Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of GlassThrone of Glass, 1Sarah J. MaasYA FantasyBloomsbury USA Children’s PublishingMay 7, 2013Paperback404

In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king’s champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass–and it’s there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena’s fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

In Sarah J. Maas’ thrilling debut Throne of Glass, a retelling of the classic Cinderella tale with a twist, the meek Disney princess is transformed into a notorious assassin. When the crown prince offers Celaena Sardothien a new chance at freedom, she leaps at the opportunity to leave the Endovier salt mines. She is then invited to the castle to compete in a Hunger Games-esque fight to the death against twenty-three other killers of the realm.

While Prince Dorian likes her, his captain of the guard, Chaol, is less impressed by the new guest. When a mysterious killer begins picking off the competitors, Celaena must find the culprit before she becomes the next victim.

I found this an exciting and fast-paced novel. The author masterfully portrays the tumultuous emotions of all three main characters, as well as spreading fleeting insights on the more sinister powers at play.

Similar to The Selection trilogy, the Throne of Glass series features a love triangle with both the crown prince and captain of the guard, but unlike the first, Sarah J. Maas’ story does not dwell on the more sentimental aspects of Celaena’s tale. It would be hard to without sacrificing the suspense, mystery, and romance that made it impossible to put this book down. I finished it in three hours.

I recommend this for fans of any of the aforementioned genres. The author has recently published the second book in the series, Crown of Midnight, as well as a few short stories illustrating Celaena’s past missions, serving as a collective prequel to the series.

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