Throne of Glass - Throne of Glass #1 - Sarah J. Maas

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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 four 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.

Some scenes contain violent contents that may offend sensibilities of readers.

Celaena Sardothien is barely seventeen and yet, she is the best assassin. Everyone has one day heard of her. Yet, after one betrayal she ends up in Endovier salt mines where no one lasts more than a year. Everyday she survives. She keeps her head up no matter how many times she gets whipped. But she knows she will never make it out alive. That was until a surprised bargain may save her life.

This year, the infamous king has decided to organize a competition where the best fighters in the world - may they be prisoners, ex-soldiers or guards - will fight. At the end of this competition, the winner will be the king's assassin for four years before being granted freedom. 

When the Captain Chaol Westfall offers Celaena the possibility to fight in a competition where she could gain freedom after a few years, she accepts even if it means being the king's assassin. She will fight as the Crown Prince's champion, Dorian.

But when she gets in the castle, she will soon realize that the competitors are not her biggest threat. There is something lurking in the shadows, something that slowly slaughters each fighter and she will have to find out what it is before she is the next one...

This review may contain some spoilers if you haven't read this book

I heard so much of this series and I finally started it. Yay me! 

Let's talk first about this new world that Sarah J. Maas created. As always, Sarah J. Maas has a nice writing and I absolutely liked the storyline revolving around a world that is slowly dying because a king, so greedy with power, destroys everything that may be a threat to his throne. No one talks about magic to the point everyone forgot it ever existed. This world is violent and depressing. No one good lasts very long. Celaena knows about magic. She has already seen it. 

I really enjoyed the storyline because it was original. At least for me. I had never read a story where a young girl is a famous assassin and her only way out of the mines is to serve a king she hates. 

I just regretted that the story around the "demons" haunting the castle was not better explored. I felt slightly frustrated because it could've been better. Celaena took way too long to realize who was beyond the attacks even though it was obvious. However I was really surprised (in a good way) by the outcome between the Duke and Kaitlin. I was not expecting it at all. I cannot wait to read more about that in the next books. 

Personally, I didn't see the use of the love triangle between Dorian-Celaena-Chaol. Maybe I am a bit too old for that (oh nooo!). I mean there was obviously a hot chemistry between Dorian and Celaena but I didn't see anything between Chaol and Celaena. It also doesn't bring anything to the story. 

When she refused to be with Dorian at the end though, I really wanted to struggle her. He loves her, she likes him and nup, she doesn't want to go there. I mean, if you see something you want and this something is the prince who could possibly change everything, you go for it. You don't say "Nah, I want freedom more". You could still be free and in love with a prince. Okay, maybe it's my extremely sappy, cheesy, romantic side speaking but still...

Now about the characters:

I liked Celaena.  She is strong, fierce, proud, smart, loyal, brave... Everything you cannot possibly be in real life (haha!). Despite trying to prove the world she is a fearless assassin, we see glimpses of a past that still haunts her. She has flaws and vulnerability but she is afraid to show them. Even after working in the mines, she remains true to herself and she doesn't hesitate to help other people. 

Chaol... Now I'm a bit confused about this character. I don't know if I like him or not. I know he is supposed to be a withdrawn character, which explains why we probably didn't feel his chemistry with Celaena, and yet I couldn't really bring myself to like him. He plays hot and cold the whole time. He supposedly likes her but he is constantly waiting for her to try to murder them all. But maybe this opinion will change along the books of this series. 

I hated Dorian at first but as I reached the end of the book, I couldn't believe the Dorian from the beginning was the same Doriam from the end. It felt like they were two complete different characters. The first time we read about him, he is cold, spoiled, selfish and a real womanizer. In the middle, there is already a shift as we see he is truly trapped between what his heart wants and what his father wants him to be. He tries to protect Celaena the best he can. I felt sorry for him because his situation clearly is uneasy. Witnessing his growing love for Celaena, I just felt more in love with him. He is ready to do anything that is possible for Celaena. 

Having different POV at some point in this book offers the reader a glimpse of each character's feelings in some situation.

Anyway, if you like a bit of fantasy and a lot of adventures and actions, this book is for you! :)