Wednesday, 3 July 2024

THRONE OF GLASS by Sarah J. Maas


“‘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?”

What is the book about?

Celaena Sardothien is a name that everyone knows and everyone has learnt to fear over the years. Adarlan’s Assassin. A deadly girl who can have you dead without making a sound. However, very few know her face, as her identity was one of the many things she tried to keep hidden. She is an incredible assassin, supposedly impossible to capture, however after she was betrayed, she was caught and sent to the salt mines of Endovier by the King of Adarlan to spend the rest of her life, however long that would be. But one day she is taken out of the salt mines by some royal guards and among them is the Captain of the Guard – Chaol Westfall. He and the Crown Prince offer her a deal: she can fight in a competition to become the King’s Champion and win her freedom or she can stay in Endovier to die. This competition may also lead to her death as she faces many other ruthless assassins, thieves and more. However Celaena knows that either way, live or die, she will be free. So now she is on her way back to Rifthold and the life and destiny she thought she had lost forever. 

What were your initial thoughts on the book?

I had wanted to read Throne of Glass and the rest of the series for years, especially since my friend read it a couple years ago and claimed them to be her absolute favourite books. She had been trying to convince me for years to read them, however I was always far to busy to invest my time in a series with as many books as this and books double the thickness of the ones that I’m used to reading. However, finally I decided it was time and to her great joy I asked her to borrow the books. Once she gave me them I started to rethink my decision after seeing the sheer magnitude of this series, however, I soon read the blurb and my intrigue took over and had me already diving into the first book of the series. Soon I had completely forgotten my initial dismay as I feel in love with the book within a few chapters and finished it a lot quicker than I was expecting. The book started so quickly and there was no real introduction, only gradual explanations and descriptions embedded into the story, making it that much easier to read and enjoy from the very start. I honestly can’t believe I waited that long to read the book and now I’m so excited for the rest of the series. 

Who was your favourite character and why? 

There were lots of characters that stood out to me, but without a doubt the one that interested me the most was Celaena. She was the main character, the one whose mind I was constantly seeing into, the one who the story centred around and soon I grew to really love her. There was a lot that made me like her character, but some characteristics really stood out to me. Her strength was one of those. She managed to make a life for herself despite everything that happened to her and never let anyone or anything break her, even if she felt like closing up and giving up. The more I read and learnt about her past the more I admired her. She went through hell as a child and then when she thought she had been given a safe place she was betrayed and once again had to go through something that I couldn’t even imagine surviving. Yet somehow this young girl had the strength to keep going, a strength that could not even be human which helped her get through the tough times. Her approach to life to rely on no one and to be the strongest she can be is flawed but admirable because she could have chosen to dwell on everything that happened and to seek people’s pity and sympathy and rely on anything these people offered her, but, instead, she chose to rely on her own strength and that helped her become one of the more incredible female main characters I have encountered in my many years of reading.

What was your favourite part of the book and why?

My favourite part of the book was when Celaena realises she has feelings for Dorian. Although I wasn’t really shipping them together, I did find it really sweet and did enjoy this part. However, I didn’t just love this part for the romance but mainly because of how it developed Celaena’s character further. After this part of the book it was clear and she was not just a strong, determined and ruthless assassin but was also just as human as the rest of us. She was just a girl who also had a crush like any eighteen-year-old girl and was having feelings that she couldn’t control, not matter how much she wanted them gone. It was also something I was waiting for and that I knew was going to happen at one point. It added another element to the book and made the book more entertaining as it was clear that her feelings were reciprocated but also that there was someone else who also had feelings for her.  

What was your overall impression of the book?

Overall, Throne of Glass was absolutely amazing and I cannot wait to read the next novel (Crown of Midnight) and continue with Celaena’s adventure. One thing that found really great about the book was that it was written in the third person. When I was young I hated the third person, however over the years I have grown to love it as it allows a glimpse of multiple POVs without having the confusion of figuring out who ‘I’ is (though it usually says it at the start of the chapter). The book was mainly from Celaena’s viewpoint (as in we got to know how she felt, though it was in third person), which was disappointing as I always love to see things through other’s minds. However, the fact that it was in third person meant that I got to read stuff that not even Celaena knew about. Another thing that I loved was that there was great suspense and mystery and subtle hints to who was responsible for the sudden, night-time deaths in the book, which were easy to see but missed as they were so simple that even I didn’t realise until it was revealed. It was so intriguing and hard to put down and I just can’t wait to read on. One other thing I loved was the amazing world building and the map at the start. I always wonder where the locations the characters are talking about actually are I relation to other places and sometimes find it confusing when there are many different places mentioned in one book, however the map was absolutely perfect for answering any questions I may have and really helped transform the world in my head. 

Would you recommend this book?  

I would 100000000% recommend reading this book. This is an incredible novel, full of fantasy, romance and action and is perfect for over 16s who are looking for a magical new world to fully submerge in and to escape the mundane world that we live in.

Summarise the book in one sentence. (Verdict)  

An epic novel full of romance, mystery and a world that you’ll never want to leave.

Reviewed by Jimena Gutierrez Reviriego

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