Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas: Book Review

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Throne of Glass (Book One of the Throne of Glass Series) by Sarah J. Mass was a phenomenally engaging novel told in third person about an eighteen-year-old assassin, Celaena Sardothien, battling her way in a sadistic competition in order to become the King of Adarlan’s champion⎯ a royal assassin. This novel was so much fun to read, and very easy to get in to. I always struggle getting into a story, however with this novel, I had already found myself laughing on page three. The main characters in this story were Celaena Sardothien, Chaol Westfall, Prince Dorian Havilliard, and Princess Nehemia Ytger. I really loved each of these characters in this novel and how they played a part in the whole plot. Celaena and Nehemia were particularly amazing to read about because they were both such strong, bold, and brave independent women who stood for something so empowering, and knew when justice needed to be brought. They didn’t let the fact that they were women affect how they acted, and they took pride proving everyone around them wrong. I also really loved Chaol and the role he played, and I am looking forward to reading about this particular Captain of the Royal Guard in the next book of the Throne of Glass Series. I didn’t have much interest in Prince Dorian, I felt like he was just there, however he is a lot of readers favorite in this series. The external battle overall was the competition, which I found very displeasing. Not because of the author, but just because I really disliked the king. It was all a sadistic game, that hopefully, Celaena will find justice for. I really loved how the author wrote about the tests that took place in the competition and how she took her time writing about each one. Especially when she added the little twist⎯ when several of the competitors turn up dead. This novel was the perfect balance of the regular word and fantasy. The relationships in this story was so much fun to read about as each of the characters became close with each other. My personal favorite was Chaol and Celaena’s, but soon followed by Nehemia and Celaena’s. I also really enjoyed the set up this novel had. I felt like Sarah J. Maas had an even balance between the outline and the details in this story. She really took her time with each chapter, while still keeping it very interesting. For this particular story, the adventures and problems were the basis for this novel. It’s hard, at least in my case, to find authors who can write about something and so tragic, but still keeps a constant humor. The events in this story weren’t sad, but very exasperating. It definitely kept you on the edge of your toes, and wanting to read more. My favorite character in this novel definitely had to be Chaol. He was very passive, but guarded, and ultimately cared a lot for Celaena. Don’t get me wrong, he didn’t like to display his emotions, but there were a few moments when he let his guard down. I think the characters in this novel can be very relatable. It seemed as though they all went through something that affects their life majorly, but at the same time, they never let the darkness get in the way of their light. Overall, I really liked this novel. It was just so perfect for me, and very refreshing. I am used to reading all kinds of stories were there is a submissive female role, who acts as the damsel in distress. Or, for example, The Selection Series by Kiera Cass, I didn’t particularly like because it was too cliche of a competition for me. Several girls fighting for a prince wasn’t my forte, however, with the Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas, you get a totally different vibe. There’s one dominant female fighting against men, to become an assassin, and she was a strong female lead who didn’t bite her tongue for anyone. While reading other reviews, I found that a lot of people found her to be annoying, immature, petty, vindictive, judgmental, emotionally unstable, etc. It really frustrated me to read these, even though people are entitled to their own opinion. The book starts off from her leaving a death camp that she attended for a year. A death camp! I think anyone would be emotionally affected by that. I mean, it literally was a camp designed for death. Celaena does reveal that she was trained to be an assassin very young and has faced tragic horrors before, and after she was forced to become a killer, at the beginning of the novel. Reading about some of the things she had to do for her leader literally left chills down my spine. So I think she could be cut a little slack if she wants to be pampered a little bit, especially after being sentenced to a death camp. Instead of immature, I found her to be very strong. Only the strong can bring light into dark situations, so I applaud her for that. Specific parts that I liked about this novel were probably the characters. I always anticipated their encounters with each other throughout this story. My least favorite parts doesn’t have to do with the book itself, or the author, just people that I disliked throughout the novel, so I won’t be mentioning those. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a refresher on your cliche female roles, and want an empowering female that is constantly proving her worth. There is romance, but honestly, it’s not even a lot. To be honest, this book probably doesn’t even need Romance as a genre. Also, I would recommend this book to people who just wanted to read a different kind of fantasy story, that balances wonderfully with the real world. Overall, I am definitely excited to read the next novel in this series, and to see how the story will progress. Throne of Glass is definitely a book to remember!

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