Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1) in And So It Begins Reading Challenge

May 20, 2015 Christy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks

Just as good as the first time!

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Sep 05, 2013 Paula Phillips rated it really liked it

2024, is the year I plan to conquer Sarah J. Maas and all her books. Throne of Glass is Book #4 in her reading order as the first three books were the first three titles in her ACOTAR series. For me this particular book, I tried to read back in September 2013 and I could not get into it and at the time rated it 2 stars which was a DNF. Fast forward 14 years and it gets a borderline 4Ps for me as I think due to being invested this time around in her books, I felt more determined to read it and en ...more

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Aug 23, 2015 Kam Brooksmoore rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, read-in-2015, re-read, young-adult

So. Good.

A flawless book about a flawless character who has so much potential for greatness. Celaena Sardothien is such a strong protagonist, that I rooted and whooped when she completed the challenges, and when (view spoiler). Re-reading this series has been a great decision so far, and I can't wait to dive into Book 2 Crown of Midnight!

Also, before, I really hated Dorian because I thought he was pompous and s ...more

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Sep 05, 2010 Nicole rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc, signed-by-the-author, fantasy

Really lived up to my expectations!!! Full review soon

Page 9/404 : So I see there's a love triangle already... and honestly, no one cares about your absent but not lost beauty, be a little less vain!

Page 104/404: Okay getting better now. I'm really involved in this story now, but I'm not what guy I want yet... ...more

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Jun 14, 2012 Carrie Ardoin rated it really liked it

Shelves: from-netgalley, medieval-times

Celaena Sardothien has been plucked from a sentence of hard labor to participate in a tournament to become the king's contracted killer. You would think she'd have no trouble at all, since before being sent to prison, she was the land's most notorious and deadly assassin.

But once she arrives at the castle and starts the tournament, she is thrown into worlds she never dreamed existed. Not only is someone or something picking off the tournament's champions one by one, the long dead lady of the ca ...more

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Jul 12, 2012 Cat rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2012-favorites

As you may have noticed, I don't read a ton of fantasy. I prefer vampires and witches to trolls and fairies any day. However, I try to keep up with big upcoming releases and Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas was getting so much buzz that I figured I should probably read it - best decision I've made in awhile. This book really blew me away. I was totally enveloped in Celaena's world and loved every minute of it. This book has everything that I love: fantastic world-building, epic battles, mystery, As you may have noticed, I don't read a ton of fantasy. I prefer vampires and witches to trolls and fairies any day. However, I try to keep up with big upcoming releases and Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas was getting so much buzz that I figured I should probably read it - best decision I've made in awhile. This book really blew me away. I was totally enveloped in Celaena's world and loved every minute of it. This book has everything that I love: fantastic world-building, epic battles, mystery, breathtaking romance and a kick-ass heroine! It was such a fun read while still being heartfelt. My emotions were all over the place from page one. Maas is a master storyteller! This is the first time in a long time that I've actually been craving a sequel to a fantasy novel.

LIKES:

Celaena: YA heroines often come in one of two varieties: quirky, but tough, tom boy, or beautiful, misunderstood damsel. Celaena is neither of theses. She is girly, beautiful and feminine...and she can kick your ass. I love love LOVE that Celaena doesn't have to give up her femininity to be formidable. She loves shiny weapons just as much as frilly dresses. I'm not saying that every girl has to love perfume and makeup and dolls but every girl that likes those things isn't a helpless airhead either. So 10,000 bonus points to Sarah for making Celaena a character that is believable wearing a beautiful dress with a makeshift knife hidden in the corset. Do not scuff this girls heals! I also love Celaena because she is a survivor. She does whatever is necessary to secure her freedom and won't stay down. She has had a miserable life, first being found as young child and raised by the Assasin King, she was subjected to horrifying training. Then she is caught and taken to a death camp where she works in the salt mines and is abused by her overseers until finally she is given her chance at freedom, but only after facing the toughest and deadliest men in the kingdom. She never gives up, never slows down and never, ever shows fear in the face of unbelievable adversity.

The love triangle: First of all let me say that, as a rule, I don't like love triangles. I think they are played out and over complicate the story. I always know exactly who the main character will end up with or at the very least who I want them to end up with. That is not the case with Throne of Glass . Celaena has two (very attractive) men in her life. And I love them both, completely equally. First, we have the spoiled Prince Dorian with saphire eyes and a charming wit. The relationship between the prince and Celaena changes so much through the book and is so much fun. I can't help loving him. Then there is the rugged and brave Captain of the Guard, Chaol. He is so quiet and internal. I just kept wanting to know more about him and their relationship is so intense that I couldn't get enough. There's the problem. I don't have a favorite. I love them both so much and no matter who she ends up with I'm going to be happy (and disappointed). Oh the agony!

World-building: The world that Maas creates for Throne of Glass is very well-formed. While it is similar to our world, there are marked differences (different religions, holidays and history) however it is close enough that I could still relate to it while getting wrapped up. Maas also alludes to different types of creatures (Fae, faeries etc) that have been either killed or have gone into hiding after Magic is banished from the kingdom. While these creatures do not play a huge part in this first book, the set up is great and left me yearning to find out more about the history of this world. The governmental structure was also very easy to grasp and lends sort of a dystopian vibe to the whole plot. Love it.

Depth of the story: Finally, I like that this is more than a love story. In fact, the love story is very much secondary to the main plot line. Throne of Glass mostly centers around human suffering and oppression, the lengths that some people will go to impose these on their subordinates and what others are willing to sacrifice to stop the oppressors. Maas' work takes a tried and true theme and makes it entirely believable and hard-hitting. One of the most powerful parts of the book is when Chaol is reflecting upon the fact that Celaena has spent the last year in a death camp, starving and being whipped to within an inch of her life and yet she can still smile and laugh. He marvels at her strength of character and the power of the human spirit and so does the reader.

DISLIKES:

The names are crazy: This may sound petty but the names and places in this book are sometimes next to impossible to pronounce. Sometimes I like to read out loud...to myself...in foreign accents. Don't judge me. Anyway that didn't happen with this book because I couldn't pronounce half of the names and locations.

Perspective changes: The only other thing that is a "dislike" for me with this one is that the perspective jumps from character to character very suddenly and then stays with that character only briefly before switching back to Celaena. This wasn't a huge problem though because I was happy that we got to see some different perspectives throughout the book.

Overall, I really liked this one and I can't wait to read more from Sarah. I would recommend Throne of Glass not only to fantasy lovers but also to those who don't necessarily gravitate toward that genre. It is a nice surprise and certainly worth all of the praise it has been getting.
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Jul 30, 2012 Heather James rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Throne of Glass is a really strong series opener: it introduces some brilliant characters, interesting plot scenarios and hints at loads more to come.

My only slight issue with it was that it reminded me a lot of

Poison Study (Study, #1) by Maria V. Snyder

but wasn't quite as good. Even the main characters' names - Celaena and Yelena - are very similar sounding. And even though I liked both Chaol and Dorian (I really couldn't pick between them!) they didn't come close to Valek from Poison Study.

I think that if I didn't have Poison S ...more

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Aug 03, 2012 CrystalBookSnob rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 5-star-review, favorites, ala-2012, reviewd

Whoa, whoa, WHOA!!!! Now I understand what all the hype is about and why everyone is loving this series sssssoooo much!! And why is it that Throne of Glass has been sitting on my shelves for almost a year and a half? I picked this book up at ALA 2012 having no idea what it was. There was just this pile of books sitting on a table and the publicists told me to take one! So I did and a year and half later….whoa!!!!

The story of Celaena is as fascinating as the world she lives in. We meet her at a Whoa, whoa, WHOA!!!! Now I understand what all the hype is about and why everyone is loving this series sssssoooo much!! And why is it that Throne of Glass has been sitting on my shelves for almost a year and a half? I picked this book up at ALA 2012 having no idea what it was. There was just this pile of books sitting on a table and the publicists told me to take one! So I did and a year and half later….whoa!!!!

The story of Celaena is as fascinating as the world she lives in. We meet her at a death camp where has been sentenced for being a world famous assassin. She works in the salt mines and has surprisingly survived this place for a year when the Prince of Adarlan has an offer she just can’t refuse. She goes to the castle to compete in a five month competition in the hopes of becoming the King’s champion which means she would still be an assassin just killing the people that the King wants her to kill. And then there’s the mystery of where all the magic went when the King banned magic and why it all disappeared so quickly! This world is going to be quite fascinating when we get more into the history of it because apparently there are also magical beings that most people believe don’t exist anymore! We’ll see about that.

I am not usually a big fan of love triangles especially when they just pop up out of nowhere. But the love triangle in Throne of Glass is a pretty good one. Both Prince Dorian and Chaol (the captain of the guards) keep their distance from Celaena because they know that she is dangerous and possibly going to try to escape. But as they both spend more time with her they both get to know her better and see the person she really is and they both start to fall in love with her!! Yes, it’s good and it happens slowly and I am literally torn between the two of them. They both have their strengths and weaknesses but yet both of them can be really good for her. I’m definitely interested to see where the love part of the story goes in Crown of Midnight!

Celaena is such a great heroine!! She’s likeable, funny, strong, sensitive, kind and an animal lover! She’s funny at all the right moments and serious when she needs to be. She’s not one of those annoying sarcastic characters that I’ve been seeing a lot of in YA recently. You know the character: something as serious as life and death is happening but the main character always makes some stupid, witty comment in her mind like, “I’m about to fight the lord of the giants. No big deal. It can’t be much harder than climbing the rope in P.E.” I hate shit like that. I want to punch characters like that. And Celaena is NOT like that at all!

I loved Throne of Glass so much! It’s an instant favorite series for me! And from what I’ve heard Crown of Midnight is just as good and as exciting! It’s a really quick read and for those who love fantasy out there, it is now part of the top five that I would recommend in fantasy!
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