Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
This book was exciting, adventurous, fantastical, and brilliant. I've had this gem sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read for about a year and I regret never picking it up sooner. It took me all of a day to finish the Throne of Glass and not because it was simple or short but because I simply couldn't put the book down. It was enchanting in all of its action, suspense, fantasy, and even romance. Maas created an entirely new world in which magic was once prevalent but had disappeared long ago. The characters were wonderfully developed and I absolutely fell in love with Celaena Sardothien.
It is impossible to rave about this book without mentioning how amazing Celaena is. She's our main character, an eighteen year old girl, and a deadly assassin. Celaena has been through a hellish past and has still come out able to smile, laugh, and love; character traits that show exactly how strong she is. She has got a fiery attitude and a brilliant mind. Not to mention she kicks butt for a living and reads in her free time. She's amazing in so many ways, but she's not perfect which makes her all the more lovable.
We start our journey with Celaena in Endovier, a death camp that she was sentenced to when she was only seventeen, and where she has been whipped everyday as well as forced to mine salt for a year. Endovier is a sort of hell and when the Captain of the Guard appears one day to personally escort her somewhere she believes that it has finally come for the day of her execution. However, it wasn't her death that awaited her, but the Crown Prince of Adarlan. He was there to offer Celaena her freedom from the prison in return for her to compete as his champion in the King's new competition. This competition would pit her against the country's greatest thieves and criminals in a contest to win the title of The King's Champion.
In her quest for freedom, she befriends both Prince Dorian and the Captain of the Guard, Chaol. Fair warning, there is a love triangle in the works, which would usually annoy me a bit. However, the romance in this book completely takes a back seat. Who loves who is not nearly as important as everything else going on in the book and Maas did a fantastic job at mixing in just the right amount of romance to spice things up.
I absolutely recommend that anybody read Throne of Glass. It has become one of my new favorite books and I can not get enough.
Review: 5 stars
Recommendations: If you like magic, humor, and adventure, you should watch Merlin the BBC television show. Celaena's kick but skills and attitude reminded me fairly of Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, and if you love the Fae like I do absolutely read Tithe by Holly Black
