Book Review: Throne of Glass

So I really enjoyed this book. I was a little sceptical because my previous experience with Sareah J. Maas was ACOTAR, or rather just the first book, and I didn’t like it as much as I did this one. Perhaps the ACOTAR was just too overhyped for me? That being said, I went into Throne of Glass with zero expectations, only knowing I was far behind in a series and booktok loves Sarah J. Maas. So why not?

Celaena has survived a year in the Endovier salt mines and has been chosen to be a champion for Prince Dorian in a cutthroat competition to become the Andarlan King’s Champion. She hides an awful secret within her, one even the reader has yet to uncover, but the world is at war, and Andarlan is seeking to conquer the continent and abolish magic from the realms. All conquered nations are having their citizens enslaved, rebels hunted down like wild animals and sorcerers burned to ash. There is an evil lurking in the glass castle, and Celaena is tasked with hunting it down before it destroys all the champions and indeed her. A mystery is afoot, and magic might not have left the continent after all… so far, I like it.

Let’s talk world-building. This series is a little more to the point than ACOTAR. It was vivid and brutal. Obviously, the first book sets the tone for the rest of the series; we’re introduced to major characters, themes, and ideas. We have war, famine, slavery, conquest, death and violence as some of the main drivers. There are also elements of fantasy, magic and the supernatural that add layers and raise the stakes. Let’s add murder to the mix, and the world-building is complete. Celaena is thrown into the middle of a war she didn’t start and is forced to work for and with her enemies to achieve her goals. What makes this so fantastical are the elements of magic and liminality; jaunts into the Otherworld, speaking with figures (ghosts?) from the past and being saved from death by supernatural forces. I really enjoyed the world-building here and can’t wait to read the next instalments.

In terms of characters and plot, Celaena is immediately likeable. She is the classic underdog, beaten down into slavery, but she proves to be a strong and capable woman, which we always like to see. I do like a love triangle as much as the next person; it adds more layers to the plot without overwhelming it. Dorian and Chaol are excellent for this, they don’t underestimate Celaena about her prowess as an assassin, but they see her as singluary one dimensional and come to learn that there is much more to her than her ‘assassin’ job title. In terms of plot, I do wish we could see more of the ‘tests’ and trials in which Celaena has to go through. It is the reason why we have the story in the first place, but never mind. I think the overarching journey of Celaena is the main plot point. Clearly as there are a fair few more books to read. I’ll be buying them, so be prepared for another Sarah J. Maas review coming up… and maybe I’ll get back into ACOTAR too.