Throne of Glass Review

In Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged out of a death camp to compete for the position of the king’s champion. When Celaena’s other competitors turn up murdered in gruesome ways, Celaena suspects a greater danger at play.

Throne of Glass is a hugely popular young adult fantasy series. I tried reading this book last year before I really starting reading fantasy and could not get past the first chapter. I decided to pick it up again after enjoyed A Court of Thorns and Roses, another popular fantasy series by Sarah J. Maas. While this may not be a new personal favorite for me, I can understand why a lot of people enjoy it and would still recommend to big fantasy fans.

I think the most difficult part of this book for me was understanding the characters and the world. Since I initially tried to read this book when I still primarily read contemporary stories, it was difficult for me to keep everything straight. However, after researching the series more and pushing past the first chapter, it was much easier for me to follow along with the story line. I would recommend digging for the same background information if you aren’t a huge fantasy reader since this book contains a lot of high fantasy elements.

That being said, I think another reason why I struggled with this book was the heavy story line involving dark magic. Obviously, fantasy books include some magical elements. However, like with A Court of Wings and Ruin, this detracted some interest on my part since I am personally not interested in story lines revolving around dark and ancient magic. This is just a personal preference and I know many readers, especially big fans of fantasy, will appreciate this aspect of the story line.

Despite some of my personal tastes towards this book, there were still many aspects I enjoyed. I know some readers may find Celaena kind of ridiculous since she wants to wear pretty dresses and sleep past noon while in a warrior competition, but I really liked that about her character. Celaena is a great example of being a physically strong female character, but still having some girly qualities. After watching some interviews of Sarah J. Maas this seems to reflect her as a person as well which made me even happier.

I also didn’t mind the emerging love triangle in this book. From my research, I know pretty much know where the relationships are in the series, but I still really liked the characters included in this love triangle. Both embody some of the typical traits of males in a love triangle at this time–the level-headed friend and the cocky prince–but they still were so much fun to read about. I particularly enjoyed reading about Dorian’s character because I felt like he was a little more developed than Chaol in this book.

Overall, there were some aspects that I enjoyed in Throne of Glass, but others that didn’t mesh with my personal preferences. While I want to continue with this series because I heard the next one or two books are really strong, I’m not sure I will because the plot really isn’t up my alley. I give Throne of Glass three out of five stars.

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