I Will Not Be Afraid • Throne of Glass

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Series: Throne of Glass #1

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: August 7, 2012

Source: BEA 2012 || ARC

[I received this book from the publisher. This in no way affects the contents of my review.]

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. 

Her opponents are men—thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the kings council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she’ll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom. Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

[This was the book chosen for the August edition of the BEA Book Club that I'm a part of. Check out reviews from my friends Pixie, Amanda & Shanella! There's also going to be a post featuring our discussion coming up soon.]

Though I read many types of books, one of my favorite genres has always been fantasy. I feel so fortunate that a splendid example of fantasy done right fell into my hands at BEA - THRONE OF GLASS is certainly a magnificent novel, and definitely one of my newest favorite fantasy books.

Initially, I had difficulties adjusting to the writing style and the names used for characters. I think this primarily had to do with the fact that I was reading mostly contemporary right before this, so to get thrust into an entirely different world was a complete shock. Once I started getting used to it though (which was about two or three chapters in), everything just clicked into place and... well, I fell in love.

THRONE OF GLASS is a superbly written fantasy debut. Honestly, I don't know where to even begin when trying to talk about how much I love this book and how it is now a favorite for me. There are so many things that bring it all together, and I think SARAH J. MAAS did a brilliant job.

I've always been a fan of character-driven books; this one is certainly no exception. Though Celaena Sardothien's name is certainly a mouthful, I think it suits her character. She's a complex, complicated bundle of emotions and memories and talents - and it shows throughout the book. The reader is allowed glimpses of her personality through various situations that she has to endure, and I personally felt like I was closer to her for it. The one thing I admire most about Celaena is that she's strong-willed - and that is pretty much what gets her through everything that comes her way. And, as a bonus, she loves books - how cool is that in a heroine?

The story of the book kind of reminded me of something the along the lines of a Tamora Pierce book, which I would consider high praise indeed. A girl assassin is chosen to compete in a competition to be the King's Champion, during which she discovers there's evil in the castle and she has to be the one to get rid of it - yup, that's epic enough to be like a Pierce story. I think the biggest similarity, for me, is the fact that Celaena is up against all these men in the competition - which is something that Alanna, heroine of the Song of the Lioness quartet, had to do as well during her training to be a knight.

There are certainly a few things that I believe could use more elaboration. For instance, the competition; I personally would have adored seeing more "stages" and more demonstrations of Celaena's skills. Though we do get a few moments during the competition, I felt like there could be even more of those scenes thrown into the novel to make it even more exciting and well, even more of a challenge to Celaena.

And then, there's the magic. While it is certainly an important element of this story in particular, I felt like there was a lack of explanation about it and the history and the reason why it's banned. I am definitely hoping to get the details about this in the next book.

Still, SARAH J. MAAS has certainly created a kingdom and a lore all her own - the deep-rooted magic, the fine line between darkness and light, an evil king who scares even me a little and a castle made of glass. I loved these elements that she came up with to make her story unique, and I believe they were well-placed to help move the story further along. 

My favorite thing of all about THRONE OF GLASS is how SARAH J. MAAS managed to leave me and many other readers confused about which guy we're pulling for in this little love triangle. Take note writers, that is how you do a love triangle effectively - make it difficult for us to actually decide who we want her to end up with! 

I started out really liking Chaol Westfall, the captain of the guard, who's gruff, tough and always thinking of his duty - but who really hides a secretly empathetic heart underneath. But then Dorian Havilliard proved to me he's more than some shallow, good-looking, princely mouthpiece and I was convinced he was a perfectly wonderful person. For now, and I stress that part, I *think* I'm pulling for Team Chaol (although that could probably change in an instant).

Fantastic story, multi-dimensional characters, an intriguing lore, a love triangle well done - these elements have made THRONE OF GLASS such a success to me. I have fallen in love with this world that SARAH J. MAAS has created, and I can only keep wishing that next year and the next book come faster!