Throne of Glass

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

(Book #1 of the Throne of Glass series)

Rating: 🍁🍁🍁

Link to Blurb

The Good Stuff:

1) I enjoyed that Celaena was both a seriously badass assassin, and a woman who appreciated a nice dress. Quite often, the first thing an author will sacrifice to make a female character tough are any characteristics traditionally associated with being "feminine". While there's nothing wrong with that, it was refreshing to have a heroine who could kill you and look fabulous while doing it.

2) What an interesting world! Enough background was given to tantalize and make the story work, but there's so much left unexplained that has me fascinated. How does magic disappear from a world? But not all magic? What are the other parts of Erilea like?

3) Princess Nehemia. I think she was my favourite character in the whole book. She and Caleana become good friends. She's not white (gasp!). She's subversive. She can kick ass. Basically, she saves the day. I want more Nehemia. I also want her to hook up with Dorian (more on that later).

4) The writing was good, and the story absorbing. So absorbing I stayed up way too late to finish the book and am now so sleepy I'm having trouble typing (seriously, this is taking forever to type). There was some predictability in terms of who the Big Bad was, and we all knew how it would end - there are sequels planned, after all. But I was able to overlook that and still enjoy the ride.

The Not-So-Good Stuff:

1) Why, why, WHY must there always be a love triangle? And this one is epically awkward and forced. As if the fact that Caleana is an assassin with a secret/forgotten past wasn't enough to create romantic tension, we have to throw in a second love interest for no good reason? Dorian was completely unconvincing as a potential match - he's a prince with (admittedly justified) daddy issues, and no real depth of character. Oh, and he's also the son of the man who threw Calaena in the death camp/salt mine. But he's totally HAWT guys! Those eyes like sapphires! If anything, I think he should end up with Nehemia, who could hand him his ass when necessary but still pull off the queen thing if she needed to. Chaol is a much better match for Calaena - he at least understands sacrifice.

2) At times Calaena was just a little too MTV to be believable, especially when she interacted with Dorian. I mean, she's been an assassin since she was 8. You can't tell me that doesn't age your soul a little. Yet she comes across as your typical older teen. Huh?

3) The constant expositions of all the badass things the Calaena could be doing, i.e. escaping, killing everybody with household objects, etc., but never actually did was annoying. It's like the author had to keep reminding us that Calaena was lethal - because she never actually did anything that proved her badass-ness until almost at the end of the book. Less talk, more do!

4) Did anyone else keep reading the name of the kingdom as Aldaran instead of Adarlan? I eventually gave up and it became Aldaran in my head, which was a little confusing.

Overall, it was a good book. Not a great one, and definitely aimed at a YA audience, but a good read nonetheless.