Booktok 📚 discussion

Just finished re-reading Throne of Glass and I cannot believe how much I missed the first time around. I must have been an idiot or half asleep. I def need someone to talk to about it.

I just found out in the reviews that it's a cinderella retelling. I kinda can't see it. Where is the shoe? The ball? The wicked stepmother/sisters? Animal helpers?
Is the castle being glass supposed to be a reference to the shoe?
Is the ghost of Elena supposed to be her fairy godmother?
Is the assassin lord Arobynn Hamell the WICKED STEP MOTHER?

I do see some similarities I guess. An orphaned girl is forced into servitude (although training as an assassin and being enslaved in a mine is a little different from housework), is rescued by a prince, and has the assistance of a magical woman.

I need answers. Does anyone else have any thoughts?

Bex wrote: "This was actually one of my last reads! Though it's the only one in the series I've read. I think her pretending to be Lilian is what helps the Cinderella theory. You know, pretending to be someone..."

Ok the Kaltain thing makes sense. She felt unnecessary, but knowing that she was there to preserve elements of the original story makes that sit better with me. I totally didn't consider the Lilian thing. That makes sense. I felt the disguise thing was covered in a lazy way by having her go to the masquerade, I like the idea that she was in disguise the whole time better. By extension, the entirety of her servitude is analogous to the ball. So her contract running out is the equivalent of the clock striking midnight.

Also I remember the first time I read it that her romance with Chaol felt so out of nowhere. I was so focused on wanting her to get with Dorian, I missed soooooooooo many of the moments with Chaol. It was years ago and I only understood the surface of their dynamic for so long. I just thought he was meant to serve as an obstacle between her and Dorian. I was convinced that Celaena and the prince were endgame.

Bex wrote: "Yea! Kind of a very long reimagining lol. I felt the same way about Kaltain, I also don't think that, untill the poisoning, Celaena had no reason to dislike her other than just existing as woman. T..."

I think Kaltain could have done more to be a secondary antagonist. Like spreading a rumor. She could have done something to inconvenience Nehemia. She could have knocked over some books in the library while Celaena was reading. She could have done something to ruin her dress at the ball, that would make her role as the stepsister more clear. Unrelated: but I read her name as Kaitlin the whole time because Kaltain felt dumb.

Now that i think about it some more, the contract running out and her going home to Arobyn definitely makes him the stepmother.

The clock strikes midnight and Cinderella has to go home.

On the second read, I actually liked her dynamic with Chaol much more. There were some issues with how he was written though. Why is he captain of the guard so young especially if he hasn't killed anyone yet? I would have made Brullo the captain, and then had Chaol be the guard assigned to head the unit that is assigned to Celaena. Maybe he gets the promotion because of his connection to Dorian and his birth. It gives him something to prove. It gives him the opportunity for an interesting dynamic with Brullo. When he kills Cain then Dorian can speak to Brullo about it. I didn't feel that it made sense to involve the king in petty castle operations.
It justifies why he is always around her. I felt it was weird that the guy in charge spends so much time with a single person. That position would make more sense for his age. It makes the fact that he hasn't killed yet make more sense. He then has opportunity for upward mobility and growth through the books. Kill Brullo off at the right moment to raise tension and have Chaol promoted to replace him. It would also make him fit in more with Dorian and Celaena. They're both high-ranking young people in their field. Dorian is poised to take over for his father one day. Celaena is poised to take over for Arobyn. Chaol is poised to take over for Brullo.

Bex wrote: "You make great points! I also feel like Cain wasn't explores more, a little more detail on him would have been nice. By the second half Chaol (I refused to pronounce kale for awhile) was pushed asi..."

I also refused to pronounce it Kale. I kinda said kay-ol. Lol I'm just lying to myself it sounds the same.

Cain was just some generic bad guy. What was his deal even? His motivations? The only thing close to motivation was vague misogyny and the idea that he probably doesn't have much to go back to. Replace some of the scenes of Kaltain with scenes from Cain's perspective and flesh him out a little.

Kaltain's scenes didn't add value. Just establish that she's jealous of Celaena. We don't really even need her perspective that she's going to poison the wine. Let the audience figure it out with Celaena at the duel.