Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1) in The Wide Web of Friends in YA Books

Jul 01, 2012 Booknut 101 rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-love-dearly, forever-re-read, fantasy-tales, favorites, strong-and-kickass-heroines, can-t-get-enough-of, heartbreak-and-loss, super-bad-bad-guys, ballgowns-and-intrigue, bodies-bones-and-psychopaths

Celaena Sardothien is the kingdom's most feared assassin - renowned for her cunning, stealth and (of course) her ruthless killing of her enemies, she seems more myth than person.

Though they never expected her to be an 18 year-old girl.

Released from her imprisonment in the salt mines of Endovier, Celaena is given an ultimatum - go back to the mines and eventually die of exhaustion and torture, or become The Crown Prince Dorian's Champion and, after four years of service, gain her much-sought-afte Celaena Sardothien is the kingdom's most feared assassin - renowned for her cunning, stealth and (of course) her ruthless killing of her enemies, she seems more myth than person.

Though they never expected her to be an 18 year-old girl.

Released from her imprisonment in the salt mines of Endovier, Celaena is given an ultimatum - go back to the mines and eventually die of exhaustion and torture, or become The Crown Prince Dorian's Champion and, after four years of service, gain her much-sought-after freedom.

But before she can be announced his Champion, she must compete against the best the kingdom has to offer - poisoners, vagabonds, lords, knights, mystery men and thieves - in a competition to see who is worthy for the title of King's Champion. Self-assured, Celaena has no doubts she can win. But at what cost, when she is fighting for the chance to kill for the man she hates more than any other?

Taken to the palace, Celaena is given a new identity as she enters court life - sizing up the competition, training with the Crown Prince's friend and comrade Captain Westfall and becoming the envy of every court lady due to her stunning looks and her proximity to the Crown Prince. The competition begins and Celaena is in her element...until one of the competitors fails to turn up to one of the Tests.

Instead, he is found dead - torn apart as if by wild animals. And suddenly the competition takes a sinister turn as Celaena realises that the killing was no coincidence and that something dark has entered the palace - something with a thirst for killing. In a kingdom where magic has been all but eradicated, Celaena takes on the task of searching for the unknown enemy's identity and their motive...before she herself becomes the next target.

And not even an assassin is afraid of death.

Romance, adventure, mystery and fantasy combine in a story that is a cross between Maria V Snyder's Poison Study, Tamora Pierce's Alanna the Lioness and Sherwood Smith's Crown Duel. With a feisty and witty heroine and new friendships to be formed, this book is worth reading it all in one sitting (like I did :D) and will become a fast favourite. ...more

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Jan 12, 2013 Booknut 101 rated it it was amazing

Celaena Sardothien is the kingdom's most feared assassin - renowned for her cunning, stealth and (of course) her ruthless killing of her enemies, she seems more myth than person.

But they never expected her to be an 18 year-old girl.

Released from her imprisonment in the salt mines of Endovier, Celaena is given an ultimatum - go back to the mines and eventually die of exhaustion and torture, or become The Crown Prince Dorian's Champion and, after four years of service, gain her much-sought-after Celaena Sardothien is the kingdom's most feared assassin - renowned for her cunning, stealth and (of course) her ruthless killing of her enemies, she seems more myth than person.

But they never expected her to be an 18 year-old girl.

Released from her imprisonment in the salt mines of Endovier, Celaena is given an ultimatum - go back to the mines and eventually die of exhaustion and torture, or become The Crown Prince Dorian's Champion and, after four years of service, gain her much-sought-after freedom.

But before she can be announced his Champion, she must compete against the best the kingdom has to offer - poisoners, vagabonds, lords, knights, mystery men and thieves - in a competition to see who is worthy for the title of King's Champion. Self-assured, Celaena has no doubts she can win.

But at what cost, when she is fighting for the chance to kill for the man she hates more than any other?

Taken to the palace, Celaena is given a new identity as she enters court life - sizing up the competition, training with the Crown Prince's friend and comrade Captain Westfall and becoming the envy of every court lady due to her stunning looks and her proximity to the Crown Prince. The competition begins and Celaena is in her element...until one of the competitors fails to turn up to one of the Tests.

Instead, he is found dead - torn apart as if by wild animals. And suddenly the competition takes a sinister turn as Celaena realises that the killing was no coincidence and that something dark has entered the palace - something with a thirst for killing. In a kingdom where magic has been all but eradicated, Celaena takes on the task of searching for the unknown enemy's identity and their motive...before she herself becomes the next target.

And not even an assassin is afraid of death.

Romance, adventure, mystery and fantasy combine in a story that is a cross between Maria V Snyder's Poison Study, Tamora Pierce's Alanna the Lioness and Sherwood Smith's Crown Duel. With a feisty and witty heroine and new friendships to be formed, this book is worth reading it all in one sitting (like I did :D) and will become a fast favourite. ...more

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Aug 03, 2013 ♥♡¢σσкιє♥♡ (Krystle) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: series

This was so freaking good!!!!!

Review to come!

9 likes · Like · see review

Jan 02, 2013 Maira rated it it was amazing

Shelves: awesome-ya-must-read-funny-wit, books-that-remain-forever

this was on of the greatest books that i have read. there were some issues with it but they were ignored by the intriguing story. i admire the writer's style of sending us the message that can make our lives so much easy. the story, style, plot, theme and most importantly the clarity of idea with which the writer gave us a clear view of our reality of life and its importance.

its a story about a girl who became an orphan a the age of 8 and learned the harshness of the world way early then any chi ...more

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Nov 27, 2013 Parmida Reads rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

I love this book SO SO SO MUCH!
I cannot stress this enough.
I thought: wow I'm so smart I'm actually figuring out the plot twists...man was I wrong.
I'm going to be blunt, Celaena is my favorite character. Ever. I love her so much that I'm starting to ship me and Celaena together and Chaol and Dorian together. How's that? ;)
Nehemia! Do you know what made this book really precious? how not every girl has to be Celaena's rival for getting the guys' attention. The concept of having a true best friend ...more

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Dec 22, 2012 Raihana rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorite-books, 2012

OH. MY. WORD.

Throne of Glass totally blew my mind. I had no idea it was going to be this good. From the very first scene till the very last, I was hooked.

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Aug 31, 2012 Ifrah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

Wow! It's as good as I thought it would be if not better. I'm a huge Celaena fan now.

Believe the hype and read the book! ...more

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Jun 21, 2012 M. rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya-pnr, fantasy, new-series, swoon-worthy-heroes, august-2012-release, strong-likeable-heroines

Finally a new YA series that doesn't suck! I started reading Throne of Glass with zero expectations. I was more prepared to dislike it immensely, actually. But the writing was good and the characters were well developed and likeable.

It seems that in YA literature there are only two type of heroines: the baddass chick and the virginal mary-sue. Throne of Glass doesn't deviate from that rule. Celaena Sardothien falls in the baddass category. However, she's not your typical formulaic baddass heroin Finally a new YA series that doesn't suck! I started reading Throne of Glass with zero expectations. I was more prepared to dislike it immensely, actually. But the writing was good and the characters were well developed and likeable.

It seems that in YA literature there are only two type of heroines: the baddass chick and the virginal mary-sue. Throne of Glass doesn't deviate from that rule. Celaena Sardothien falls in the baddass category. However, she's not your typical formulaic baddass heroine, you know, the one dimensional typical arrogant ass. Even though Celaena is good at almost everything and brags about it (besides playing pool), she has a vulnerability and innocence that makes her an endearing character. I actually liked that she wanted to show off. Why would I begrudge her that? If you have it, flaunt it.

Now, let's talk about the love interests because YA literature is not worth its salt unless it has a love triangle.

First, we have Dorian, the charming Crown Prince. Again here Sarah did a wonderful job showing that Dorian was more than just a privileged pretty face. Dorian is a sensitive and caring character fighting his own demons and I liked how his relationship with Celaena developed. No insta-love here, thank God! If I had to pick a team, I would be on board his. I just identified with him more and a potential romantic relationship between him and Celaena would be way more difficult. Unfortunately, I got a sense by the end of the book that he will not be the chosen one by the end of the series. But we'll see.

Chaol is the second love interest. He's the Royal Guard Captain and he's assigned to train Celaena. Not that she actually needs to be trained. We don't get to see much of Chaol's POV in Throne of Glass and his relationship with Celaena wasn't highlighted as much as her relationship with Dorian, at least not in a romantic sense (besides that very emotional scene at the end). I don't dislike Chaol, but I feel like a relationship between him and Celaena would be too similar to Rose and Dimitri's one from VA. Besides their relationship would be much easier as well. There could be a future for them when Celaena finally gained her freedom. Chaol could just take off with her. Of course, that is not what's going to happen, but you get my drift.

The plot was well done, not many surprises but also not so predictable either. The world building wasn't confusing nor overwhelming, which is always a plus in the fantasy genre. I didn't mind that the murders were used more as a backdrop until Celaena confronted the killer. The book focused more on the romance and that was what I needed. Some people might have wanted more action, though.

I was glad that Celaena didn't spend a lot of time being traumatized or broken because she spent a year as a slave. The few times that she remembered her time at the mines was enough for me to understand that in no way she just brushed that horrible experience off. I think if Sarah had added anything more to it, it would have dragged the story. Sometimes less is more.

Now, let's see how the second book in the series go. I hope the author doesn't drop the ball. ...more

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Jul 20, 2012 bliss rose rated it really liked it

Shelves: other-supernatural, magic-books, unique-books, faeries, action-books, favorite-books, pure-awesomeness, awesome-heroine, assassins, romance

I. Loved. This. Book. So. Much. I. Can't. Even. Describe.

First off, it's been a while since a read heroines that could fight, that could stand up for themselves. Calaena reminds me so much of Penryn form Angelfall, they both have so much in common! Including witty comments, the attitude, and I feel like I should applaud for their logical thinking because in most YA novels, the heroines are weak little things that can't do anything-girls that can' survive without their boyfriend( or love interest I. Loved. This. Book. So. Much. I. Can't. Even. Describe.

First off, it's been a while since a read heroines that could fight, that could stand up for themselves. Calaena reminds me so much of Penryn form Angelfall, they both have so much in common! Including witty comments, the attitude, and I feel like I should applaud for their logical thinking because in most YA novels, the heroines are weak little things that can't do anything-girls that can' survive without their boyfriend( or love interest).

I. loved. LOVED. LOVED. this book so much, it's been a long time since I've read such a great read. You know you loved a book when you stay up until very early in the morning reading it, even if you have an exam the next day.

At first, I wasn't expecting much because of the hype (from experience) and I was expecting this book to be cliche and terrible. I was wrong. How wrong I was This book is amazing because it has a legit plot and awesome characters that aren't 3-dimensional, and romance that's REAL, not based off of lust/appearances/"his sexy voice."

I don't get it when authors write "his voice was deep and sexy" and I also don't get how the female characters fall in love with his "deep and sexy voice." Really? Every time I see this, I start shaking my head and rolling my eyes. It'll be totally different if they loved the sound of his voice, meaning they felt at ease and at peace. BUT, YOU CAN NOT LOVE BASED ON HIS VOICE. "Love at first voice." Sigh...

Now back to the actual story, I loved Calaena, she was one of the heroines of 2012 that I actually respected. She's been through hardships, she's tough, she has witty comebacks, and she can fight. In fact, she's an assassin, the best assassin of her country, the most feared. But guess what? No one knows she's a woman, everyone thinks she's older. (view spoiler). When she is caught and is sent to prison, she gets whipped, many, many times. But surprisingly, even after she was released, (view spoiler) she is not hardened. She is still comedic at times, and she still has that softness about her.

**more review to come. ...more

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