Saturday, August 11, 2012

THRONE OF GLASS by Sarah J. Maas

Title: Throne of Glass

Series: Throne of Glass #1

Author: Sarah J. Maas


Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy (with a bit of Romance)


Summary

Celaena Sardothien, also known as Adarlan's Assassin, has spent the past year as a slave in the Salt Mines of Endovier.  After leaving the mines one day, Celaena is offered the one thing she has dreamed about since the betrayal that made her a slave: her freedom.  In order to win her freedom, Celaena must agree to become the Champion for Prince Dorian and compete against other Champions for the position as Champion to the King, a position that she would then have to serve for four years before being given her freedom.  But Celaena knows that "champion" is just another way of saying "assassin", and she isn't sure that she wants to be a puppet to the cruelty of the king.

When Celaena arrives in Rifthold, she begins training with Chaol, the Captain of the Guard, to rebuild her weakened strength...but the competition isn't the only thing she has to worry about.  There is an evil inside the castle and Champions begin mysteriously dying, and if Celaena can't figure out what is going wrong, then she could be next.

My Impression

One of my favorite things about this book is how the reader is not spoon-fed the history of Erilea (the world in which the book takes place) or the history of the character.  By the end of the book, I had many questions about the details of events leading up to Celaena's imprisonment in the Salt Mines and even how she became an assassin, because there are only very small hints given throughout the book; it was believable that I didn't know Celaena's story since she is not about to rattle off her entire life story to people she doesn't completely trust.  I also loved Celaena as a character.  As a seventeen-year-old who has clearly seen a lot of violence and death, she is still remarkably strong.  It is clear that she is a survivor, though she is not without her flaws.  I hope there is a sequel to this book, because I really want to know what happens to Celaena and if she ever gains her freedom.

Why I Picked Up This Book

Over the summer I worked in the books department of an entertainment store, and I would occasionally spend part of my shift scanning the "Teen" section for interesting books.  The title of this book really stuck out to me and after reading the back cover I knew it was a book I wanted to read.

My Rating: Five Stars