Eighteen-year old Celaena Sardothien has spent the past year in the mines of Endovier, serving a life sentence for her assassinations. Her only mistake: being caught. When the Crown Prince of Adarlan offers her a deal--her freedom for winning a deadly tournament--Celaena can't refuse. Brought to the gleaming glass palace at Rifthold, the infamous assassin has to best the most gifted criminals to become the King's Champion--his personal killer. But things bigger than anything she's known are brewing, and Celaena is plunged into a world of mystery, murder and even love.
Since I've already dipped into it earlier in this review, I'll start with the characters! Celaena was a really fun, believable character to be with throughout the novel. Haughty yet compassionate, confident but still only a teenager, Celaena is an incredibly likable, witty heroine who really knows how to kick some serious butt.
It was also interesting, though, to see things from some other characters' perspectives as well. The love triangle (come on, you knew it was bound to happen!) between Celaena, Prince Dorian and Captain Chaol Westfall wasn't overpowering at all; in fact, it was firmly more of a subplot instead. Usually, I'd complain, but I didn't think this would bode well with the personality of our protagonist or with the intense plot itself. Seeing things from Dorian and Chaol's points of view upped the "aww" factor, but also rendered the subtle love triangle more realistic. For example, I was a little skeptical about Dorian's feelings for Celaena, since I kept seeing him as a typical flirty playboy type, but through his point of view, I got to see the sincerity of his emotions. As for Chaol, you really wouldn't have noticed his romantic feelings so much if Ms. Maas had only told the story from Celaena's point of view. So subtly woven in--I loved it! In the end, I had no idea who to root for, and this is pretty huge since I almost always side with one guy. So eager to see how things develop in the sequel!
I would probably talk on and on about the characters, but I feel like I'm rambling, so I'll sum it up super quick: So many villains you love to hate. Heartwarming friendships, especially with Nehemia. Broad range of characters with different, unique personalities.
Now moving on to plot. "Throne of Glass" was amazing in that it started off with a pretty straightforward storyline, but began to get more and more complex with the added complications and plot twists and subplots. I swear I got chills at one point from how spooky it got! I loved how the climax was really a climax, and not one of those three-page scenes that aren't even that intense. My heart was literally pounding as I rapidly flipped through the pages. Ms. Maas has definitely done an incredible job with the plot--I really couldn't put it down!
To wrap things up with a nice, shiny bow, I enjoyed "Throne of Glass" immensely. The characters were believable and their relationships realistic, and the storyline never dipped enough to prompt me to take a little break after a chapter. This is a book that lingers in your mind after you've set it down, and is a perfect refuge from boring, mundane, routine life. I highly, highly encourage you to pick up a copy--you're in for an exciting adventure.
Rating: 5/5
Here's a fun fact: "Throne of Glass" started off as an online story that Ms. Maas wrote when she was only sixteen-years old! After ten years of editing and rewriting--and more writing!--it ended up as the published novel that we know it as today. So inspiring!
Also, check out the book trailer here, since it might give you a more pithy and easier to understand description of what it's about!
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