(Goodreads) In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught.
Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?
The Short Story? - Maas doesn't fail to impress with her highly anticipated debut, Throne of Glass! Assassins, royalty, saving the kingdom and romance, Throne of Glass is an extraordinary debut with wonderful characters and a phenomenal plot. Beautifully written and set in a medieval world, where magic is banned and the king is evil, Throne of Glass is highly entertaining and exciting to read. I would definitely recommend this to fans of Graceling by Kristin Cashore!
The Long Story? - There has been quite a few mixed reviews about this book but *I* really liked Throne of Glass. Before writing this review, I read through some of the negative reviews and I don't agree with them because for me, Throne of Glass was fantastic! I loved the concept of the storyline, the assassin who must now fight for the very people who she hates to gain her freedom and Maas did a beautiful job turning this idea into words on paper. A beautifully told story packed with action and romance. I would have liked to see more world-building, Maas imagined this wonderful medieval world and it seemed like a shame that she didn't use the majority of it. I would have liked to see scenes that were set outside the castle but overall, still a great debut that I would highly recommend to fans of Graceling by Kristin Cashore!
The characterisation was good. Maas has set a solid foundation for her characters and I'm very intrigued to see where they progress from here. Celaena is the kind of girl I would love to call a friend, she's strong, quite quick tempered and unafraid to voice her opinions. She's a flirt and she loves to joke but underneath that, she's a lost girl and her journey to finding herself has so far been very captivating. Dorian reminded me of Archer from Fire by Kristin Cashore. He was a huge flirt but his heart was in the right place and his love for Celaena was quite obvious towards the end. Chaol, was amazing. There is just this air of mystery around him, he keeps to himself, he's ruggedly handsome and gruff, there was just something about him that made him more intriguing than Dorian. He was less polished and more realistic. I wouldn't call the romance a love triangle but it's probably the start of a love triangle, both boys clearly have feelings for Celaena and I'm keen to see who she chooses.
In a nutshell, Throne of Glass was thoroughly entertaining! I would definitely pick this up if you're a fan of Kristin Cashore or Maria V. Snyder or YA fantasy in general. Maas has written an extraordinary debut that will appeal to a wide audience. Beautifully written, fantastic characters and a captivating and engrossing plot that kept me entertained from start to finish. I can't wait to see where the story leads Celaena next. Two thumbs up!
What's it Worth? - Hand Over the Paycheck
Badass Bookie xx
I'm reading this right now and I really like it so far! I saw some negative reviews as well, but I'm glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI've read mixed reviews too but think I'd really like this. Your review makes me want to more. I'm definitely going to read this because I love fantasy.
ReplyDeleteSo far I've actually not seen too many mixed reviews for this one. I've rather read so many raving reviews that I'm starting to get very angry at myself for not having ordered a copy yet. :D Thanks for your honest review! :)
ReplyDeleteCarina
Fictional Distraction
This is one of my most anticipated books of the year. I'm glad you liked it, Lisa :D As of now, I haven't read the book but I think I'd be on Team Dorian since I've always leaned toward the warm, approachable guys. But of course there are cases wherein the mysterious types steal my breath away... okay... maybe I am not Team Dorian *yet*. I'll just have to wait for the book :D
ReplyDeleteI've read last week and I LOVED it :D ! And i'm team Chaol <3. I didn't know that there was negative review :/.
ReplyDeleteDid you read the 4 prequels novellas? Because they are even better than the book !
I should get a copy of this one.Haven't seen a single bad review of it so far.A lot of people were disappointed with it but they didn't hate it plus it's got an ASSASSIN.Me wants :)
ReplyDeleteKrazyyme @ Young Readers
I seriously need to over to the bookstore and invest in this book. I'm so tired of waiting to read it!
ReplyDeleteI really liked it as well. I'll admit that when I first started reading it, it wasn't what I expected so I set it aside and picked it back up a day later and ended up loving it. Your review is really my first review that I've read because I like to read and review books before I read other reviews unless I'm unsure if I'll read it. So I'm curious to go looking for these negative reviews now. I'm glad you liked it so much. :)
ReplyDeleteMagical Urban Fantasy Reads
♥bookluvrmindy
I like that cover much more than the one available in Canada.
ReplyDeleteYour reviews always makes me grab the book you are reviewing and it's that situation with this one. I need to get this soon. I love the sound of assassins because they're awesome! i think i like the sound of Chaol than Dorian.
ReplyDeleteFantastic review! :)
Great review, this book sounds awesome. Definitely putting it on my to-read list.
ReplyDeleteWONDERFUL review, Badass! I *DO* have mixed feelings about this one--mainly I wanted more--but it's good. Celaena is an EPIC badass and I LOVE that. And Chaaaaaaaol ♥♥♥
ReplyDeleteI am SO excited for book two!