Book Synopsis:
Published August 2nd 2012 by Bloomsbury
406 Pages | 
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 exhilirating. 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.
Book Review: 
“You could rattle the stars,” she whispered. “You could do anything, if only you dared. And deep down, you know it, too. That’s what scares you most.”
Throne of Glass | Sarah J. Maas
This book is the definition of KICK-ASS!! Not just because there are lots of people getting their asses kicked..which is sort of great, but because the characters are uniquely loveable yet terrifying AND it has a death defying plot line that will keep you reading well into the night. You need this one on your shelf, whether that be electronic or physical. What are you doing?? GO AND BUY IT!!
As the synopsis describes we are introduced to our main character Celaena who was/is the greatest assassin in Adarlan, until she got caught…the reasons for this are still unknown but it had something to do with a betrayal..oo are you intrigued yet? Anyway after serving a year in the saltmines (or this fantasy worlds form of jail ) she is asked by the Prince to participate in a game of sorts that if she wins will earn her freedom after several years of being the Kings assassin. After agreeing, because hello ‘freedom’, she is whisked away into a world of intrigue and gruesome deaths as she participates in each challenge to try and win the title of Champion. There is more to this world then meets the eye, with nations concurring others wiping out magic as blood is shed. As the dead begin to rise and a mysterious force is leaving symbols of a forgotten time appear Celaena is faced with more challenges then just defeating the other contestants to become the Kings Champion.
This book was amazing..I TELL YOU!! A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!! The main character is entirely relatable, despite the fact that she constantly plays out scenarios in her head of how to swiftly kill someone who is pissing her off. She is hilarious, and tough, a truly great heroine. There are swoon worthy male characters as well, don’t you sweat. But the mystery surrounding this fantasy world is truly riveting, and will keep you guessing as more fantasy elements are introduced such as other realms and the fae.
It reminds of a mixture of Reign and The Hunger Games. Loved this one, I’m sure you will too.
If you don’t wish to be spoiled then please don’t continue reading.
<Spoilers ahead, you have been warned>
So back to Celaena I thought she was a terrific main character. I like the fact that we caught glimpses of what her life used to be like, and that we are along for the journey as she regains her strength and power of what Endovier had taken away from her. Although she is this ruthless killer she is in essence still a girl. She admires herself in the mirror (which was so funny) but you see her normality as she develops feelings for both Dorian and Chaol. I would have liked to see more of a darker side to her, I didn’t completely feel that she was at all affected by her experiences in Endovier or even her life as an assassin. Maybe she is just really good at hiding it, since she has been trained by the best assassin. We do see her facade slip a bit as the book progresses, especially in regards to Sam. I wonder if he truly is dead. (On a side note I was reading a snippet of a novella for this series and Chaol and Sam seem like the same person…I’m just saying. Obviously they aren’t and maybe I didn’t read enough of it..but I think I spy a type)
In regards to the male leads I liked Dorian and Celaena’s witty banter, it was fun to read. But of course I love Chaol a lot more, because your love for him just sort of creeps up on you – like it did for Celaena. One thing that I thought was weird was how shaken he was after killing Cain. Although taking a life would have been devastating, it is said that this was the first one he took. How can he be Captain of the Guards if he hasn’t ever killed anyone before? Is it something to do with how he defined himself as a guard and not a solider, so therefore no killing..it must.
There were a few other things that I questioned as well. The first is because I couldn’t remember who made it so that Celaena wouldn’t die in Endovier..was it the King? If so then he tried awfully hard to kill her in the end. The other was why does the King need his own assassin? And it was odd that he didn’t think it necessary to be there for the trials, which I guess he only really cared about the best. And the best would appear at the end. I did feel it got a little bit confusing with the different realms and then Elena coming back, but I think it was just because I’m not really used to reading fantasy novels.
I thought it was weird that during the trials not many people died…well like during the trials. Like you are training to be assassins…shouldn’t this be a ‘to the death’ sort of match. One thing that I can say is that all of my predictions for this book were wrong, and I don’t mind at all. It was beyond expectations and anything my imagination could conjure up, just fantastic!
I believe the next one is going to be EPIC!! The King is obviously evil, so evil..and it’ll be interesting to see what he makes Celaena do ie. who he makes her kill. I hope we learn more about this demon battle that Elena was in, and why she has chosen Celaena as her champion to be the ender of all badness. I hope to see more of her and Chaol, because I think the Prince will end up with Nehemia. And since Celaena is part fae it would be pretty cool if she starts to develop some powers..yes.
What did you think of it? Love to know!
