Throne of Glass or Throne of Sass?

 

An assassin and royalty, secrets and betrayal. Death or freedom? These are the things that brought me in and made me succumb to the world of obsession that is Sarah J. Maas. I read the synopsis, knowing ahead of time that this is a seven-book commitment. I did not know that it would become a seven-book obsession. I finished the last book a month ago and still cannot stop thinking about it, thus begins this blog. A way to share my thoughts on this book and series, as well as others. I read the UK edition, because that is what I could get from Amazon, but there seemed to be only small layout differences between my book and my friend in book club's U.S. edition. I loved this book. If you are looking for a strong, sassy, female lead character; this book is for you.

Celaena Sardothien has just survived a year in the Salt Mines of Endovier, a city nestled between the countries of Adarlan and Erilea. Maas beautifully and articulately crafts the kingdom of Adarlan around our main character and has readers playing detective right off the bat. Why was Celaena in the Salt mines to begin with? Why is she now waiting to see the King of Adarlan? These questions are answered, but we are quickly left with more in this fast-paced young-adult novel. 

We also get to meet Princess Nehemia, a foreign princess come to gain support for her kingdom. Nehemia may be my favorite character in the entire series. I loved her, hated her, and loved her again. I also at one point highly mistrusted her and did not think things were going to end up the way that they did, boy was that a roller coaster.

My favorite character is Queen Elena Havilliard. We meet her about halfway through the novel when Celaena dreams she is walking down a secret corridor that just so happens to be in her room at the palace. It is at the end of this corridor that she finds Elena, or at least her Sarcophagi. Elena was the first princess of Terresen and married Gavin, the first king of Adarlan. Throughout the book Elena plays a pivotal role in guiding Celaena through her trials and in dealing with the royalty. Elena came to tell her that she was meant to be at this castle to be an assassin and learn to survive. She warns her of the evil lurking in the castle and that she is meant to destroy it. The last half of the book is her completely the trials to try to become the Kings Champion and to find out what this evil is.

I had high expectations for this book as a young adult novel set in the fantasy realm. It did not disappoint. I felt the pacing was great for the story line and information flowed well enough that I stayed engaged and highly interested. I loved the characters, but I also hated them, which made me love them even more. They are well written, making them personable and the story relatable even in a fantasy book.

Celaena shows us through the trials that it is not brute strength that wins all but using your head and every resource available to you. She truly is a hero for herself that every girl and young woman could use as inspiration, just without the assassinating bits. By the end of the book she had me filled with joy, anticipation, and dread; that's just how well-rounded her character is.

Conclusion:

My favorite thing about this main character (Celaena) is her sassiness, no matter the situation. She reminds us to be true to ourselves and despite our fear, face it head on and never back down. If you are looking for a book that will take your heart and emotions through battle and push them to the breaking point then this book is definitely for you. Throne of Glass is definitely an exciting read filled with suspense, romance, battle, and mystery.