Throne of Glass

please don't hate me for this, i'm DNFing at 34% - rant review incoming

I'll start by saying that I am not the intended audience for this book, it's a YA novel and unfortunately I need to accept that I am no longer part of that category. I really wanted to like this, everyone loves this and the series - I really wanted to be a part of it ):

I just can't justify spending my free time (what little of it I have) trying to trudge through something I don't like. I started reading this almost a week ago and am no where near halfway which is really unusual for me. I just didn't want to pick this up and when I did I got so distracted by other things. Everyone has been saying that it gets better as the series goes on and I wholeheartedly believe you - I just don't have the time or the want to do it ):

let's get into actually WHY I personally didn't like this... ๋⭑☽.

So far so good. I enjoy the main character's hard ass attitude, which is spunky but realistic and in keeping with her life experiences. At 100 pages in things are kind of settling into a rhythm that I hope doesn't keep up until the end - sleep/eat/train/compete.

Im intrigued by some of the minor characters that they've introduced. The world building is good, but there isnt enough of it - the authors use of imagery is excellent and I hope we get to see more than just the castle.
The history of the country is mentioned briefly, but never fully explained, Im a little confused about the layout of the country/timeline of events, I wish there was 1) a map, and 2) a preface with details about the current king's invasion. I suppose we'll learn more as we go?

They've glossed over the training crap, and focused more on the mystery aspect. The romance between the main character and the prince is irritating, I like the captain more. Also love the Nahima character, would love to see her fathers kingdom - the desert. Wish there were more small details about what the characters look like, how they act.

Theres some kind of mystery about her parents thats intriguing, and her connection to the fae queen's ghost that Im sure will feature in the next book. The magic system shown is also interesting.

Good climax, and enough of an ending to wrap things up nicely. Looking forward to the next book.

DNF
I read the first few books in the series many years ago (when there were only a few books out) but had never completed the series. I thought I'd give it a go now since the series is done and I vaguely remembered liking the books back in the day.
Well I think I aged out of this series...I just read a few chapters into the first book and can't convince myself to finish it. Too bad since I like the concept but the main character is frankly an immature annoying teenager. How the heck did some girl become the most feared assassin when all she talks about is clothes and reading and complains every time she has to do anything remotely physical? Also, she just came back from a year of hard labour in a prison camp but she's totally not affected at all by this!? No trauma response or behaviours, not even internal monologue that would show she's freaking out on the inside but trying to play cool on the outside.
Overall, I think this series is probably fine for a younger audience but the characters are just too superficial and the author doesn't explore the fight to the death assassin competition enough for me. Like I said I remember liking this when I was younger and I know the series gets more politically and emotionally charged later but I just can't force myself to read “until it gets good”.

I went into this thinking I wasn't going to enjoy it that much, mostly because a couple other books on this YA list, that I'm slowly going through, haven't been all that great, coughGracelingcough, and admittedly, for the first few chapters I was checked out because I genuinely thought it was going to be the same as the other newer high fantasy YA that've been on this list.
But it surprised me and I found myself actually invested in the story and completing the whole thing at 3 a.m. because it kept me intrigued till the last page.

After looking through the reviews I feel like a lot of people's critiques are that they found the heroine to be too ‘not like other girls' and I get why they feel that way however, I felt like that trope was done in a way that I didn't find Celaena to be annoying. It wasn't like crazy good assassin from birth, somehow gets plucked off the street by prince to compete in competition, being a crazy good assassin was something that took years of training and didn't come easy and she wasn't plucked off the streets, she was dragged out of a death camp where she was imprisoned.

Another criticism was too much show not enough tell, that one has merit in some aspects but, I was okay with it. It allowed for the story to move along. Calaena was malnourished and emaciated from being in the camp how are you going to ‘show' that she's highly trained right away, in a way relevant to the plot? could it be done? sure, maybe, I'm not a writer, but I was fine with just being told she's a ‘amazing assassin' until it could actually be shown.

Low key feel that a sizable portion of bad reviews are from people who just don't like Sarah. J. Maas, and hate read this, Which, hey, whatever floats your boat man, if that's not the case then I'd be surprised. It's a really good YA fantasy (I'm looking at you, the reviews that thought it was going to be GoT, why would you think that? GoT is 600+ pages of adult fantasy told from like 15 PoVs. If someone told you this was gonna be that, then they don't read fantasy at all). I don't know, maybe it's because I didn't read the synopsis or watch any in depth reviews before I started it but, I thought this was an intriguing story and paced really well. I thought it better than most other YA fantasy that've read. 

I'd give it a solid 4 1/2 stars.

This book was not what I was expecting it to be after reading the prequel. I think there was too long of a lull in the middle. I wanted more of the scenes with the tests and less of Celaena in her room contemplating Dorian and Chaol. I'd rather she chose Nehemia tbh... I liked it better than I liked ACOTAR when I first read it. That being said, though liked it better, it still felt like a filler book instead of an introduction to a series. I'm going to start the next one today so, we'll see.

There are actually some really good parts in this book and kudos for SJM for writing this in her teens. There is an interesting overarching story, a world that I'm excited to maybe explore more, different realms and the most surprising for me: there even seems to be a lot of history in this world.

But that was sadly only 10% of the story. Everything I found interesting was glossed over to give more attention to the ridiculous romance and this so called "world-renowned assassin".

3.5 ⭐️
This book was a very nice surprise.
I won't lie, I started reading it full of prejudice. Which was partially justified - the main female character was rather annoying at the beginning and I found the notion of her being the most notorious assassin utterly hilarious.
And while by the end I still didn't believe her to be the most notorious anything, she sort of grew on me.
Though the particular love situation utilised in this book (not to spoil it), in its nature, is something I detest, it was executed way better than in most young adult books I've read. The author knows how to write a slow burn and believable tension.
What I liked the most though, was the fantasy. The author has created a rich world and infused it with mystery. I am very curious to know more about it.
There were a few conveniences and a spot of cringe here and there. But overall, a very nice reading experience.

5/10

How do you write a whole fantasy book without even accidentally creating a likeable character?

I liked the premise/plot, but not much else. Feels a bit like wasted potential.

I think I'll have to read the next one, rather than listening to the audiobook. The narration for this one was very cringe indeed.

I don't know how to feel about Chaol and Celaena. I just don't understand the relationship - I get her and Dorian, not Chaol. Aside from the ridiculously unnecessary triangle, I mostly enjoyed the story, and I'm glad Celaena got to experience a real friendship through Nehemia. I was a little disappointed though bc I was expecting a little bit more idek, not exactly action but, something!
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I miss sam! I'll give this a 4 bc it left me intrigued and bc shes like 18 and I keep forgetting how young she was when she was adopted by Arobynn and sent to Endovier

💬:“He swung, but Celaena struck, ramming her fist into his arm, sending the blade soaring through the air. In the same breath, her palm hit his left arm, knocking it aside, too. As he staggered back, her leg came up, and Verin’s eyes bulged as her foot slammed into his chest. The kick sent him flying, and his body crunched as it hit the floor and slid out of the ring, instantly eliminating him. The hall was utterly silent."

Maas, Sarah J.. Throne of Glass (pp. 217-218). Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: fiction, fantasy, young adult, romance, romantasy

📚Page Count: 423

🎧Audiobook Length: 13hrs 04mins

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3/5

TW - <spoiler>Misogyny, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Cursing, Grief, Murder, Gore, and Violence</spoiler>

The Throne of Glass is the first book in the series of the same name, Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas. Celaena Sardothien is an assassin who is being tasked with killing 23 mercenaries, thieves, and warriors in a competition held by the king. Celaena agrees to fight in this tournament in order to win her freedom. Suddenly, the competitors starts dying one by one outside of the competition and Celaena has to wonder, "am I next?" Something evil may be in the castle and Celaena is determined to find out but she's also determined to survive.

There were somethings that worked for me in this story and then there were somethings that didn't work for me. I was very much expecting this book to be more adventurous and have more action than it did. We're reading about an assassin in a combative tournament, I just expected more fight scenes. What I didn't expect was the political intrigue and the focus on going to fancy balls and events held by royalty, I found these parts to be particularly boring.

There was a romance element in this story and I don't think it worked for me, but I almost think everything else in the story worked just fine. At one point the author tries to fake the reader out and she starts to write what could be see as a love triangle and this just doesn't work for me. I feel like Celaena has nothing in common with the prince and I find that the captain of the guard seemed to mesh well with the main character more than the prince did.

I liked that there was sort of a mystery as to who's killing off the contenders and what's lurking in the castle. I found the fighting scenes and the investigative scenes to be the most interesting parts of this book. The ending was fine, just a standard cliff hanger ending to lure you into reading the rest of the series.

I think that overall, this story was okay. There were some elements I didn't like, like the romance and the love triangle stuff. There were other things I really liked, like the fighting scenes and the parts that focused on the mystery at hand. I do plan on reading the second book in this series, book two will probably determine if I listen to the entire series. I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3/5

I listened to this audiobook on [LibbyApp.com]

I read this book in 3 sittings over a day and a half if that gives you any idea on pacing and the one-more-chapter-what-happens-next element.

Assassins, trials, duels, some mystical otherworldlyness, female friendship, an optional side quest of a love triangle... it just hit the spot.

I will say, as much as I liked Celeana, she was a little too young, too overly talented at very random things, and weirdly oblivious to people sneaking up on her- for an assassin!- and it took me out of the story sometimes.

Still super fun and definitely a reading rut buster.

I thought that this was a great book overall. At first it looked like a normal fantasy book but when you read farther into the book and you immerse yourself into the world you realize that there are more things going on than what's on the surface. It was the depth of the book that made me realize the beauty of the world and the underlying plot. Overall, this book was a pleasant read and I can't wait to continue with the series.