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.
Celaena, when we first meet her, is serving a life sentence in a salt mine. She has lasted longer than most in the salt mine, partially because of her skills, and now she's offered a way out. Take part in a competition to be the Kings' champion and win. She's up against a lot of men with something to prove, and even without the competition, where death is a very real possibility, there's someone stalking the players and killing them gruesomely.
She had me when she got so excited by the library and the snark kept me happy. While she's attracted to both Captain Chaol Westfall and Prince Dorian, she is aware of the issues about possibly dating either, or loving either. Her relationship with the foreign princess is also interesting and the two of them will make a great team.
The story is nicely complicated, plots are woven around and there's nothing straighforward about any of the characters and their motivations and I love that it's that complicated without being too messy. While it's billed as Young Adult there's a lot of messy life stuff that makes it very close to adult, the characters may be teenagers but their lives have made them quite adult.
I also love the back cover where there's a shadowy impression of her back dressed in a gown but with the same weapons in hand and same stance as the front, this girl means business no matter how she's dressed.
I recommend this book.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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12 October, 2012:
Finished reading
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12 October, 2012:
Reviewed