Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, 1) Paperback – February 14, 2023

Okay I need to take a deep breath. Inside a paper bag. Because this book is like.. yeah. This was my single most highly anticipated novel of 2012. I'd been looking forward to it since.. well, maybe not that long compared to some people, but at least before the cover art was released! But the strange thing is, I wasn't worried about the hype. I never worried that the book wouldn't live up to it because I just knew it couldn't be anything short of amazing. Although, that didn't stop my hands from trembling when I turned to the first page!Okay I'll start with Celaena because she is so deliciously and incredibly awesome! I want to be that woman! Imagine you're working as a slave, when all of a sudden some guards pull you out, throw a bag over your head, and start guiding you down various maze-like corridors and staircases. You'd probably be getting dizzy, feeling nauseous, wondering where the heck you're going, mentally going over all your actions to figure out what warranted this... not Celaena. She's too busy memorizing the building's layout, blindly familiarizing herself with her surroundings, and planning a million different escape/murder attempts... just in case. Yeah, she's freakin' awesome. She's so badass that she always has an escape plan. When she enters a room, the first thing she does is find all the exits, mentally calculate how long it would take to incapacitate the guards, and estimating the chance of success. Why the bloody hell can't I do that??Celaena is a great character because she has such a broad personality. On the one hand she's a super kick-ass, deadly assassin. On the other hand, she's a hardened slave who has faced serious hardship and brutality. On yet another hand she's a sweet bubbly girl who lets a romantic thought slip through, but she never becomes one of the mindless shallow women of the court. I love how she's not just a kick-ass, but cold-hearted assassin. Celaena has depth. She has intense emotions, a past that haunts her, loves and passions... and she can kill you with her bare hands. Gentlemen, you should be swooning over her -- doesn't she sound like the perfect woman??In Throne of Glass we get to read from several different points of view, including: Celaena's, Captain Westfall's, Prince Dorian's, and Kaltain's. It was fabulous seeing through the eyes of all these characters -- I actually didn't expect that before starting the book! By `hearing' from all of them, we get to really understand all their personalities and motives. We have the colourful, slightly arrogant, but charming Prince Dorian; the silent and more withdrawn--but still mysteriously sexy--Captain Westfall; and we have Kaltain -- the manipulative, scheming, "pretending to be your friend but actually hating your guts and plotting to humiliate/crush/expose you" woman of court.This book was often compared to A Game of Thrones, but I wouldn't say that's really true, and I mean that in a positive way. I'm probably in the minority by saying this, but I don't like A Game of Thrones all that much. I love the overall story but find the books to be too slow, drawn out, way too descriptive, and have too many characters that I frankly don't give a shit about. NONE of this was the case in Throne of Glass! Throne of Glass was constantly on the move, with characters that you either adore or love to hate, had incredible world-building that will suck you in and make you want to live in that land, and every moment of reading was pure bliss.I got completely wrapped up in this book's fascinating world-building, court intrigue, scheming, mystery, action, and romance. Throne of Glass has it all, and it combines all these elements brilliantly. I was never bored, I was never dreading reading from a certain character's point of view, and I got completely invested. I was invested in the characters, the plot, and every single event. When I wasn't reading, I was thinking about the book. I thought about it on my daily walks, in the shower, and before I went to bed. I mulled over the plot in my brain again and again. I made predictions, I thought about the characters, and I replayed my favourite parts of the story. I think I purposely drew out my reading because I wanted to savour and enjoy the experience. I was dreading the last few pages because I didn't want the book to end!I'm so thrilled that Throne of Glass exceeded every single one of my expectations! I LOVE looking forward to a book and I love it when you finally read it and it goes above and beyond. There is no better feeling in the entire world!

‘Throne Of Glass’ is the first installment in the ‘Throne of Glass’ book series. After reading the synopsis of this book I wasn’t 100% sure if I wanted to read it, because it didn’t really intrigue me to want to dive into the book. However after reading Maas’ other book series ‘A Court of Thorns And Red Roses’, which I absolutely loved, and the amazing book reviews of ‘Throne of Glass’ I decided to give this book a shot and I’m very happy that I did. Lately it has been very difficult for me to find a book that draws me in, so I’m very happy to have found my fix and sweet escape again in this book.‘Throne of Glass’ is a book about gaining freedom and making new friends in places that you least expect it. In this book we mainly follow the life of Celaena Sardothien who has been sentenced to a life of slavery, until she got a proposition from the Crown Prince, Dorian Havilliard, to act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin in exchange for her freedom.Celaena is Adarlan’s most notorious assassin and her reputation has caused her to become quite vain and arrogant. However she’s a very likable character; she’s very kind, clever and witty. I also loved that she’s such a badass heroine and that she can hold her own.Then there’s Chaol Westfall, Celaena’s overseer and the Captain of the Royal Guard, who’s ruggedly handsome, stoic and patriotic. Chaol is usually very stern, but in this first installment we get to see glimpses of his tenderness. In this book we also saw his inner struggle when it comes to him following the King’s orders and doing what’s morally right. There’s also Dorian who’s tall, toned, elegant and an absolute flirt. We also saw Dorian’s strained relationship with his father the King and his struggles to stay in his father’s good graces. Both guys are very interesting and likable, but I can’t seem to choose between the two. Maybe after diving more into the series I’ll be able to do so :PJust like in ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’, I was really captured by the secondary characters in this book. Especially the Princess of Eyllwe, who’s also very witty and a badass in her own right. The secondary characters - from Celaena’s personal servant Philippa right down to the antagonists - are multidimensional characters, who you can’t help but to like or to dislike.I really enjoyed the manner in which the book was written. The storytelling is very descriptive in a way that it draws you into this complex world that Maas has created. The map also adds to the book’s allure, which helps to draw its readers into this bewitching world.I also thought that it was very interesting that the story was told from the third-person narrative, which allowed the readers to see the inner workings of the minds of the different characters to give us a glimpse of what moves them and to understand why they do the things they do.I really enjoyed this first installment in the book series and I’m very curious to see how this story will unfold. This book also kept me at the edge of my seat. There was so much going on, from solving the mystery of the killer to Celaena’s blossoming romance. Speaking of which, I’m still mind boggled by this new romance because of Celaena and her love interest’s backgrounds. It didn’t make much sense when you thought it through.Overall, this was a very promising start to this series and I’m looking forward to diving more into this captivating and enthralling world. If you’re in the mood for an action-packed read with multidimensional characters and a badass heroine, then you should definitely give this book a read.

From the very first chapter, I knew this was going to be a binge read. Celaena is such a fun main character—equal parts sass, skill, and vulnerability. She’s confident and capable, but you also get these little glimpses of her humor and humanity that make her feel real.The world Sarah J. Maas builds is rich without ever being overwhelming. You get politics, danger, friendship, and those little moments that make you laugh or hold your breath. The pacing is perfect—it kept me turning pages without wanting to skip ahead, and every scene felt like it mattered.What really hooked me was how this story feels like it’s just scratching the surface of something so much bigger. You can sense the layers and the history beneath the plot, and it makes you want to dive straight into the next book.If you love strong heroines, fantasy worlds that feel alive, and a story that will only grow in depth as the series goes on, this is the perfect place to start.