Sarah J. Maas

In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass—and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

Throne of Glass #1

Throne of Glass

For a heartbeat, she saw the king with stark clarity. He was just a man—a man with too much power. And in that one heartbeat, she didn't fear him. I will not be afraid, she vowed, wrapping the familiar words around her heart.

here we see chaol discovering that the world is not as black & white as he's been led to believe

[...] what terrified him even more was that he trusted her. And he didn't know what that meant about himself.

"When I play, I'm not... for once, I'm not destroying. I'm creating."

"Crazed criminal," he returned, grinning too.

"I can survive well enough on my own—if given proper reading material."

"Well, who wants to be hated? Though I'd rather be hated than invisible."

—and sometimes the absence of him hit her so hard that she forgot how to breathe.

It was easy to be mean, but it was also getting far too easy to be nice.

Through a clearing in the swirling mass, a cluster of stars could be seen. He couldn't help thinking that they gazed down at her.

How unfair of him to be royal and beautiful.

emma adkins

Pure, fresh, warm sunlight. Sunlight that she could bask in day after day if she got her freedom, sunlight to drown out the endless dark of the mines. 

She' d felt everything- the reverberations of tne key turnıng in the lock of her irons, then again as they loosened and fell to the floor. She could still feel the ghost chains hovering just above her skin. 

She tried to think of music, tried to think of a celebratory tune, but Could only recall a solitary line from the mournful bellowing of the Eyllwe work songs, deep and slow like honey poured from a jar: And go home at last.. 

Celaena's lovely visions exploded like dust from a slammed book.

"My freedom?" At the sound of the word, she saw a land of pine and snow, of sun-bleached cliffs and white-capped seas, a land where light was swallowed in the velvety green of bumps and hollows- a land that she had forgotten. 

She could destroy the king as he had destroyed her

I'm not an idiot, though I was foolish enough to be captured, and I can see that this is some sort of secret business. Why else would you leave the capital and venture this far? You've been testing me all this time to see if I am physically and mentally sound. Well, I know that I'm still sane, and that m notbIO- ken, despite what the incident at the wall might suggest. So I demand to be told why you're here, and what services you wish of me, if l'm not destined for the gallows.

Her eyes turned cold and hard. "I snapped." 

"That's all you have to offer as an explanation for what you did?" Captain Westfall demanded.

 "She killed her overseer and twenty-three sentries before they caught her. She was a finger's tip from the wall before the guards knocked her unconscious."

And you're Celaena Sardothien, Adarlan's greatest assassin Perhaps the greatest assassin in all of Erilea

Most were from Eyllwe, one of the last countries still fighting Adarlan's rule. But when she pestered them for news, many just stared at her with empty eyes. Already broken. She shuddered to consider what they'd endured at the hands of Adarlan's forces. Some days, she wondered if they would have been better off dying on the butchering blocks instead And if she might have been better off dying that night she' d been betrayed and captured, too.

The moans of agony amongst the clank of chains made a chorus as familiar as the dreary work songs they sang all day. The occasional solo of the whip added to the symphony of brutality Adarlan had created for its greatest criminals, poorest citizens, and latest conquests.

“She hadn't tasted fear in a while-hadn't let herself taste fear. When she awoke every morning, she repeated the same words: I will not be afraid. For a year, those words had meant the difference between breaking and bending: they had kept her from shattering in the darkness of the mines.”

Un corazón de hielo. Una voluntad de acero. Te presentamos a una asesina. Te presentamos a Celaena Sardothien. Bella. Letal. Destinada a la grandeza. En las tenebrosas minas de sal de Endovier, una muchacha de dieciocho años cumple cadena perpetua. Es una asesina profesional, la mejor en lo suyo, pero ha cometido un error fatal. La han capturado. El joven capitán Westfall le ofrece un trato: la libertad a cambio de un enorme sacrificio. Celaena debe representar al príncipe en un torneo a muerte, en el que deberá luchar con los asesinos y ladrones más peligrosos del reino. Viva o muerta, Celaena será libre. Tanto si gana como si pierde, está a punto de descubrir su verdadero destino. Pero,¿qué pasará entretanto con su corazón de asesina? ENGLISH DESCRIPTION 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 three years and then be granted her freedom. Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. 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.

Trono de cristal. 01

Throne of glass

Sonia

Paige Leitner

"You could be different," Elena said quietly. "You could be great. Greater than me- than any of us."

Celaena opened her mouth, but no words came out. 

Elena took a step toward her. "You could rattle the stars," she whispered. "You could do anything, if only you dared. And deep down, you know it too. That's what scares you most."

After she has served a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, Crown Prince Dorian offers eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien her freedom on the condition that she act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Throne of Glass used to be wonderful to me, I was so intrigued and mesmerized by the world building and the mystery. It was nothing like I have ever read before, yet now rereading this with much more experience in this genre, I could very much say that the writing in this book was mediocre. I find the epicness of the challenge, tests, and mystery lackluster.

The characters are bland but my love for dorian is forever so he and nehemia are the only characters that made me motivated to finish this book. Chaol was pretty nice in book one but I hate him so nothing could make me like him even if I already read tower of dawn. Celaena on the other hand.... is anything but a bad ass character but she's my child so that's okay i guess

The final duel wasn't that epic. It used to be amazing for me, why does it feel anti-climatic now that I reread it 

Reread:

Throne of Glass used to be wonderful to me, I was so intrigued and mesmerized by the world building and the mystery. It was nothing like I have ever read before, yet now rereading this with much more experience in this genre, I could very much say that the writing in this book was mediocre. I find the epicness of the challenge, tests, and mystery lackluster.

The characters are bland but my love for dorian is forever so he and nehemia are the only characters that made me motivated to finish this book. Chaol was pretty nice in book one but I hate him so nothing could make me like him even if I already read tower of dawn. Celaena on the other hand.... is anything but a bad ass character but she's my child so that's okay i guess

The final duel wasn't that epic. It used to be amazing for me, why does it feel anti-climatic now that I reread it 

Hanna Rybchynska

Bem, os livros que tenho andado a ler devem estar amaldiçoados, ou então eu é que tenho andado exigente! Mas sinceramente, quando é que isto melhora...? Falando mais concretamente deste livro, a minha expetativa era ler fantasia cheia de história, aventura, romance, ação! Mas não, acabou por ser, monotonia, triângulo amoroso e vestidos vestidos vestidos! Este livro tinha tudo para dar certo, contudo dececionou-me imenso.

Começando do início, temos uma rapariga chamada de Celaena (WFT? que nome é este? acabei por chama-la Selena), ela é uma assassina badass pronta a matar qualquer um, no entanto, ela foi capturada e mantida na escravatura durante 1 ano. Ao fim desse tempo, ela é libertada pelo príncipe Dorian, que pede que ela seja assassina pessoal do seu pai, mas para isso acontecer ela tem que ganhar no torneio, onde vão estar outros 23 concorrentes igualmente prigosos. Se ela ganhar, ao fim de 4 anos é libertada e nunca mais tem que se preocupar em ser escrava, mas se perder nalguma das fases durante o torneio - volta de novo para a escravatura. Okay, estão a ver? Muito potencial!!! MAS NÃO!!! LOL! 

Sim, há uma parte boa em que ela treina com o Chaol (meu amor pessoal), e vemos o corpo dela a recuperar da escravatura, mas ao fim de 50 páginas já estava aborrecida... A escritora nem teve a criatividade para descrever os desafios, limitando-se simplesmente por dizer, por exemplo: "nas últimas 3 semanas fizemos 3 desafios". E a parte que mais me irritou foi a instabilidade da personagem principal, passava de uma assassina toda agressiva para uma menina bonita preocupada com o aspeto, de um momento para outro, literalmente! O que para mim não fez qualquer sentido.

Ashley shackelford

This was a weird one for me. I enjoyed it, but also felt that I had to drag myself through it. Still excited to read the next in the series though. 

Aims

brie

Okay I couldn't put myself through this anymore. Had to dnf at 91%. I was sooo close yet so fucking far away from caring about anything at all that was happening in this book. Can't even be bothered to write an actual review for this. I declare this Trash and it could have been way better. Books like these are what made me stop reading YA novels and i'm not about to ruin my YA reading phase with this. 







Earlier update:
Just started this and it's annoying the shit out of me already 🙄

I loved this a setup to what the world will be like! Reading this right after ACOTAR has my eyes PEELED for the references I've heard so much about.

Let me say this with my chest: Chaol is the GOAT and had the most devastating and romantic interactions. (Also when Celaena was between worlds and used a phrase that's used to describe recognizing someone as your mate in ACOTAR .. love that for them 🤞)

The quick POV switch after Celaena and Dorian kiss. That made me so happy and then broke my heart IMMEDIATELY.

"In the garden, the Captain of the Guard stared up at the young woman's balcony, watching as she waltzed alone, lost in her dreams. But he knew that her thoughts weren't of him."

FOLLOWED UP WITH: "Still, he watched, watched until she sighed and went inside. She never bothered to look below." THE WAY MY FACE FELL.

And he offers her his sword? And she turns it down to accept a staff? And what he did during the final fight? CEO of devastating and romantic at the same time

Very much enjoying the new magic system in a less-magical world! I loved the mystery throughout the entire story, I loved the POV switches that gives you more insight than any one character, and I loved that even in their own POVs, characters weren't totally honest with themselves.

Things were poorly explained a couple of times. Nothing pulls me out of a story like a detail being left out.

Reagan

The series continues let's go!

I loved this a setup to what the world will be like! Reading this right after ACOTAR has my eyes PEELED for the references I've heard so much about.

Let me say this with my chest: Chaol is the GOAT and had the most devastating and romantic interactions. (Also when Celaena was between worlds and used a phrase that's used to describe recognizing someone as your mate in ACOTAR .. love that for them 🤞)

The quick POV switch after Celaena and Dorian kiss. That made me so happy and then broke my heart IMMEDIATELY.

"In the garden, the Captain of the Guard stared up at the young woman's balcony, watching as she waltzed alone, lost in her dreams. But he knew that her thoughts weren't of him."

ARE YOU KIDDING?

FOLLOWED UP WITH: "Still, he watched, watched until she sighed and went inside. She never bothered to look below." THE WAY MY FACE FELL.

And he offers her his sword? And she turns it down to accept a staff? And what he did during the final fight? CEO of devastating and romantic at the same time

CONT. WITH NORMAL REVIEW:

Very much enjoying the new magic system in a less-magical world! I loved the mystery throughout the entire story, I loved the POV switches that gives you more insight than any one character, and I loved that even in their own POVs, characters weren't totally honest with themselves.

Ate this book up. Loved it

NEGATIVE STUFF:

Things were poorly explained a couple of times. Nothing pulls me out of a story like a detail being left out.

Minor examples:

- Celaena wore a gown to a ball that was described in detail (color, materials, look). Halfway through the ball, it said that she "smoothed the fur on her dress" but the description never included fur

- They're in an area where the king is sitting on a throne outside. Far after describing the area, it's said that Celaena's future "rests on a throne of glass" but I couldn't find any prior mention that the throne was glass. It's like imagining a regular imposing throne and then BOOM now it's different! Then I have to sit and re-imagine it to include a pretty important detail.

(To be fair though, this may be the oldest book in the multi series so I know it doesn't happen much later)

CLAUDIA VALDES

Luke Harkness

Packed to the brim with brilliance

This book has to be one of my favourite of all time. Everyone has heard of terms such as "unputdwonable" or "page-turner". This truly was both of those. I couldn't out this book down.. the point where I made myself late for multiple appointments.

If you're looking for a very interesting fantasy story that's easy to read but well written, FILLED with plot-twists, involves slight romance, evil people and more... Look no further. This has it all. It also sets up some interesting questions for the sequel. Which I'm now buying!

I didn’t think I was going to like this one as much seeing its mixed reviews & going back and forth on what order I wanted to read this series. The plot is interesting and pretty easy to read. This book was more world building but didn’t find myself bored of it like i thought I was going to. I’m excited to read the character development for Celaena. 

Edna Aviles

Nabila Azahra

3,2 / 5 stars! 

*I read this book in English but this review (or rant?) is written in Bahasa*

First of all, Celaena itu beneran Adarlan’s most notorious assassin? Kok rasanya dia cuma tipikal gadis 18 tahun yang judgemental, childish dan spoiled yaa. Yang bakal ngambek kalau ga diundang ke pesta, yang kerjaannya complain tentang pakaian. You're an assassin, gosh! Bukan model VS😤 

Satu hal bodoh lagi, ingat scene saat Celaena nemu permen di kamar dan langsung melahapnya? Ngerasa janggal ga sih, saat lawannya yang lain mati mengenaskan tanpa tau siapa dalang dibaliknya, dan Celaena tanpa curiga makanin permen itu karena dia adored candy so much?! That sounds stupid to me

Jadi intinya, kalau kita mau cepat-cepat membunuh Celaena, kasih aja permen beracun sebanyak-banyak nya! 🙄

Meet Celaena Sardothien.

Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness.

In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, Celaena, an assassin, is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king’s champion.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass—and it’s there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena’s fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

gülefşan 

I was pretty sure that i'm gonna like celaena but she was a classic mc in this book and feel so bored while reading it but i'm gonna finish the whole series anyway

liana

Chase Leitner

Ana Luiza

reler esse aqui foi uma experiência muito muito gostosa. Deve fazer uns 8 anos que li pela primeira vez e não lembrava de quase nada. O único problema é ter que lidar com o insuportável do Chaol 
Mas adorei relembrar a jornada de Aelin do começo, sempre me impressiono com o quão forte essa mulher é.

De forma prática, sei que esse livro poderia ser melhor. Acho que a competição poderia ter sido descrita de forma que o leitor se importasse mais, com desafios mais legais de acompanhar. Mas dou as 5 estrelas pelo eterno carinho que tenho com essa história. Mas os próximos livros da série são 1000x melhor.

Elizabeth Hargrove

20 years ago, I was a teenager with a Windows 2000 desktop in her bedroom and a slight insomnia issue. I was obsessed with reading and needed a way to read with the lights off at night. I don’t remember how I came across Fiction Press, but I did and it changed my life forever. 

‘Throne of Glass’ was one of the first stories I stumbled upon and it was bookmarked in my browser for the rest of my time with the desktop. 

Everything came back, better. Reading it now has made me truly appreciate the journey it took to reach this point; I’m excited to re-read more of Celaena.

maryam

Let's start off by saying that I read a mix of reviews so, naturally, I leaned towards the negative ones more, not expecting the book to live up to the hype. I'm really glad I was mostly wrong. Also, side note, does anyone else think that the girl in the book cover looks like the author? Or am I delusional

Let me also say that the back of the book reads, "Two Men Love Her. The Whole Land Fears Her. Only She Can Save Them All." Right off the bat the book cover wants you to know that this book will inevitably fall into the immensely irritating hell hole known as The Love Triangle Plot Device. Which. Oh my God. I hate it. I hate love triangles more than anything. I don't understand why they're so frequent in YA and why people feel it makes the story so much more interesting. I'm so sick of them, it's unbelievable. I could rant about it all day. So bracing myself for that going in.

The book starts off kind of shaky. The main character probably means well with all her confidence, but at times, especially in the beginning, it got a little grating. The book's narration was also, at times, scattered. One of the beginning paragraphs is an example of the kind of writing presented in the beginning of the novel, where the main character begins to describe her physical appearance right after she gets released from prison and is before the prince:
At a passing glance, one might think her eyes blue or gray, perhaps even green, depending on the color of her clothing. Up close, though, these warring hues were offset by the brilliant ring of gold around her pupils. But it was her golden hair that caught the attention of most hair that still maintained a glimmer of its glory. In short, Celaena Sardothien was blessed with a handful of attractive features that compensated for the majority of average ones; and, by early adolescence, she'd discovered that with the help of cosmetics, these average features could easily math the extraordinary assets.
Maybe it's a really minute thing, but I hate when stories start off by protagonists start describing what they look like right off the bat when it has hardly to do with the situation they're facing at hand. Do you know the kind of writing I'm talking about? Well the book starts off that way. Add the grating initial dialogue from the protagonist, and it all adds up to not feeling quite right.

But!!! The book gets really good! Celaena is a very strong character, and becomes very likeable through the way she explores her life in the castle and interacts with new people. But I also feels that she remains very stagnant throughout the book, and it would have been really nice to see her fleshed out and alive. In a way, I was more allured to Nehemia and her character than Celaena. But I really enjoyed their friendship, it was really refreshing, and I think it built relationships beyond the love triangle.

Speaking of which, let's talk about the other two characters in the story. We have Chaol, the captain of the guards who is really reserved and is fierce and loyal and will do anything to protect his friends. I really liked him, I wish we got more out of him. I wish we saw more of his character outside of the realm of Celaena and her life.

Then we have Dorian. And let it be known. I am pretty sure I have my type when I'm forced into a love triangle, and Dorian is a part of that type. And I know I'm going to probably regret it, because will things go in his favor???? HAHAHA. I really enjoyed reading his perspective, and I think with that, we also saw potential to see more outside of the Celaena realm thing. He's a prince for crying out loud. Between his father and ruling the kingdom, there were many things that could have been explored with how he felt and how he interacted with those things in depth. I love his empathy, I love his kindness and humor, and the fact that he is kind of rash and gives himself completely to the people he loves. I love him. I'm going to hate myself.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed the book. It was a good combination of Graceling and Poison Study and I think I would have liked it even more if the story was more fleshed out. I think it's a really great start for the first in the trilogy, and I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next!

Delanie Grace

Reya Estrella

Enjoyed this book just as much as I enjoyed Assassin's Blade. Highly recommend anyone who loves a good action-packed read to give this series a try!

Mel 

I finally did it and read Throne of Glass! 
If you need a solid guilty pleasure fantasy book, then read this.

Bethany s. 

** spoiler alert **
           Hmm. I enjoyed this, for sure.. but it lacked any real excitement. Something felt off. I’m actually pretty disappointed that SJM (The Queen she is) had such a phenomenal premise, fantastic characters, and all the makings of a killer novel and somehow flubbed it. 

Maybe it was the pacing, or the fact that the plot was hinged upon the Championship yet there was no specificity to the challenges and tests, no development or fascination in what Celaena had to overcome. In many ways, it felt as though we were simply biding our time until the final Duel. The stakes were low, and the mild amount of suspense built from her hidden identity amounted to literally nothing. 

Ultimately, I am hooked and excited to proceed to the next in the series. It gets better, right? I have full confidence that the foundation of the series has been built so I can now soar. Here’s hoping 🤞🏼

I finally did it. After letting it sit and rot on my bookshelf for almost 6 years, I finally read Throne of Glass. Hear my testimony:

This book took me back to the Dark Ages of my life where my favorite books were, unironically, “Twilight” and the Shadow Falls series. Every other chapter I had to put this book down and walk away to take several deep breaths. At one point, I had to go and make a strong drink before I could muster the courage to go back to it. 

I see what people mean when they say Throne of Glass is just an amalgamation of every other popular fantasy/dystopian out there. It read very familiar to me, someone who was in deep with early 2000’s YA. 

This book wasn’t all that imaginative. And Celaena was palpably unlikeable to me. And just wholly unbelievable. A master assassin by 18? Crazy. And SJM doesn’t really go out of her way to try and make it believable. Her “sass” was entertaining for about 2 seconds. Then it was just painful. 

This dialogue in this was also pretty rough. Pretty much every time Dorian opened his mouth I wanted to cringe. And what was with Celaena being into him in the first place? Regardless of his “charms” he’s the son of the worst man alive (so far as we know.) I would have thought she would have approached her relationship with him with a little more caution and a little less “omg he’s so hot.” I’m going to go out on a limb here and say it’s because she’s 18 years old. A child. 

I’m going to stop here with my negativity before I end up just dogpiling with everyone else who has already said these things in a million different ways. 

I will conclude with this: after I took SEVERAL steps back and decided to approach this book from the lens of my teenage self, it got more palatable. I could see how people find it fun and entertaining. Celaena is the kind of protagonist my 13 year old self would have gobbled up. 24 year old me just isn’t the target audience. 

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to continue with the series, but I might. If only to see if SJM’s writing improved over the course of the series. 

Catherine

I finally did it. After letting it sit and rot on my bookshelf for almost 6 years, I finally read Throne of Glass. Hear my testimony:

This book took me back to the Dark Ages of my life where my favorite books were, unironically, “Twilight” and the Shadow Falls series. Every other chapter I had to put this book down and walk away to take several deep breaths. At one point, I had to go and make a strong drink before I could muster the courage to go back to it. 

I see what people mean when they say Throne of Glass is just an amalgamation of every other popular fantasy/dystopian out there. It read very familiar to me, someone who was in deep with early 2000’s YA. 

This book wasn’t all that imaginative. And Celaena was palpably unlikeable to me. And just wholly unbelievable. A master assassin by 18? Crazy. And SJM doesn’t really go out of her way to try and make it believable. Her “sass” was entertaining for about 2 seconds. Then it was just painful. 

This dialogue in this was also pretty rough. Pretty much every time Dorian opened his mouth I wanted to cringe. And what was with Celaena being into him in the first place? Regardless of his “charms” he’s the son of the worst man alive (so far as we know.) I would have thought she would have approached her relationship with him with a little more caution and a little less “omg he’s so hot.” I’m going to go out on a limb here and say it’s because she’s 18 years old. A child. 

I’m going to stop here with my negativity before I end up just dogpiling with everyone else who has already said these things in a million different ways. 

I will conclude with this: after I took SEVERAL steps back and decided to approach this book from the lens of my teenage self, it got more palatable. I could see how people find it fun and entertaining. Celaena is the kind of protagonist my 13 year old self would have gobbled up. 24 year old me just isn’t the target audience. 

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to continue with the series, but I might. If only to see if SJM’s writing improved over the course of the series. 



“You could rattle the stars,” she whispered. “You could do anything, if you only dared.”

Celeana has been betrayed and sentenced to one of the worst slavery camps. As she is trying to survive the harsh environment and treatment, the Prince and the head of the royal guard show up with an ultimatum and a chance to be free.  All she has to do is survive the trials of being the King’s champion.  Her life could change in so many ways, she just has to survive.

Trigger warnings:  slavery, physical abuse, graphic violence.

Barbara Williford

“You could rattle the stars,” she whispered. “You could do anything, if you only dared.”

Celeana has been betrayed and sentenced to one of the worst slavery camps. As she is trying to survive the harsh environment and treatment, the Prince and the head of the royal guard show up with an ultimatum and a chance to be free.  All she has to do is survive the trials of being the King’s champion.  Her life could change in so many ways, she just has to survive.

Trigger warnings:  slavery, physical abuse, graphic violence.

I really enjoyed this book. I read after finishing ACOTAR and it was an easy fun read I breezed through. Overall, compared to ACOTAR it was a bit slow but a good start to the series. 

Throne of Glass Throne of Glass #1

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