Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Title: Throne of Glass (Book #1 in it's series)

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Genre: Fantasy

POV: Third Person

Average Rating: 4.17/5 stars

My Rating: 4.75/5 stars

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Book Depository | Barnes & Noble | Chapters/Indigo 

Throne of Glass follows 18 year-old Celaena Sardothien; Adarlan's Assassin. After being imprisoned in a coal mine in Endovier, she is retrieved by the Captain of the Guard, Chaol Westfall, and Prince Dorian of Adarlan to compete in the King's Assassin Competition.  In this competition, she must defeat twenty-three other criminals in order to serve as the King's Assassin for four years to earn freedom.
But something determined to kill lurks in the shadows of the castle, and Celaena must solve the mystery before she's the next one killed.
Along the way she makes friends of Prince Dorian, Chaol Westfall, and Princess Nehemia, and enemies of many others.

I loved Adarlan! Especially the Glass Castle. It had a really eerie vibe to it that really made you think about all the mysterious stuff going on. I think the setting really helped to move the plot forward sometimes and I had fun exploring it along with Celaena.

There are so many characteristics about this book that I really loved!
The character's themselves were wonderful and three-dimensional! Celaena reminded me a lot of myself; not the kicking butt part, but the sassy part. I felt myself really relating to her in a way I had no idea I would. Plus she decisions were realistic and not too angsty and practical! Oh man, I could just rave about Celaena all day. The rest of the characters were just as great and I love switching point of views to see who was up to what; something I usually hate!
I'd really like to know how Sarah J. Maas went about outlining and drafting this novel because it feels like she may have worked backwards. Everyone is a different aspect of the drama, kind of like a TV show, and it was so much fun to read. Despite Celaena being an assassin, you're really rooting for her.
I can't ignore the love triangle.*sighs* This is one of two reasons I knocked off a quarter of a star. I really can't stand love triangles, they feel so unnecessary. I felt like screaming at the book "CELAENA YOU'RE BETTER THAN THIS!" As well as Sarah J. Maas. A book isn't worth 5 stars with a love triangle that either 1. does nothing for the plot or 2. is the only thing driving the plot forward. However, I can sort of see where Celaena is coming from cause I wouldn't be able to choose either.
As for the second reason for knocking off a quarter star, the writing was not what I was expecting and a little hard to get into at first. Sarah J. Maas's voice is different from other novels I've read. I'm not sure how to describe it other than "whimsical" and more stream of consciousness? Not like Tahereh Maffi, though. I guess you'll have to read it to figure it out yourself. I feel like I'm the only one who noticed her unique voice, because I've never heard anyone touch on it before. If you know what I mean, comment and let me know!

I can't wait to read the sequel, but also the novellas to see Celaena's past! There's so many things about her that we're not quite sure of yet and I think the novellas will really help fill in the gaps.
As well, I can't wait to see where the story will go. I found that there wasn't too much of a cliff hanger so I'm not extremely eager to jump into the sequel, but I do have a few predictions that I'm curious to see be true. The most I'm hoping for is that the love triangle doesn't drag through the next books, cause I know I'll get tired of it pretty quickly.
In the end, I'll definitely be buying the hardcovers of this series to beautifully display on my shelves and re-read sometime.
If you feel conflicted about this series, I say try it out! maybe get it from the library or buy it on an e-reader first, but it's definitely worth a try!