Monday, March 16, 2015

Throne of Glass ♥ Sarah J. Maas | Review

Monday, March 16, 2015

  • Throne of Glass
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  • Sarah J. Maas

  • Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing 
  • (August 2, 2012)
  • ISBN-13: 978-1408832332
  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Purchase: Amazon | B & N
  • Source: Personal Kindle Purchase

  • Synopsis: Meet Celaena Sardothien. Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness. 

  • In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake.

  •  She got caught. Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament - fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. 

  • Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. 

  • But will her assassin's heart be melted?

  • Throne of Glass has been in my TBR for quite some time, I've seen mainly praise for this novel so I decided to indulge in it myself. Celaena Sardothien is the world's greatest assassin. Unfortunately, she was caught by Captain Westfall. He offers her an opportunity, Celaena must represent the prince and his kingdom in a tournament against other thieves and assassins. If she wins, she will be the king's champion who kill kill for him, and after four years she will be guaranteed her freedom, the real question is will she win?

  •  One of my favorite concepts is of dystopian governments that hold royal tournaments of life and death - however, I have read many of the same generic stories again and again. I liked The Hunger Games, but I preferred the concept better in the original novel called Battle Royale. Throne of Glass is a catchy series, it is a decent read. The concept is fantastic though, I do LOVE that cover, it's much more badass than the first cover. I had issues with this novel though, I felt it was trying to be portrayed as teen girl version of Game of Thrones. I felt the novel lacks depth and the characters have huge hubris'. The novel is 432 pages long, and some of the parts were just plain boring and unnecessary. If it was under 350 pages, it would have done it's job too.
  • Celaena Sardothien is the world's greatest assassin at the age of only EIGHTEEN. Really? 
  • I wanted to face palm myself at this part; it's clearly not realistic at all. This is quite common in previous novels especially in Divergent and Legend. Of course, there can be some exceptions of really gifted teens, but it's not that common. I believe age 22-23 would have sounded better, however, it's a teen novel so I can understand why she has to be young. I had a love/hate relationship with her.
“My name is Celaena Sardothien. But it makes no difference if my name's Celaena or Lillian or Bitch, because I'd still beat you, no matter what you call me.” 

  • I do love that Calaena is witty and sarcastic, she speaks her mind, unfortunately, she's petty and she has hubris. She's vain because she's the best assassin who is undefeated. She's great and she knows it. However, I didn't read any parts that declared her as "the best." Where's my proof? She's all talk. Celaena has no patience, and she clearly rubs her skills in front of others even though she is warned. Instead of training, she reads books.. She's been out of shape for a year, yet she chooses to be stubborn, and she doesn't practice her skills for a tournament that can cause HER DEATH. She does lack intelligence and common sense.. I love reading books too, but I don't read them the day before I have a TEST like Celaena. The story went on and on about how beautiful she and Dorian are, she's sweaty but she's still "beautiful." Yeah, okay and I'm Queen Latifa. It's like her sweat isn't actual sweat, it's portrayed as something great as glitter. I did like that she's an icy character, although, she does show mercy and kindness at certain times.
  •  I'm team Chaol forever<3 He is the Captain of the Guard, and clearly my favorite character of the novel. He is fierce, strong, and brooding. He reminds me of Four from Divergent. This isn't a love triangle, but I do feel it will develop in the next installment of the series. The attraction between Celaena and the Crowned Prince Dorian Havillard was rather strange, it seemed superficial because they're both beautiful creatures. I didn't like the male lead Dorian as much, their romance didn't get to me.
  • Sarah J. Maas is a wonderful writer, and she does engages the reader in her stories. The suspense of the novel was great, the plot does have a lot going on for itself. I loved the packed action and and the mystery of the plot - however, it's predictable because I could have guessed just by reading the blurb who will triumph since Celeana is the world's best assassin. Of course she can't lose right? It was too good not to be true.
“We all bear scars,... Mine just happen to be more visible than most.” 

  • Every plot twist in Throne of Glass is predictable, I saw it coming since I first read the given subtle hints of them. I did like the magic used in the novel, the world building plot was amazing - I couldn't wait to find what happens next. Some parts did bother me, however, I still did enjoy the ending, and I loved that Celeana was a strong female character in YA. I did like the female friendship in the novel with the secondary character Nehemia. I liked that she's a woman of African-American descent which is highly unlikely in YA novels. I look forward to more of the next installment in the series, I hope it improves more. Although, I might not pick it up until later this year.
    *Updated note: Due to high demands of READ THE NEXT BOOK, I will read the the next installment Crown at Midnight and the prequel this April :)

    Recommended for fans of Graceling, The Hunger Games, and His Fair Assassin.

    • Shukran for reading this! Leave your blog links in the comments & I'll be sure to check them out :) Stay in tuned pretty creatures.. 

      “Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness.” —George R.R. Martin 
      femmmefatalee@gmail.com

    63 comments:

    1. Oh, this is a very popular novel and one that I have been meaning to try for some time1 It's a shame there were a few too many unrealistic concepts in there for you to be entirely happy. And although I wanted to read it I didn't know it was 400 pages long! Pretty long I'd say xD I still want to try it, but now I have things to bear in mind. Thanks for the honest review <3

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      1. Thank you Olivia ♥ Throne of Glass and The Lunar Chronicles were recommended to me over and over again by people, so of course I finally checked them out. I liked Throne of Glass, it's intriguing enough - I DNF'ed Cinder though lol I don't understand the hype of it at all.

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    2. I have heard so many good things about this book and the series as whole, I liked the concepts of this book, Lovely review :) happy to hear you will read the next book

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      1. Thank you, I do hope the series gets better ♥

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    3. Oh shucks, I don't think I'm gonna enjoy Caelena but I've got this on my TBR list for this month. Thanks for sharing and giving a heads up on the main character! Great review, Benish! xx

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      1. Aw, no worries - I do hope you enjoy the novel though :)

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    4. Just reading the synopsis, I know I probably wouldn't like this book. Any time some one is the best, but they got caught, it makes me eyeroll. Great review!

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      1. LOOL thank you Karen, & I agree with you - it's surprising she gets caught.

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    5. The second book in the series is SO good! Keep reading for sure!
      Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings

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    6. Pick up the sequels. Trust me. I wasn't completely bawled over by the first book but then WOW the next two floored me. Completely and utterly floored me

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      1. Hmm, since everyone is saying to pick up the sequels, I think I will by April :) I was actually going to read the rest of the series in August or something lol.

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    7. I adore this series and though I had a rough start with Throne of Glass (mainly for the same reasons as you)but once you get used to Celaena she becomes pretty badass, and Crown of Midnight is insane. Hope you enjoy it a lot better (I know I did!)

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      1. Thank you for dropping by Kristy ♥ I hope I do enjoy it more though, I've been hearing the series gets much better as it moves on. Thanks for the heads up!

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    8. Wonderful review, I pretty much felt the same towards Celaena's character and the world building. It is a fantastic series, you should keep reading because it gets a whole lot better!

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      1. Yes, I hope so too ♥ I will check out the next installment next month x

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    9. I DNF'd this book as I couldn't get into it and had some of the issues you mentioned as well, like how she can be eighteen and be the greatest assassin of the world? I do like the covers for this series, even though the books didn't work for me. I also would've liked to see more proof of her being the greatest assassin, although I heard that if you read the prequel novella's it all makes more sense. Great review!

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      1. The covers are quite beautiful ♥ I heard that the series gets better as you keep reading, so hopefully you can pick it up again? Let's see! Thank you Lola.

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    10. OH no you're breaking my heart Benish (sad face) I LOVE this series it's one of my favorite as well as Celaena. I do agree this book is slow comparing to the ones that follow. Maybe you can give the next books a try, so much more action, new characters, AND Celaena shows her skills. Most importantly you have to meet Rowan! ;)

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      1. Haha aww I'm sorry </3 Throne of Glass is good, but it's rather predictable. I have to meet this Rowan now :)

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    11. I still havent' read the latest one, but I recall that book two was much better than the first. I was surpirsed by it. I hope you continue and enjoy it. Totally agree, this cover is so much more fitting than the first. The original US cover was just terrible.

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      1. I hope so too, the second installment sounds exciting now based on everyone's recommendations ♥

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    12. IT GETS BETTER!! I adore this series so much. Once you read "The Assassin's Blade" and "Crown of Midnight" you'll understand a bit more how she became who she was. I think she was 7 when she was taken in by Arobynn and the assassins... The romance is amazing. TEAM CHAOL ALL THE WAY <333 You shall see *winks* SJM's writing is totally engaging and although the twists are a bit predictable, some will throw you in a tizzy. Particularly the ones in Heir of Fire. Lovely review <3

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      1. Haha I hope so! I love Chaol's character, he's my absolute FAVORITE<3 Thank you Rachel, I must check out the next installment in the series now.

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    13. I get the feeling I'm going to feel the same way. Great review, btw!

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    14. This is one series that gets better with each book, while I loved Throne of Glass, it wasn't until Crown of Midnight where I was completely blown away. I've never read or seen Game of Thrones past episode one, it wasn't really my thing. But this series definitely was. I hope you continue onto the next book Benish, it will knock your socks off. Lovely review <3

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      1. Yes, everyone's been telling me the series gets much better as it goes on - let's see how it works for me, I'll pick it up early next month :) Thank you ♥

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    15. I am reading this now, and I confess, I am feeling the same as you (I'm about halfway through). The thing about Celaena that's getting on my nerves is how she is obsessed with how pretty she looks all the time. Girl, you are fighting for your LIFE, I don't think how your BOOBS LOOK matters!

      But, I am also enjoying it, so I am going to keep going even if a few parts are making me a bit stabby. And since everyone says it'll get better... well, I guess I am still in! Great review!
      Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight

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      1. LOL I'm with you on that Shannon, plus I'm annoyed at reading on how "drenched in sweat" she gets, yet remains beautiful. Yeah, okay sure. I will check out the next installment though. Thank you ♥

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    16. This series continues to get stronger and slowly moves towards a high fantasy feel which I totally love. Celaena will see growth. Overall this is the weakest book as first books often are.

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      1. I do hope it gets much better ♥ Thank you for dropping by x

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    17. I wish you liked it more but I get what you mean. She was a snot sometimes. And her being the best was a little far-fetched.

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      1. I wanted to love this novel, hopefully I love Crown of Midnight much more ♥

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    18. This is seriously one of my favorite series and I'm sorry it didn't blow you away! I wish I knew you were going to start with this book and I would have recommended you read: The Assassin's Blade (Throne of Glass 0.1-0.5) first. It's available on Amazon as one book and since they're novellas, you'll breeze through the whole thing but seriously, this series just keep getting better and better. Don't give up my friend! *wink*

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      1. Ohh, I should read the novella next just in case, thank you for letting me know! ♥

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    19. I am hoping to start this series soon to see what all the hype is about. One of my best friends in the blogging community loves this trilogy, so I hope i will too, but I can see how it would be unrealistic.. though much young adult/fiction is. I don't think the fact that she is 18 would deter me too much, but I would definitely be annoyed at boring, unnecessary parts... I am an impatient reader! lol Great review and lovely blog. :)

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      1. Yes, the first book isn't as good as I thought it would be - however, everyone's been saying the series gets much better though so let's see :) Thank you Sarah ♥

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    20. I liked Throne of Glass but it was the sequels that did it for me. That and the prequel The Assassin's Blade that really shed light on Celeana and who she was. It always gives insight into her life as an assassin and why she is the way she is.

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      1. I heard good things about the prequel, since almost every comment on here is urging me to pick up the next installment soon - I SHALL CHECK IT OUT.

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    21. I'm glad you mostly liked Throne of Glass! I thought it was okay, but then I really did not like Crown of Midnight as much as I'd hoped... but then Heir of Fire was AMAZING. So. I hope you continue reading and enjoying the series, Benish!

      Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!

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      1. Uh oh, I think you're the first person I heard who doesn't like Crown of Midnight as much, let's see how it works out for me!

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    22. Can you believe it? I still havent started this series or read anything by this author. Everyone is talking about love triangle and it is really discouraging... I hate when author gives us amazing male character in first book only to add another interest in next book. I usually end up hating second guy LOL
      Great review, Benish! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Now I know what I will be getting myself into when I decide to finally read it.

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      1. LOL it's okay, I just read this recently myself :) You're not the only one. There's two male leads in the first book, although I prefer Chaol. Dorian reminded me of Mason from the Selection series grr :( Chaol is so much better, hope you check this one out for yourself Lucia!

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    23. I'm team Chaol all the way :) I'm glad you did liked the book, though there were a few things you didn't enjoy. I do understand where you are coming from with Celaena, her being a bit of a famous and amazing assassin at such an age is kind of hard to believe. But it was enjoyable nonetheless. It was an interesting fantasy. And I am excited to pick up the next book. Hopefully, if you pick it up as well, you'll enjoy it a bit more than the first one! :)

      Lovely review!

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      1. Another one for team Chaol! <3 It does a great concept though, I'm looking forward to reading the next book now :) Thank you Magen.

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    24. This sounds like a book I would like to read. I loved the Hunger Games but didn't really care for the Divergent series.

      Me and my sister were talking about your blog earlier and how we are finding so many good books to read from it.

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      1. Aw thank you Jessica!<3 That actually means a lot to me, I hope you enjoy this one.

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    25. Team Chaol too <3 <3 And, yeah ahahahha, Cee wasn't really an assassin. I mean, yes, but not THE assassin. She wasn't quite convincing in her role. Nonetheless, when I read this book, I had not read about a lot of assassin heroines before so thought her to be interesting and entertaining :D Great review!!

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      1. YAY YAY<3 and I agree, she was mainly all talk, but I did like her character too. Thank you Lola :)

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    26. First off....that is the scariest gif ever. Though it captivates that expression perfectly. :)

      Team Chaol forever! <3 Really, Dorian who?

      Great review! I'm glad you are going to give book two a try. I really think this is one of those series that get better with each book. I enjoyed book one myself, but I loved book two. The story gets deeper, the world larger, and things I wasn't sold on in book one started making more sense in book two.

      Dreams @ Once Upon A Dream Books

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      1. LOL I like the gif, it actually makes me laugh & YAY, I don't like Dorian much either, and I do hope this book gets much better - everyone's been saying I should read the next book, I might as well now :)

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    27. It's a shame you didn't enjoy this as much as you hoped. I really like this series and this was the beginning of the build up that is coming. Many new twists coming I tell you!!

      Naomi @ Nomi’s Paranormal Palace

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      1. I hope the next one works out better for me :)

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    28. I had some issues with liking the main character during some parts of the book too. I'm glad to hear you're going to try some other books in the series! I hope you like them better than the first book! :)

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      1. Yes, I do hope they're better than the first book ♥

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    29. I think I'm the only person left who hasn't read this lol

      Something about it didn't grab me and now that I read your review (the only one that wasn't a 5 star) I can see that I'm right to avoid it.

      I posted a review today for a YA book with many of the same complaints so I think I'll take a pass not his series for now.

      Karen @For What It's Worth

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      1. LOL, aw I was in your situation a couple of weeks ago :) It does have a cliche start to the novel, however, I've heard many great things about the next novels in the series so I'm giving it another try. Don't give up yet :)

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    30. Oh I am so happy that people insisted that you go on with the series - AND that you agreed and will read Crown of Midnight AND The Assassin's Blade :D A lot of people felt underwhelmed by the first book but the prequel and the sequel won them over. I hope the same for you! The prequel does a really good job of explaining why Celaena is so full of herself...and her motivations and issues going in. And then Crown of Midnight will just bring ALL the feels and crush your soul XD Oh and I'm also Team Chaol for EVER ♥ Awesome review^^

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      1. Aaahh.. this series has many books and novellas in it already, I'm not sure if I can keep up but I shall try. Thank you for the lovely comments Micheline ♥ & YES, another Team Chaol forever!! <33

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