**This review contains slight spoilers**
Celaena is a trained assassin who is offered a deal: her freedom in return for a huge sacrifice. Sadly this book didn't live up to my expectations
“She survived Endovier, yet she could still smile.”
–Sarah J. Maas
What Is It About?
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 Havilliard offers her freedom on one condition: she must win to be his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.
Her opponents are thieves, 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, Chaol Westfall, challenging and exhilarating. 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.
My Opinion
/5
(and that's being merciful…)
Ah… my beautiful Throne of Glass. I almost threw you across the room and DNFed you. I'm so glad I didn't because if not, I would have missed one of the most amazing series ever written. Nevertheless, the first two books were really a struggle for me.
I started this series because SO MANY people recommended it to me. And after reading ACOTAR I was really excited to read more from SJM. My expectations didn't go too far.
I really didn't know much about the plot of the book. Just that it was about an assassin girl who had to win a tournament and become the King's Champion. Sounds pretty interesting, right? Well, for me, it was the complete opposite. I'm so sorry if you do like the first two books of this series. But if you haven't read the series, do it. You won't regret it (just ignore the first two haha).
Celaena, the main character, was the only semi-interesting character (with a really hard last name to pronounce). I really liked her attitude. She has been one of the few protagonists with high self-esteem and knows how to manipulate people. She knows she is beautiful and deadly and works with that for her benefit. And even though she is an assassin, she is still very feminine and I love that.
After spending a whole year as a slave and prisoner in the salt mines of Endovier, you would think that Celaena is this really shattered and broken girl with PTSD. Well, yes and no. She did have her own nightmares. But from the outside, she seemed like a courageous and sarcastic person. That's the first thing I really liked about her. How brave, strong, and resilient she was. I believe not all of us know how to do that. Be able to grow as a person after having to confront bad things life throws at us. Many of us lock ourselves in our pain, and it's hard to get out of that whole (but not impossible).
I'm upset this book didn't have a great start. The plot, conflict, and story were bland and dull (in other words: boring). I don't even remember the book that well, and it's a shame. I've heard good reviews, and I couldn't understand why. The whole book was about how Celaena started training after being enslaved, discovering the crystal palace, and having 3 challenges against the other contestants.
The only somewhat interesting was the mysterious murders, that not even Chaol could resolve. And he supposedly was the Captain of the Royal Guard, but he hasn't even killed anyone, not to mention that he hasn't seen anyone die (which makes NOS SENSE). In the end, it's Celaena who discovered the truth.
Another thing that really bothered me was how it seemed like Sarah J. Maas made Celaena have a weird, short and boring relationship. Not with one man. But with TWO. Dorian and Chaol (not at the same time!).
Dorian was LITERALLY depicted as Prince Charming. But for me, he was just this spoiled sad prince who didn't know what he wanted with his life. Who read tons of books. Gave puppies as presents (which I'm not complaining about). And allegedly was a player, but I never saw him act like one. I liked his friendship with Celaena. But still, for me, it was a mistake to pair them together and make them a couple.
On the other hand, we have Chaol. He was this genuinely tedious guy. He kept saying how he could never befriend an assassin but, in the end, he ended up in a relationship with her. He was described as the best of the Royal Guard, making him the Captain. But how is it possible that being THE Captain, has never killed or seen someone die? I mean, I don't like the topic of killing people whenever you want, but he was the captain of the army.
I'm a huge fan of romance, and above all, the enemies to lovers trope. Nevertheless, it's not always necessary. Or if the author will do it, at least make it interesting.
Something that I love, but you hardly see in fantasy books because it is taboo: Women having their period. So, when Celaena had her period without it being a big deal was really cool. Even though Chaol almost collapsed by it. He had to run out of the room because it seemed like he thought that menstruation was some kind of disease.
From what I understood, the entire book was about how Celaena had to win a tournament through some challenges to become the King's Champion. And yes, we saw a couple of them. However, I felt it missed edginess and lacked tons of action. Half of the competitors were murdered, and the others were disqualified. So, it was pretty obvious the ending result. Celaena ended up against the biggest, strongest, and most aggressive competitor: Cain. Who, in the end, turn up to be the killer…
And don't get me started with Elena. The ghost queen supposedly "helped" Celaena throughout the entire book. NONSENSE. She only gave riddles and half-answers. What kind of help is that?
And her friend Nehemia? I didn't trust her since page one. Yeah, she was friendly with Celaena, but something was really sketchy with her. Although, I liked when she re-named her into Elentiya: "Spirit that could not be broken."
In general, I felt it was a book with many mixed "tropes" and that none had a thread of coherence. I was*this closed* to DNF it. But thanks to my book club friends kept reading it, and I can confirm that it gets better. Throne of Glass is definitely one of the BEST series I've read in my entire life. So, stay tuned, as I will continue to write reviews of the books following the series in the weeks to come.
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