Book: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. MaasGenre: YA Fantasy
Rating:★★★☆☆
For: book club
From: bought for my Kindle
Short Synopsis: The book starts when our heroine, Celaena, is a slave in a work mine and is being led out, which, she later finds out, means that the prince wants her to be his champion in a competition put on by his father, to find a new assassin. Good thing she is the best assassin around because she'll be able to nail this competition. Right? Meanwhile, she sort of likes the prince even though she doesn't really want to, and she sort of likes the captain of the guard, who is pretty much her personal body guard and she makes friends with some of the other competitors, but not all of them. AND, she discovers there's something creepily magical going on in the castle even though magic has been outlawed for years.
My Response: I thought it was fun! And intriguing. It was a bit slow in the beginning and I had a hard time wanting to read it over other activities, but then it picked up and then I read the last bit all in one sitting for the most part when I suddenly found myself invested in the characters and anxious to know what happens next. I must say that this girl isn't my favorite book character that I've read. She's a little wacko. She seems a little flighty and unsure about a lot of things, but I feel like that's part of the story and we'll learn more as we go along what's really up with her. And while it didn't turn into a true love triangle, only a pretend one, I find myself firmly on Team Captain of the Guard! Just in case anyone is keeping track of these things.
Bottom Line: A fun, if slow, start to what I understand from those in the know, is going to be a crazy intense fantasy series. I look forward to reading the next one!
Let's Talk About: We had a pretty awesome rousing discussion about this one last night. I was impressed and once again, surprised, as book club discussions often do for me. Quite the robust crowd did NOT like this book and listed off many reasons why they didn't... reasons that baffle me as they are not reasons that make or break a book for me. What makes or breaks a book for you?
Other Reviews:
Throne Of Glass is an epic fantasy with a few good characters and a storyline tilting more towards love and loyalty than assassination and action. From Books and Sensibility
Throne of Glass is not a perfect book. But it IS a perfect book for me. From Small Reviews
Maas’s strength in this book is her world building, and I loved getting to the know the characters, rules and mythology of this world. From Linus's Blanket
It’s rare to get a character who’s so well-balanced but also not portrayed at perfect. Sarah J Maas did a really fantastic job with Calaena. From So Many Books, So Little Time
Wow! I rated this one higher than you. The tables have turned. ;)
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't know what makes or breaks a book for me. I think it's if I can't get into the story and/or I don't like any of the characters. All the little things that were mentioned at book club just don't bother me. I guess I'm just not very picky. Is this a bad thing? I don't know. But, I loved the book. I was instantly hooked.
ReplyDeleteI've been toying with the idea of trying this one. I'm always super picky about my YA but it gets such good reviews it seems. Glad it picked up for you!
ReplyDeleteI was surprised by how many people were adamantly against this book. These books are pretty popular. I don't know what make or breaks a book for me. I usually take it each and every book at a time. Although I do hate slow sappy stupid books.
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