REVIEW: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Name: Throne of Glass

Author(s): Sarah J. Maas

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Release Date: August 2nd 2012

Pages: 404, Paperback

Source: For review (from publisher)

Rating: 4.5 stars

Meet Celaena Sardothien. Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness.
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?

[summary taken from Goodreads]

Beverley's Review

I'm not usually a huge fan of fantasy but the trickle of glowing reviews made resisting requesting Throne of Glass incredibly hard.  So I took the plunge into a world of magic, assassins and gorgeous princes.

What struck me first was the world-building.  It was simply... perfect.  It was written so beautifully: it wasn't overdone, giving you the chance to slowly take it all in and develop an appreciation.  Through Mass's elegant prose, I could clearly envision the harsh kingdom in which Celaena Sardothien lived.  Maas has a unique style of writing, one which I happily allowed myself to be wrapped in.  And the plot... it was so intense and gripping.  I found myself flipping through the pages eagerly, hungry for explanations and answers.

Aside from the writing, what really did it for me were the characters.  A quick glance at the cover promises a kick-ass, female protagonist and I do adore my strong-willed, determined heroines.  Celaena has raised the bar in terms of female-kick-ass-ness.  She epitomises the word the world itself and yet brings her own flavour to it.  What I loved most was being able to see past the assassin part of her.  Despite her job is to kill, her compassion shone through as the book progressed.  As her tough facade faded, she was just a broken, delicate girl in need of love which really fascinated me.

And then there was Dorian Havilliard and Chaol Westfall.  I adored them both.  As the Crown Prince, Dorian was a right charmer and I adored the banter exchanged between him and Celaena.  His most attractive feature though was not his flirty ways but rather the fact that wasn't like a typical Royal.  Okay, he was occasionally arrogant but he wasn't high and mighty and didn't do things just for his benefit.  On the other hand we had the Captain of the Guard, Chaol.  I didn't fall for him straight away but he grew on me.  I found him to be quite an enigmatic character and I didn't really swoon over his dark glares and moodiness.  However as he developed an understanding of Celaena's situation and grew to trust her, I began to place affection on him.

Despite such strong central characters, a minor flaw did appear.  THE LOVE TRIANGLE.  Usually I don't really mind them and by the end, can have a pretty much certain idea of who I want the girl to end up with.  This wasn't the case here: it frustrated me a little.  I adored them all as separate characters but the love triangle sadly was a let down.  Celaena just couldn't make up her mind!  Did she want Dorian? Or was Chaol the man she loved?  I couldn't help but feel she was stringing them both along and it actually hurt me to think she might upset them both!  I am eagerly anticipating the next book to see this cleared up.

Throne of Glass is a captivating read which gripped me from beginning to end and certainly lived up to my high expectations of it.  The plot was perfectly paced and the characters were brilliantly portrayed.  Sarah J. Maas is definitely one to watch for - she has a talent for crafting such complex stories, weaving between fantasy, death, magic and romance.  I couldn't think of a better book to write a review on to finish 2012 than Throne of Glass.

4.5 Teacups for Throne of Glass!

*Thank you to Bloomsbury for the review copy!*