I’ve been needing to read this book for a long time. Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas was recommended to me by a friend a while ago. I put it on hold at multiple libraries and it took months for it to arrive. So when I finally got it, I ate through it in two days.
Characters:
Celaena Sardothien –
Celaena was an inconsistent heroine. Though I liked her, the inconsistencies got bothersome. She is an assassin, trained from the age of 8, so she is by no means a soft character. Yet somehow, she makes friends easily, is really bad at billiards, and knows how to play the piano well. The biggest thing I noticed is that she falls asleep in front of others easily and does not wake up at night when people come in her room. This did not fit her character at all. There were other inconsistencies that bugged me, but those were the biggest. I do like her back story and I’m curious to see more of it. She is very level-headed. The decision she makes at the end of the book made me very happy, because it was so rational, yet most heroine’s rarely can make that decision.
Crown Prince Dorian –
Eh. Why Celaena likes him so much, I don’t know. He was a bland character with no depth to him at all. Standard ‘I’m a prince but I have no power and I’m spoiled.’ Plus, he’s a womanizer until he falls for Celaena and there was just nothing about him that drew me in.
Captain of the Guard Chaol –
He is one of my favorite characters. His relationship with Celaena grows naturally. I liked him a lot more than Dorian. His training sessions with Celaena were sweet. The way she came to depend on him was one of my favorite things. Their hug at the end melted my heart more than any of her kisses with Dorian. I had a hard time with him being the captain of the Guard though. He’s young, and though he’s very skilled, it didn’t make sense that he was so involved with Celaena and her training. I liked that, but it all felt kind of off. He didn’t have responsibilities he should have had, like overseeing the king’s retinue, and other things like that.
Princess Nehemia –
Princess Nehemia was a cute side character. I feel like she could’ve made a good foil for Celaena, but that wasn’t really developed. Her powers are interesting and I hope to more of them in the next book.
Cain –
Cain was awful, but it was easy to see that he was a pawn in the grand scheme of things. He was never a nice person, but there were definitely other characters I hated more (ex. the King, Duke Perrington.) I’m glad his story ended the way it did. There are much better villains that could be brought out. Hopefully we’ll see them in the next book.
Plot:
The plot was okay. It definitely felt like something written by a high schooler. It had a ton of unused potential. The pacing wasn’t great, with lots of spots that could’ve been trimmed down. What really bothered me was all the red herrings that were so obvious. As a reader, I want to work for it a little bit, but her clues gave everything away, which wasn’t very satisfying. And yet, I still enjoyed it.
Love:
Another love triangle, WHY?!?!?! She’s totally going to end up with Captain Chaol, you can see it from the beginning yet of course she has to have a dalliance with the womanizing prince… I will be patient and if it resolves quickly, I’ll be okay with it, but if it drags through the books that is a major turn off. The moments were cute between Celaena and Dorian, but the hug between her and Chaol was so much more meaningful in my opinion.
Overall:
Overall I’d give it a three out of five. It’s not particularly well written, but it’s intriguing. I’ve heard the quality goes way up in the writing for the next book so I’ll definitely keep reading. If you like YA fantasy, it’s a quick read. I’d definitely recommend it to teen’s. I felt like I would’ve liked it more and not noticed so many flaws if I would’ve read it when I was younger. Anyway, when I finish the next one I’ll let you all know if it’s worth continuing.
You can get Throne of Glass here.
Have you read it? What do you think?
Oh wait until you get farther into the story! I think you will feel the same as I do about the series, it’s good but sometimes falls short of expectations and the triangle between them gets crazier and you’ll ask WTF.
Oh great… Love triangles are the bane of YA books… Haha! Well, I’ve heard much better things about A Court of Thorns and Roses. I might have to try that series. Have you read it?