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Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)

Sarah J. Maas

Start date: February 1, 2015

Finish date: February 9, 2015

Discussion: Throne of Glass

Why we're reading this: Many people were interested in doing a read-along for this series in the January Choices Discussion.…more
[close] Many people were interested in doing a read-along for this series in the January Choices Discussion.

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Throne of Glass

* First Impressions
By Alexandria · 4 posts · 28 views

last updated Feb 11, 2015 07:27AM

* Overall Enjoyment
By Alexandria · 8 posts · 22 views

last updated Feb 11, 2015 07:19AM

showing 10 of 26 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Jan 10, 2015 Claire rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites

3rd re-read 4/12/21. Still love this, probably enjoyed it even more the 3rd time.

This book was bloody fantastic...... That duel was brilliant I'm super buzzed for this series right now. Chaol and Celaena all the way love Dorian but just has to be Chaol.... super in love with everything about this I literally think I could ramble for hours about my love for this book. ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

May 24, 2012 Petra rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy-paranormal-etc, audiobook, read-in-english, ya-read, best-of-the-best, my-books, favourites, 5-stars, own-in-english, high-fantasy

Sixth read: February 2025

Fifth read: October 2018

Fourth read: September 2016

Third time read, August 2015: It never ceases to amaze me, just how freaking awesome this book is. I loved it the first time I read it (and the second time), and I love it even more this time around. This truly is one of the best books ever. <3

Second read, September 2014

First read, August 2012

7 likes · Like · see review

Jun 16, 2014 Kierstan rated it liked it

Shelves: favorites, kick-ass-ladies

This is actually my second time reading this particular book. I tried reading it about 6 months ago, and wasn't a fan. So I put the book down, without any intention of returning to it. I usually love anything fantasy, but the beginning of the book is full of cliche ya themes I wasn't interested in reading about anymore. With some not so subtle pushes from a few book bloggers, I decided to give this book another shot. I am so glad I did! Once I got through the area I was previously stuck on, I en This is actually my second time reading this particular book. I tried reading it about 6 months ago, and wasn't a fan. So I put the book down, without any intention of returning to it. I usually love anything fantasy, but the beginning of the book is full of cliche ya themes I wasn't interested in reading about anymore. With some not so subtle pushes from a few book bloggers, I decided to give this book another shot. I am so glad I did! Once I got through the area I was previously stuck on, I ended up loving it. I couldn't put it down and I can't wait to read the rest of the books currently released.

The story follows our young heroine, Calaena. She is a highly trained and notorious assassin. During her imprisonment at a death camp, she is visited by the Crowned Prince Dorian. Who gives her an offer she can't refuse. So she travels with him to compete as the King's Champion. While there she becomes friends with Chaol, the Captain of the King's Guard, and also Princess Nehemia from Eyllwe.

Throne of Glass is told in the third person, but it jumps through many different points of view. Celaena is our main narrator, but we still see narration from major and minor chracters alike. It gave the story and the characters a bit more depth than it would with Celaena as the sole pov.

There were a lot of moments when the writing seemed generic. A lot of the phrases were overused, and I couldn't help but notice how heavy handed it was. As if Maas couldn't think of lines to fill dialogue or descriptions. In the middle, things did slow down, and started to feel a bit repetitive. As is common in a first book in a fantasy series. It just felt a little stretched out and forced at certain points.

I did love that Celaena felt like a normal person. Obviously, as an assassin, she kicks a lot of ass and kills men with her bare hands. Yet that strength doesn't take away from the fact that she loves being feminine and enjoys simple pleasures. Whether it be new clothes, parties, frilly dresses, candy, or books. It was refreshing to see that blend of strength and femininity in one character. As most books with strong female leads tend to choose one or the other. Those things also carried over into her relationships that are built between the cast of characters. All of the people she meets appeals to a part of herself.

I think that the secondary characters did carry this book a bit. I found myself more interested in Chaol and Nehemia than Dorian and Celaena. I'm hoping that they both get a more in depth story in the upcoming books. I'm even curious to find out more about Kaltaine and the Duke. I don't think they were all given enough opportunity to shine. Dorian was a little lackluster for me. I know he was supposed to be a major character, he just fell so short. The relationship between him and Celaena felt forced, and just kind of there. There wasn't much of a build up or explanation for it. I'm hoping he gets some good character development with the continuation of the series.

Overall there were some really high and low points with this book. I enjoyed it overall, but I'm walking away with a lot of questions. I'm looking forward to the next books because I have a feeling that they will fill in the gaps for me. Answer some questions I have, and hopefully work on the world building. So I have more of an idea about what's going on around these characters. ...more

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May 22, 2014 Evelynne rated it it was amazing

I actually found this review of Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass quite difficult to write. It tells the story of assassin turned prisoner Celaena and her participation in the competition to become the King’s Champion. I LOVED the book and got caught up in the story and characters. However this made it rather tricky to analyse why I liked it so much and what made it work. Nevertheless I’ll give it a go.

What I liked

The characters. I found our protagonist Celaena Sardothien very engaging and fun to I actually found this review of Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass quite difficult to write. It tells the story of assassin turned prisoner Celaena and her participation in the competition to become the King’s Champion. I LOVED the book and got caught up in the story and characters. However this made it rather tricky to analyse why I liked it so much and what made it work. Nevertheless I’ll give it a go.

What I liked

The characters. I found our protagonist Celaena Sardothien very engaging and fun to follow. She is strong-willed, smart, resourceful – and very funny. It’s clear her experiences in the prison of Endovier have left their mark on her, both physically and emotionally. Maas did however add in a few quirks to keep her real. I liked that she wasn’t immediately up to full physical strength after her imprisonment and had to balance physical weakness with smarts. The fact that she was terrified to stand on the glass in the glass castle was interesting.

The setting. Now, I am a person who has a stronger affinity with words than with pictures, but I loved the mental picture that Maas conjured of the glass castle at Rifthold. I really wish I could visit it. I liked that the fantastical aspect of the story was kept pretty low key. The magic is more Game of Thrones than Harry Potter.

The love triangle. Again this was very low key. Unusually, both love interests seemed valid partners for Celaena – often it’s clear which one is the “right” one. That’s not true in this case. I look forward to seeing how both relationships develop in future books.

The pacing. The plot is pretty straightforward with few subplots or diversions. Maas keeps it moving along at a good pace, with always a reason to keep turning the page.

What I didn’t like

The only thing I might have to say negatively about Throne of Glass is that the King seems somewhat of a moustache twirling villain. I like my villains to be more subtle.

I gave Throne of Glass five stars out of five and look forward to reading the sequel, Crown of Midnight. ...more

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Feb 13, 2015 💫 rated it really liked it

Shelves: favourites

27/8/2015

Rereading this is only making me ship Chaolaena harder. Sorry Dorian but my ship is saaaaaaaaaaaaaaailing I'm ignoring you, you're cute but I'm ignoring you ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 31, 2012 Ifrah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

Wow! It's as good as I thought it would be if not better. I'm a huge Celaena fan now.

Believe the hype and read the book! ...more

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Sep 08, 2014 Ivana Jarmon rated it it was amazing

Freaking Amazing!!!! just read it!!!

1 like · Like · see review

Dec 08, 2014 Jamie (Books and Ladders) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, magic, romance, series, low-fantasy

Considering how much hype I had heard about this novel and been told "Oh Jamie you will love this, it is right up your alley" it was not that great. It had a great build up and the first 10% of the novel was really interesting, but it got too bogged down in politics. I think the testing needed to move along faster than it actually did to be able to keep my attention. There was too much in this first novel about what the rest would entail that it made this first novel really dense with informatio Considering how much hype I had heard about this novel and been told "Oh Jamie you will love this, it is right up your alley" it was not that great. It had a great build up and the first 10% of the novel was really interesting, but it got too bogged down in politics. I think the testing needed to move along faster than it actually did to be able to keep my attention. There was too much in this first novel about what the rest would entail that it made this first novel really dense with information about a back story that the reader had yet to come across or even care about.

The world building was horrible, in my opinion. Probably because there was a lack of it. If you are going to tell me a race has been completely abolished from the world, tell me why and how the bring them back permanently. This novel made it obvious that while the characters and King and everyone in the world thought the fae were completely extinct, they are not.

The use of magic in this novel was different. But teetering on bad different. The rituals were strange and the idea behind a set of symbols that only certain characters with certain historical background would know irks me for some reason. That's probably nit-picky but if I am going to read a fantasy novel, I want it to make sense.

I can already sense an unnecessary love triangle and I am not pleased by it. I would be more okay with it if it didn't seem like
Celaena was choosing between a life of fun and danger and one of settling. I don't see why authors think it is appealing to "choose" between the fun guy that you would sneak around with and the boring one that you would bring home to mom. Why can't they both have these aspects to them? Or better yet, just have one guy who embodies both and don't make the heroine into some love sick puppy.

Overall: 3/5 stars. I will be continuing the series because I have heard such good things about it, but so far I'm underwhelmed. Also I have to decide if I want to stick with ebooks or buy paperbacks/hardcovers so I have been dragging my feet because I don't have the next one yet. ...more

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Mar 09, 2014 Lisa rated it really liked it

This book was pretty good!

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Oct 31, 2011 Lari :) rated it really liked it

Shelves: 4-and-a-half-star-read

4.5 :)

I liked this one a LOT!
I don't know, I just like assassin stories. They. are. epic. (mostly).
This one was. I wish there was a bit more tension between the Celeana and her two "boys", just a little more focus on the romance.
But towards the end it was getting pretty good, romance wise..
And then the book ended. And I was like, "What? Noooooo. Just when things were lookng pretty damn awesome."
So I'll be patiently awaiting the next book!
Lovely work, Sarah J. Mass! :) ...more

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Aug 21, 2012 Rachel 💚 rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-on-kindle, female-protagonist, action, more-ya, fantasy, epic-fantasy

This was so hard for me to get into! I really struggled but after the first test i was addicted. Absolutely loved it, cannot wait to delve into the next book.

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Jan 02, 2015 Cheyenne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: i-own

I really enjoyed this book. In the start of it wasn't sure but you really learn to love and enjoy all the characters in this book and all the story line ...more

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