Synopsis:
After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.
Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king’s council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she’ll serve the kingdom for four years and then be granted her freedom. Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilarating. But she’s bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her … but it’s the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.
Then one of the other contestants turns up dead … quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.
Favorite Lines:
“…a lovely girl gazing at the stars, and the stars who gazed back.”
“Sometimes, the wicked will tell us things just to confuse us–to haunt our thoughts long after we’ve faced them.”
“We all bear scars,… Mine just happen to be more visible than most.”
“Names are not important. It’s what lies inside of you that matters.”
My Opinion:
Throne of Glass is one of my favorite series of all times, which is saying something with the amount of books that I’ve read. I have read this book (and overall series) many times but had not wrote a review about it…until now.
Throne of Glass follows Celaena Sardothien, the infamous assassin of Adarlan. She lived a year in the salt mines of Endovier, a place where most don’t last more than a few months, and is given an offer by the Crown Prince to compete to become the King’s champion and to win her freedom.
Maas does an excellent job at creating a whole new world for readers to experience. The worlds she creates within her stories are unlike any other, I think this is a really big reason I enjoy her books so immensely; Throne of Glass is no exception.
What I really love about this series, and about Maas’ writing as a whole, is that there is no damsel in distress. She writes about strong, female characters who don’t need no man. At the same time, she is very realistic about their vulnerabilities. It’s always nice to see not every character is perfect and even the strongest of ladies has their weaknesses. Celaena is a notorious assassin who survived what is basically a death sentence in a salt mine. Does that mean she can’t have a weakness for a guy (or two) and some chocolate cake? No.
This book introduces us to a wide range of characters that we will see develop throughout the rest of the series (small spoiler, sorry). I usually try and keep future books out of the reviews to avoid spoilers but there is something I would like to mention. Maas is very good at mentioning little details in the series that would go unnoticed the first time around. Every time I reread this series, I notice something I didn’t before that hints at something that goes on later in the series. It is always satisfying to spot these little details that are almost like Easter eggs throughout the series. If you have already read the series, I strongly encourage you to reread it many times and see if you can spot things you might have missed in the past.
Summary:
Overall, as I said, this is one of my favorite series. I tried really hard not to fangirl this up like the rest of the ToG fandom (yes there is a huge fandom for this series). This book (and series) has it all, action, adventure, romance, mystery, and plot twists. It is one of the first series, if not the first, that I recommend to anyone looking for a series to start. I hope you all get a chance to read it and experience the world that is Throne of Glass. Happy reading everyone!
Likely Story 