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.