Well I have officially finished Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. I picked it up before the new year but life got in the way and I wasn't able to read it until today. At 406 pages, it was an incredible book to read. I've always been a sucker for fantasy but am usually disappointed in it as the female characters sometimes fall flat or are just maidens in distress. In Throne of Glass Celaena Sardothien, Adarlan's Asassin is anything but.
Read past here at your own risk there be spoilers:
As the book opens you meet Celaena in a death mining camp sent there after being captured. Soon she meets the Crown Prince and the Captain of Guard who tell her that she can win her freedom if she becomes the king's champion. Agreeing swiftly she is swept off to the castle to find out she has to defeat 23 other opponents who are in the same boat as her to win her freedom.
As Maas introduces you to the very court at the heart of the kingdom you are introduced to a conquering kingdom where political intrigued is at every corner. As Celaena completes her tasks to continue on in the competition someone is killing the other competitors brutally leaving them brutally mangled to be found. It's not until After she starts entertaining not only the prince but the Captain, along with meeting a foreign princess does she start to piece to gether that something is killing the other champions and if she wants to survive she will have to figure out who and why.
It's not until near the last compitition that she finds out that it is one of the competitors using Wyrd to summon demons that she knows she must win. In a dramatic final duel, Celaena wins even when poisoned and procures her spot as the Kings Champion. Knowing that in four years she will be with her freedom she turns down the Prince's advances as she goes to sign the contract. Being told by the king that should she ever fail, her friends will die, Celaena signes her name. Then in a wonderful twist the last chapter leaves you wondering just what is going on.
Throne of Glass is the first in the series of the same name. For a wonderful read and a recommendation from me if you ever enjoyed books by Tamora Pierce, or just love a good fantasy and are tired of the same old formula I would suggest you read this one. I give it 4 out of 5 stars as being a great book to read.
