Throne of Glass Review | My Honest Thoughts on Sarah J. Maas’s Fantasy Opener
Boy was I excited to start this book! With Sarah J. Maas recently announcing the next two books in the much loved ACOTAR series, starting the Massverse opener, Throne of Glass was a must!
Honestly, going in, I felt a mix of excitement and nerves because the hype around this series is absolutely ridiculous. I ended up both reading the book and listening to the audiobook, which really helped me with remembering names, places and just generally keeping up with everything going on. Fantasy names and ADHD brain are not always best friends, so the audiobook definitely helped.
Overall, I did really enjoy this book. It had a strong start, an interesting setting and enough mystery & whodunit to keep me wanting to know what was going to happen next. The whole idea of an infamous assassin being dragged from a brutal prison camp and thrown into a competition to become the King’s Champion is such a good premise. Add in court politics, deadly challenges, suspicious deaths and a few darker things lurking in the background and there was plenty here to keep me invested.
That being said, I did have a few issues with some of the headlining characters:
Our main FMC Celaena Sardothien, now don’t get me wrong, I didn’t hate her. I actually really liked her! But for someone who is supposed to be this feared, legendary assassin, she came across a little too prissy princess at times for me. I just expected more edge. More attitude. More of her, actually being feared. Instead, there were moments where she felt much softer and more dramatic and it made it a little harder for me to fully buy into the reputation everyone kept giving her. I needed more assassin, less princess and the pea.
Also, Mr Dorian Havilliard. I was very curious about this man given I had heard he was top-tier book boyfriend material, which probably set my expectations way too high. He sadly didn’t quite tickle my pickle! I didn’t find him especially charming, funny or desirable. For me, he definitely didn’t have that shiny, irresistible personality I’d been led to expect. I was waiting for him to win me over, and it just never really happened. Maybe in the next book!
My favourite character was drumroll…Chaol Westfall. And yes, I know, he’s The Captain of the Guard. But honestly, he was just far more interesting to me than most of the cast. He had more wit, more intrigue and more personality. I found myself much more invested whenever he was on the page. He had some funny moments, a bit of sass and more of an edge than our assassin FMC.
Plot wise, I really liked the mystery that was consistent throughout the book. The competition itself was interesting, even though you weren’t introduced to many of the competitors. The deaths of said competitors, the strange atmosphere in the castle and the growing sense that something wasn’t quite right all added a really good layer to the story.
The audiobook was really helpful to listen to alongside actually reading the book. Fantasy can sometimes be a lot when you’re trying to get your head around names, places and who’s who, so listening alongside reading made everything much easier to follow. It helped the world sink in better and stopped my ADHD brain from immediately forgetting half the cast. It also added personality to the story and in this case it definitely helped me stay engaged and connected to what was going on.
For me, Throne of Glass feels very much like a first book that is setting up a much bigger story. Nothing really blew me away but I loved the premise and I can see the foundations being built. It’s one of those books where I didn’t love every single part of it, but I’m still intrigued enough to want to continue the series.
So overall, I really enjoyed this read and I want back into its expanding world. I now understand why this series has such a grip on people and now I am one step closer to conquering the Massverse mountain!
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Published: 7th August 2012
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