! This is another great book to add to your favorite fantasies! Goodness, my review doesn't do this book justice in the least. I've tried re-writing this too many times to count and can't get all my love for this in words. 2 months later and my mind is still reeling from all that is this book. Please, I beg you to go read it and fall in love with it as I did.
All the best ♥
Mackenzie @ Oh, For the Love of Books!
vagasker
Written on Jul 11, 2014
Nessa Luna
Written on Jun 26, 2014
Celaena Sardothien is an assassin, probably the best in her country. Except for one small detail. She got caught. Having spent a year in the salt mines of Endovier, she gets an opportunity to win back her freedom. Become the King’s champion, work for him for five years, and walk away a free woman. But with a mysterious and vicious killer on the loose, determined to wipe out all the potential champions, winning back her freedom isn’t as easy as Celaena had thought it would be.
I had added this book to my to-read list a long time ago, but I never got to reading it, even though a lot of people absolutely loved it. When I got a VVV cheque for my birthday, I decided to go to the Waterstones store in Amsterdam and there I finally bought Throne of Glass. I fell in love with the cover, because it just looked absolutely gorgeous!
When I started reading the book, I felt like I was rereading Poison Study. In a land ruled by a man who got his power by killing the royal family, where magic is forbidden, a murderous girl gets a chance to earn back their freedom. They have to do dangerous things (participate in the competition/become the general’s food taster) and risk being killed or send back to their prison each day. There is also a (part of the) country that is still not in the hands of that important person, but they are trying to make it theirs. But other than that, the stories were also quite different from each other, and I enjoyed both of them a lot.
First thing I noticed about this story was the map. I L O V E maps in books, especially if it’s a fictional country. This helps me imagine the world they live in better, and I found myself flipping back to the map in the front of the book very often to see which city or country they were talking about. I once made a post about how much I love books in maps, and this always gets the book an extra point!
While the story was mostly about Celaena trying to become the King’s champion, we didn’t read a lot about those tests she was supposed to do. I had hoped to read more about those tests, though they might have been simple, that was what the story was supposed to be about. Of course, there was another story line that was going on, the murders of the champions, but still the author could have cut some of the romantic parts and added more of the testings, in my opinion. Which brings me to the next part, the romance. Yes, there is romance in this book. At some points, I actually felt like there might have been a love triangle, which is something I despise. I can’t really say I ‘ship’ the two, maybe after reading the second book in the series. If there isn’t going to be another love interest of course.
I kind of felt like Sherlock Holmes, trying to solve the murders before they were actually solved in the book, and I personally think I did a very good job. The first person I suspected ended up being the one who had caused everything, but to me it had been kind of obvious (though some things in the story made me confused).
I liked the characters, but there was only one that I really loved. Nehemia. She was an amazing friend to Celaena and she made me so happy every time. There were parts where I actually suspected her of all the murders, but I think I suspected every character in the book at some point. Anyway, she was just such a lovely person and it made me happy every time I read about her.
I thought this book was very well written, only I would have loved a little chart that taught you how to pronounce all the names, because that is one thing I don’t like about fantasy novels, the difficult names that you think are pronounced like this, only to find out that they are pronounced like that. In the end, I enjoyed Throne of Glass a lot, and I will definitely be checking out the rest of the series! I recommend this book to you if you love fantasy with an awesome heroine, and especially if you loved Poison Study (because even though the story sounds similar, they are both amazing in their own way)!
KitsuneBae
Written on Mar 27, 2014
Chelsea
Written on Feb 28, 2014
I was sucked in as soon as I opened this book. I had high expectations because I've seen a lot of reviews about this book and they stayed high as I started to read.
My New Best Friend
I'm going to say Celeana since she's so awesome. But I loved Nehemia as well. Both characters were strong and fantastic female characters, which I loved. I'd choose either of them for a best friend. I'd actually choose any (good) character as my best friend. They were all really well done.
My Crush
I love Chaol so much. I had a hard time going through the book and not seeing him sometimes. I just love him so much. He's on my top crushes list now. Easily. I just love how completely innocent he is. He doesn't even realize he's in love with Celeana. Usually I hate it when the main character picks the guys I like but this time I feel like she's good for him. Not that she can have him since he's mine.
Writing Style
I loved the writing style in this book. It was quick and simple but the author still showed that she was an excellent writer. She managed to suck me right into the book and I couldn't stop reading. I loved everything about it.
Closing Thoughts
I am in love with this book. I can't believe I didn't read it sooner. I love that the main character is an assassin and that she can fight. It's a nice change from having the typical girly girl who can fight in case she'd break a nail. She was a great main character and a great girl to look up to. This book is going right onto my favourites shelf. Everything about this book was amazing. I'd recommend it to everyone.
Bonus
I love the cover art. It's beautiful. I also love that the character on the cover actually looks like the main character. Bonus points for that. ALSO, the main character was a book nerd. LOVED IT.
Berls
Written on Feb 24, 2014
My Initial Reaction...
Michelle @ Because Reading pretty much held me at shotgun - she'll be weighing in on my review throughout - and said I needed to read Throne of Glass. And then I won the book and there was no reason not to read it anymore. And boy am I glad!! It was flipping fabulous! I loved the characters, the magic, and the wonderfully medieval-esque fantasy world in Throne of Glass
The Characters...
The heroine of Throne of Glass is Celaena Sardothien, a teenage girl living a very adult life. At just eight years old she was orphaned and taken in by a master assassin. She trained with him and eventually became Adarlan's Assassin. As in - the most notorious assassin in the land. But when we meet Celaena she's been down on her luck - she's been caught and convicted to work in the vicious salt mines until her death. And considering the horrible conditions there, her death probably isn't far away. But her luck is about to change - she's getting the opportunity to enter a contest to become the king's champion and earn her freedom.
Michelle Says:
Celaena was just a totally bad ass. Has to be one of my favorite heroines.
So I pretty much adored Celaena! She's your definitive bad-ass, independent urban fantasy heroine. She is stubborn as all hell and even more determined. I loved being inside her mind - she's so smug! This girl does not suffer from a lack of confidence and that was great - she was not broken by her time in the mines and she has a silent strength that refuses to be broken. period. She also has pretty much no sense of limits. She teases and sometimes crosses over to purposefully spiteful. And you can't help but love her for her flippant attitude.
Dorian, the prince, and Chaol, her guard and trainer, certainly aren't immune to her charms. I loved both these men and a part of me seriously hates that a love triangle is forming. I'm not a huge fan of love triangles in general and ones where I like both the love interests are the worst. Someone's going to get hurt and I'm going to hate that moment when it comes. I can only hope that something happens to make one of these two guys not quite right for Celaena and drop out of the race for her heart of their own volition. Maybe they'll fall in love with someone else...?
Anywho - as I was saying - I love both these guys. Dorian isn't what you'd expect from a prince, particularly the son of this horrible - downright vicious - King. He's nothing like his father - you can tell from the start that he really has a heart and feels horribly about what his father has down as he's conquered territories, leaving a destructive path in his wake. He also is a bit of a playboy, which makes the interactions between him and Celaena that much more interesting. And then there's Chaol, who I personally like better than Dorian for Celaena. I think he's a better fit for her and knows her better. I also think he's a bit more her equal - under that reserved proper facade is a man with many of the same qualities as Celaena (IMO). I guess only time will tell if I'm right.Michelle Says:
Slow down young lady, Chaol is mine :) I would totally fight you for him. Triangles are tough when both guys are good but I am TEAM CHAOL :)
The Story...
The story for Throne of Glass surrounds Celaena's training and participation in the challenges to be the king's champion.I really enjoyed this element of Throne of Glass because it allowed us to see how tough Celaena is. She knows she's out of shape from her time in the mines, so she pushes herself in her training (as does Chaol). But in addition to the competition to be the king's champion, someone/something has been viciously killing contestants and Celaena's not content to wait for it to come and get her. She's a smart cookie and she's using everything at her disposal - including allies in the castle and the expansive library - to try and get to the bottom of what's happening.Michelle Says:
Did you not find the king to be so evil? I hated him.
All this action and mystery is amplified as Throne of Glass progresses and you realize that this is serious fantasy. Early on there are references to magic, but it feels very unimportant. Then all of a sudden - BAM - magic is there front and center. I loved it, but really wished it had been developed a little more thoroughly early on. To be fair, I think it wasn't because this is a world where the king has worked furiously to remove magic and all the people we're seeing are somewhat in the dark.Michelle Says:
I never expected magic and I was loving it too. I just felt like Throne of Glass had everything.
Michelle Says:A final element to the story - which I also loved - was the life inside the castle. This had all the makings of everything medieval that I love. We're in a castle and there's all the elements of court life - the clothes, the balls, the conniving women, etc. It was the perfect mix of action, fantasy, and historical (yet fantastical) setting.
I loved the life inside the castle too. I loved how she went from a prisoner to a royal. It was nice to see her be kind of girlie.
Concluding Sentiments...
Michelle Says:Well, I may have read Throne of Glass under pressure, but I'm sure glad I did. I enjoyed every element of it and I'm thoroughly looking forward to reading the next one!
I told you so :)
tellemonstar
Written on Jan 19, 2014
Mercy
Written on Oct 27, 2013
Un libro realmente gracioso. Me ha gustado, pero si nos vamos a que esperaba fantasía épica se queda un poco corto. Pero los personajes son tan únicos, divertidos. Diálogos tronchantes- Es más bien como una parodia del género fantástico. En realidad, creo que promete mucho.
Reseña completa: http://thebooksaremylife.blogspot.com/2014/01/resena-trono-de-cristal-sarah-mass.html
elysium
Written on Oct 19, 2013
I’ve read lot of great reviews about this and I’m so glad it lived up to those!
I loved the fact that Celaena was an assassin and not some damsel in distress. What’s not to like in a girl who speaks her mind? The book starts after she was captured so we don’t see her killing people or anything like that. She manages to become friends with princess Nehemia and she’s lot more friendly and likeable with her.
And of course there is a love triangle. This is YA book after all. I have to say I’m all for Chaol, the Captain of the Guards. Dorian, the crown prince, didn’t do anything for me and I didn’t really believe in their romance. It felt awkward and they fell for it way too easily. But yeah, I’m rooting for Chaol.