Throne Of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Title: Throne of Glass
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication: August 2, 2012
Genre: YA Fantasy
Source: Easons

Meet Celaena Sardothien. 

Beautiful. 

Deadly. 

Destined for greatness.

In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught.

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?

Well.. that wasn't what I was expecting was it? Fortunately, it was even better!

'Throne of Glass' is definitely successful in jump-starting what I believe will be a five or six-book series. I can say, without having to second think it, that I'll be continuing, even excited for that matter! It's incredibly action-packed, what with fight-scenes and training in ever other chapter, but not to the point where you need to take some time out and re-form your tired and melted brain. It's fast paced when need be, but not without slower tempos when Sarah J Maas decides to fill in the more fantastical elements of her fictional world. Definitely a solid starter, for what I think is going to become a fantastic series!

Getting into the more nitty gritty stuff, there were aspects I liked, and others that I disliked. I guess I'll start with the positives, so I don't sound like the pessimist I am, haha.

Maas, in this book, has created some of the best and most realistic characters I've read in YA literature. They aren't your typical YA fantasy stereotypes, although a chunk of their personalities are undeniably from some sort of mold. Even with Celaena at the forefront, and Maas so obviously intending to develop the protagonist to an extent slightly further than that of the others, I still found side characters Chaol and Nehemia, to be the most impressive. Not only did they strike me as more original, though I do admit that Celaena is incredibly original also, but personally, they came of as the most complex and interesting. I really appreciated that.

As for the whole competition aspect, I don't have too much to say, other than the fact that it was really enjoyable. What I do have a lot to say about, however, is the lack of world-building. I'll just say it simply. The world of Erilea definitely piqued my interest, as did it's outlined history, but that's kinda where it just ends. I wanted more backstory, more of how they got to the point they're at in the novel, more than what I received anyway, which I think is missed opportunity, but something that motivates me, even more, to read the second book.

Anyway, that's all I've got for this one!
All in all, Throne of Glass was a great read, even worthy of the hype, I'd say.