Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

"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 kings 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."

Title: Throne of Glass

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Release Date: August 7, 2012

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's

Pages: 416, Hardcover

I was really freaking scared to start this book.

Why? Well, obviously this book was hyped up to the MAX. Literally every review I read was "FIVE STARS FIVE STARS READ THIS BOOK NOW." Thankfully, I was very satisfied with Sarah's masterpiece. I certainly understand why everyone was in love with this one: the action, characters, romance, intensity, mystery, and more! However, there's just this one thing that brought my love for this book down a notch: the pacing in the beginning that was supposed to grab my attention.

First, though, let's talk characters. Every character was so, so unique and important, even the background characters. They all somehow intertwined into the story, making themselves significant. . Celaena is one kick-ass heroine everyone is sure to love. She's bold, strong, and smart. Everything I love about a female character! And then there's Chaol. I loved him from the start. He is always, always, always at Celaena's side. Surprisingly, I didn't find it annoying at all. Instead, I found it heart-warming, and yes, even if he IS a guard, I don't know, it just made me love him that much more. And Dorian. At first, I really, really, despised Prince Dorian. From my point of view, he was just a bratty, arrogant player. But now… I kind of really like him. I'm still a bit undecided on which "team" I'm on. Guess we'll just have to find out what happens in book two, eh? ;)

Next, the elements that were thrown in expertly into this novel. We've got action, mystery, romance, fantasy, everything that makes a reader a happy cookie. All of these were mixed in very well and I can say that I would LOVE to see more. The action kept me on the edge of my seat; the romance had my heart thumping a million beats a minute; and the mystery had my skin crawling. Everything was great.

Then there's that pacing in the beginning that I didn't like. Throne of Glass was hard to get into. For sure, it definitely lagged, and I had to push myself through, telling myself, "The good part is coming soon, I can feel it!" It was quite detailed and just slow in general.

But aside from that minor defect, Throne of Glass is a wild ride you won't want to miss, filled with tension, a murder mystery, a sweet romance, and much, much more. I cannot wait to see more from Sarah J. Maas.

Grade: A

Source: Publisher via Netgalley--Thank you so much, Bloomsbury!