Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1) in Audiobook Junkies

Jun 18, 2013 Mogsy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobook, review-copy, young-adult, magic, romance, fantasy, assassins

4.5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.blogspot.com/201...

It's not often that a book catches me off guard, but this one sure did. Sometimes, the mood for a particular type of story or experience will strike me out of the blue, making me seek out the sort of book that will satisfy the hankering. At the time, what I felt like reading was a traditional young adult fantasy, complete with action and intrigue, a kickass heroine, a thrilling love triangles and all that goodness. I was pret 4.5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.blogspot.com/201...

It's not often that a book catches me off guard, but this one sure did. Sometimes, the mood for a particular type of story or experience will strike me out of the blue, making me seek out the sort of book that will satisfy the hankering. At the time, what I felt like reading was a traditional young adult fantasy, complete with action and intrigue, a kickass heroine, a thrilling love triangles and all that goodness. I was pretty confident that Throne of Glass was going to deliver all that and more when I first settled back with the audiobook, and yet nothing could have prepared me for the way it swept me off my feet.

A year into her imprisonment and forced labor at the salt mines of Endovier, convicted assassin Celaena Sardothien is hauled before the Crown Prince and offered a chance to reclaim her freedom. The conditions Prince Dorian offers her are simple: act as his champion in the king's upcoming competition to find a royal assassin, win, serve the kingdom for four years, and then she will be free.

However, the trials set up to prepare Celaena for the competition are challenging and brutal, and her opponents are all hardened, dangerous men. Chaol Westguard, the guard captain overseeing her training, pushes her hard and keeps her isolated from much of the court activities. Still, she cannot help but be drawn to him, much as she is drawn to the prince. Things get more interesting -- and unsettling -- when one by one, the other champions turn up dead, savagely ripped apart by someone or something unnatural. Celaena fears the killer will come for her next, ending her hopes before she will even have the chance to win her freedom.

I admit, I was a bit worried when I first met Celaena. I can take sassy, confident and badass young adult heroines, but what gets on my nerves is arrogance. And Celaena happens to have it in abundance. It's not that her vanity is uncalled for; in fact, she's quite the talented young woman, having all the looks, the smarts, the moves. But I could have done without her proclaiming her greatness every chance she gets.

Obviously, something changed my opinion of her at a later point, otherwise I wouldn't have enjoyed this book so much. But more on that later because first praise needs to go to the narrator Elizabeth Evans whose voice work was exceptional, perhaps doing the job too well. Her delivery of Celaena's lines were all spot on, nailing all the boastfulness and arrogance of her character. It's really amazing how a good narrator can bring out the full gamut of a protagonist's personality, for better or worse.

Definitely for the better once I warmed towards Celaena, eventually. Beneath the arrogance lies a lot more than I'd given her credit for, a much greater complexity. She's really not as invincible as she thinks she is, and deep down I think she knows this. It cast her determination and her strength in a whole different light for me, and in time I grew to like her and want to see her succeed. I'm still not completely sold on the love triangle between her, Prince Dorian and the Chaol Westfall, but at least I desperately wanted to see her win the king's competition.

And speaking of the competition, what a complete 180 it did on my emotions! Here I was, thinking that it's just like the fantasy version of a reality-TV-show-type game where the champion with the worst performance gets booted out and goes home each week. That's how it started off, but by the end I was completely enthralled, especially over the final duel scene. It's good that audiobooks don't allow you to easily flip forward to the end of a chapter to find out what happens like you do with a book, or else I would have been sorely tempted to spoil the outcome for myself. It was just that intense.

Like I said, I really didn't expect this book to be this gripping and full of surprises. The beginning of it led me think it was going to be an average book, but gradually it built up both the story and the characters to make this one close to a five-star read. ...more

21 likes · Like · see review

Jan 01, 2014 Vanessa Gayle ⚔️ Fangirl Faction rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: own-ebook-read, reviewed, cover-love, romance, young-adult, favorites, fantasy, tortured-hero-or-heroine, own-physical-read, reread

11/11/2020: Reread! (Read to my son, Maddox.)

I am so late to jump on the Throne of Glass bandwagon. I am seriously kicking myself for not reading this sooner! I blame my love for serial series binge reading. At any rate, I finally decided it was time to sit down and see what all the fuss is about. I was gratifyingly astonished. This is a story that grips you right from the start.

The characters in this book are so complex. They are fleshed out extremely well. There is so much involved with each ...more

15 likes · Like · see review

May 09, 2012 ☕️Kimberly (Caffeinated Reviewer) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Throne of Glass is the first in a young adult fantasy by Sarah J. Maas. I became completely immersed in the world this author created. I quickly consumed this brilliant, captivating tale. Filled with fleshed out characters and intrigue this is sure to make my top ten list for 2012.

The tale begins when we meet eighteen year old Celaena Sardothien. She is Ardarlan’s most feared Assassin. The world is at war, and Celaena has spent the past year in the deadly salt mines of Endovier. Known for being Throne of Glass is the first in a young adult fantasy by Sarah J. Maas. I became completely immersed in the world this author created. I quickly consumed this brilliant, captivating tale. Filled with fleshed out characters and intrigue this is sure to make my top ten list for 2012.

The tale begins when we meet eighteen year old Celaena Sardothien. She is Ardarlan’s most feared Assassin. The world is at war, and Celaena has spent the past year in the deadly salt mines of Endovier. Known for being a brutal prison; most do not last more than a few months. Starved and scarred she is summoned and assumes it is for her death. Prince Dorian Havilliard of Adarlan makes her an offer. If she wins the king’s competition for a royal assassin she can gain her freedom. Despite her hatred for the king, she readily accepts the prince’s offer. At Rifthold Castle she trains, makes friends and discovers secrets about herself and the castle. The tale that unfolds kept me riveted. Filled with romance, mystery and danger, I devoured this novel in two evenings.

The characters were all fascinating from the cruel and power hungry king to the mysterious Princess Nehemia. Celaena has to be one of my all time favorite protagonists. She is smart, fearless and charming. She can be snarky, quick witted and utterly delightful. Trained from the age of eight she is a deadly weapon and yet she can be completely feminine. Her conversations with the main characters had me laughing aloud. She is complex and I loved seeing all the different sides of her. The novel hints at things to come with Celaena and I cannot wait to see her growth in this series. The Captain of the Guard, Chaol Westfall, is assigned to watch, train, and guard Celaena. He doesn’t trust her in the beginning but their relationship grows. I really connected with him and found him to be noble, sensitive and loyal. The Crown Prince, Dorian Havilliard hasn’t yet learned to stand up to his father. I felt sorry for this quite, sensitive man. Celaena draws him out and allows Maas to reveal the many facets of this would be king. The elements of a love triangle are in place, and I waivered back and forth between the two men. Other characters added to the intrigue, suspense and mystery. Some I adored like Nox and some I loathed like Cain and Lady Kaltain. I seriously wanted to scratch her eyes out more than once..LOL.

The world building was fantastic, brilliant and spell-bounding. Maas breathed life into the glass castle, the characters and the world of Adarlan. In a world filled with Fae, witches and magic, the mortal king has outlawed all forms of magic. Celaena is well versed in the Fae and has a healthly fear of them. When she discovers Wyrdmarks around the castle she is intrigued and sets out to learn their meaning. I became swept up in the mystery of these marks and the discoveries she made. Something is brutally killing off the competitors and it doesn’t appear to be human. This adds a great deal of suspense to the tale. I loved the competitions the champions had to endure. I found myself on the edge of my seat as Celaena completed each phase. Maas has done an incredible job of weaving many different plots into a tale that is rich with well fleshed out characters. While this tale doesn’t end on a cliff-hanger, Maas leaves us with enough unanswered questions and suspense to have this reader itching to read book two.

I highly recommend Throne of Glass to fans of fantasy and strong female protagonist. This is a novel that will appeal to both the young and old. I have added Maas to my authors to read list.

I want to thank Bloomsbury Publishing and netGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.
...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Aug 29, 2013 Wendy rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, audiobook

Celaena Sardothien is the infamous "Adarlan's Assassin," betrayed and sent to slave away in the salt mines. The king had expected her to die a slow, torturous death, but he failed to break her. To her surprise a year later, she is summoned some time later to fight for her freedom in a competition that will name the King’s Champion. Sponsored by the Crown Prince Dorian, Celaena is removed from slavery and treated with almost every courtesy as a lady, and trained by Chaol Westfall, the Captain of Celaena Sardothien is the infamous "Adarlan's Assassin," betrayed and sent to slave away in the salt mines. The king had expected her to die a slow, torturous death, but he failed to break her. To her surprise a year later, she is summoned some time later to fight for her freedom in a competition that will name the King’s Champion. Sponsored by the Crown Prince Dorian, Celaena is removed from slavery and treated with almost every courtesy as a lady, and trained by Chaol Westfall, the Captain of the Guard, but warned that she must not reveal her true identity.

The balance of Celaena's moments in finery with her time in training and competition were really well done in terms of revealing her character. She is as comfortable and confident in either situation, though her sometimes overwhelming ego makes it difficult for her to hold back the truth about her identity. I appreciate that, while her time in slavery does haunt her, there is no over-indulgent brooding. Celaena maintains a level of charm and sass that makes it easy to understand why the prince, the captain and soon the visiting Princess Nehemia find her endearing as often as they find her frustrating.

As much as I loved these moments of Celaena getting to be herself with Dorian, Chaol and Princess Nehemia, I grew impatient with the repeated referrals to her as Adarlan’s Assassin as there was little but her repetition of her esteemed title that indicated her skill. While she occasionally got to display her physical abilities, the focus of the story moved away from the competition. And while I suppose I have no choice but to accept that she is an excellent assassin with a hit list to prove her worthy of the praise, her survival training seems suspect.

Still, these moments reveal that Celaena is just a normal girl beneath whatever title she may hold and whatever tortures she's been through. The moment she truly endeared herself to me was when she discovered the library and happily twirled through it. The book won me over when her follow up with the prince on this library led to him commanding her to read his favourite books that they might discuss them. I immediately developed a strong desire for Celaena, Dorian and Chaol to start up a secret book club.

Magic is initially very subtle. It has been banished, when the book begins, but it is evident that it will play a role in Celaena's future. I liked that I almost forgot about the fantasy aspect as Celaena adjusted to her new life. Maas spent a healthy amount of time developing the characters and their relationships. There is most certainly romance involved, but it does not preclude friendship. Once these bonds are strongly established, the story eases back into the major plot of the competition and the magic that will eventually alter Celaena's experience.

See more reviews at
The BiblioSanctum

...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Jul 09, 2012 Kathy Martin rated it it was amazing

This was a breathtaking, epic fantasy debut by Sarah J. Maas. Celaena Sardothien is a very famous assassin but treachery caused her to me sentenced to labor in the salt mines of Endovier until she dies. She is pulled from that certain death by Crown Prince Dorian and his Captain of the Guards - Chaol Westfall - because they need her to compete to be the King's Champion.

Dorian has picked her because he knows his father will hate the choice. Chaol doesn't like the choice and is determined to keep This was a breathtaking, epic fantasy debut by Sarah J. Maas. Celaena Sardothien is a very famous assassin but treachery caused her to me sentenced to labor in the salt mines of Endovier until she dies. She is pulled from that certain death by Crown Prince Dorian and his Captain of the Guards - Chaol Westfall - because they need her to compete to be the King's Champion.

Dorian has picked her because he knows his father will hate the choice. Chaol doesn't like the choice and is determined to keep a very close eye on her. She has no desire to be the King's Champion but in a choice between certain death and a possible future, she chooses to compete.

When she arrives at the glass castle, she finds she will be competing against a couple of dozen other candidates put forward by the King's councilors. She trains and adjusts to life in the castle. And, as she trains, she gets to know both Dorian and Chaol better. There is some romance here but none of them can really pursue it because of other more important things.

Celaena also makes friends at the castle. A couple of her competitors earn her support and a princess named Nehemia from the nearby land of Eyllwe becomes her friend too. And, even though magic has been banned in the land, Celaena has some magical assistance from the first queen of the land of Erilea though she doesn't know why. Along with friends, she has a number of enemies too. Her main threat in the competition is Cain who is the candidate put forward by Duke Perrington who is a crony of the evil king - Dorian's father. A jealous rival named Kaltain is also in league with Duke Perrington and scheming to become Dorian's bride. Along with human enemies, something evil is loose in the castle too and is killing her competitors in gruesome ways.

This richly conceived fantasy reminded me of works by Tamora Pierce. Celaena is a strong young woman with more secrets than we learn in this story. Both Dorian and Chaol are wonderful romantic heroes in their own ways. I look forward to reading more in this world.

I can safely recommend this one to fantasy lovers of all ages. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jul 15, 2012 J.A. Belfield rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Re-read from 3-10 June 2014. Took longer to savour this time and enjoyed it just as much.

Throne of Glass is quite possibly the best fantasy novel I’ve read to date. And that’s saying something. Especially as fantasy is usually a genre I run away from—though recently I’ve been trying to give it more of a chance.
And, boy, am I now glad that I did.
Because from the very first page, this tale is captivating.
Within minutes of reading, I had a handle on the kind of character our MC was. I also underst ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 30, 2012 Julie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, 2014-audiobook-challenge

This book came highly recommended to me so when it was a Kindle daily deal and cheap on Audible I picked it up. It was alright. I can't even really say I have a strong opinion one way or another. I was bored at times and felt the training took a long time. The underlying mystery of who was killing off the champion contestants was interesting, though. I also liked that the main character is spirited and strong. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review