REVIEW - Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Title: Throne of Glass

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Series: Throne of Glass #1
Publisher: Bloomsbury

Published: 2nd August 2012
Links: Goodreads / Amazon

Source: Won paperback

Goodreads:

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom. Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilarating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best. Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

5/5

I LOVED this book! It was creative and unique and has everything you could want in a book. Sarah has created a fantasy world like no other. Her imagination knows no boundaries. 

Celaena was an excellent character. She might have an ice tough exterior but underneath she is just a girl who is just trying to survive in a harsh world. She is one of my new favourite characters. She is the very definition of kick-ass. She is everything I want in a character - sarcastic, tough as nails and smart. I loved her back story and can't wait to find out more about her. She is a girl don't forget and so she finds herself getting feelings for the Prince and Chaol. And who wouldn't?! These two are great love interests. Even though I despise love-triangles, this one didn't annoying as much as I thought it would. You have Prince Dorian, who is flirty and arrogant. And then you have Chaol, who is solemn and stoic, watching from the sidelines. At first I was kind of caught between the two but I am now definitely on Team Chaol. He just seems more, I dunno, dependable and caring and someone who would be able to handle Celaena's wild ways. 

The storyline was very imaginative and the writing flowed beautifully. Never once did I find myself bored or wanting to skip ahead. I was glued to the page and just couldn't get enough. Although, as with most fantasy novels, I found it difficult to pronounce some of the place names, it didn't stop me from enjoying this amazing book. There was no shortage of action - as you would expect - and the way the author described the fights scenes was very detailed and a bit gruesome at some points. It kept me engaged and I couldn't wait for the next action scene. The magic element of the story was interesting and I wanted to find out more.

Overall this was an amazing fantasy book packed full of action, humor, betrayal, romance and much more. I recommend everyone to read this!