Meeting A Personal Goal
One of my “goals” (maybe I should call them “good intentions”) for 2024 was to find one or two multi-book series – something longer than a trilogy – to dive into. I have a deep love of series like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson because of the way you get lost in the world and invested in the characters and see them grow and mature. All that to say, I chose Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass series to spend some time in (okay, a lot of time because there are eight books, and they’re hefty).
Book by Book
Normally, I do series in one or two-part reviews, but because Throne of Glass is pretty big/long and I’m getting them months apart from the library due to holds, I think I’m going to go book by book this time around. We will hope it doesn’t become repetitive, but I don’t suspect it will. So much has happened in only the first book that I don’t think I could sum them up as one.
All that to introduce…
An Overview of Throne of Glass
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas is the first book in the fantasy series, and readers are swiftly introduced to Celaena Sardothien. Celaena is an orphaned teenager and a famous assassin (a natural combo), finding herself in front of a ruthless king who rules from a glass castle. She’s there to fight for her freedom in a contest to become the King’s Champion or die trying. She’s sponsored by Prince Dorian, who aggravates her, and under 24/7 watch by the Captain of the Guard – Chaol – who intrigues her. All the while, in this land robbed of magic, an otherworldly evil lurks.
At first, Throne of Glass felt a little Hunger Games-esque to me, with the teenage fighter, the two men in her life, and a competition of 23 that involves a lot of action/violence. However, outside of that basic formula, it didn’t take long for the novel to stand apart. The fictional world Maas builds is unique, full of kingdoms, history, and lore. You can feel the tension of a magical world ruled by a tyrant who eliminated any source of magic and cut down anyone in his path.
What I Liked
- Swift-moving plot with decent pacing
- Interesting main trio of characters
- Celaena is our protagonist and also a literal murderer, so it was a unique experience of learning how she ticks and connecting to her as your “hero” despite her past. I thought she was funny and imperfect, tough but relatable.
- The same goes for Chaol and Dorian. Each of these young men have difficult backgrounds and positions they find themselves in, but you can see how they work as individuals, friends, and what motivates them. Maas did a good job with these three’s chemistry with each other (Dorian and Chaol as friends/competitors, and their individual chemistry with Celaena. I was definitely rooting for one over the other).
What I Liked Less
- Supporting characters
- I liked Nehemia just fine, but nothing in particular made her stand out to me. She did feel like she was fulfilling a necessary role in the story and stayed within those bounds. The king was… well, awful. And all the other antagonists were equally horrible.
Content Concerns?
There was some violence/gore (this is an assassin in a competition with other thieves, killers, and soldiers after all), but nothing too intense. Language and sexual content are at a minimum and not graphic.
Check Out My Review of Book #2
You can read my review of Throne of Glass #2 (Crown of Midnight) here!
Final Thoughts
As a whole, I gave Throne of Glass four stars. It sets up the series really nicely, and I’m excited to see where Maas takes me in the next eight books. A little long-winded and a few things that felt out of place to me in different areas, but so far, so good!
Content Rating: Moderate
for some dark fantasy elements, violence, and mild innuendo
Copyright Sarah J. Maas and Bloomsbury Publishing. Image from Amazon.
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