Review of "Throne of Glass"

"Do I want to know what's killing the Champions?"

     In Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, being summoned by the Crown Prince of Adarlan is not necessarily a bad thing. After a year of hard work in the Salt Mines of Endovier, eighteen-year-old  assassin Celaena Sardothien has been reduced to a shadow of her former self. She's thin, she's filthy...yet she still has her killer's edge. When Adarlan's Crown Prince orders her removed from the mines, Celaena is convinced her execution date has arrived. Instead, Prince Dorian Havilliard wants to make a deal: win a tournament against the best thieves, assassins, and soldiers in the realm, and after four years of service to the king she'll finally be free. Which wouldn't be a problem if magic hadn't started showing up again, the prince wasn't distractingly cute, and someone--or something--wasn't picking off the competitors one by one. With her future on the line, Adarlan's Assassin is about to discover just how much she's willing to sacrifice for victory.

     Celaena has a whole cast of people on hand to temper her bloodthirsty nature. First there's Dorian Havilliard, Crown Prince of Adarlan and relentless flirt. He has quite the reputation among the women of the court, which doesn't stop them from swooning when he passes and praying nightly that he'll marry them. Next is Chaol Westfall: Captain of the Guard, master of wariness, and king of denying the yearnings of his heart. A maid with a heart of gold is the only person strong-willed enough to stand up to her, while a visiting princess provides much-needed emotional support. Together, these characters form a tangled web of lies, love, and friendship that threatens to shatter if they don't do everything in their power to sustain it. Meanwhile, fierce competitors, wicked courtiers, and scheming nobles plot to destroy our heroes' hopes for the future.

     Adarlan is a kingdom without magic, and not just because it was banned when Celaena was eight. The day the announcement was made, even those who wielded it were cut off from magic by some unknown force. So when competitors start turning up dead, suspecting magic is at play would be insane. On the other hand, what else could those markings around the bodies be? As Adarlan's Assassin digs deeper into the mysteries of the glass castle and its inhabitants, she realizes there are secrets here even the king may not know. Unless she does something to stop them, these secrets may destroy everyone she's grown to care for. While she tears the library apart in search of a solution, the competition rages on around her. However, it is far from the focus of the plot. Celaena has much more important things to worry about, like the threat to the kingdom and the follies of her own heart.

     That's right: though the story centers around two violent, dramatic premises, its beating heart is a romance. Rather than bog things down, this provides some much-needed rest between the action and tension-filled, forbidden explorations and searches. Characters don't go beyond kissing, though a courtier promised her fiancé more if he took her to court and Celaena has to tell her significant other "no" several times. Violence is surprisingly rare but graphic; while Adarlan's Assassin boasts of her prowess often, we don't see it in action often, which makes the few true fight scenes that much more impressive. The crime scenes, when Celaena encounters them, are extremely unpleasant. There's a little mild profanity, plus a few more explicit digs at Celaena from her male opponents and mention of a guard taking advantage of a prisoner.

     I would recommend this book to teenagers looking for an exciting blend of romance and action, magic and combat. Celaena is a strong-willed young woman who is more than willing to back up her claim to fame, the threat she faces daunting enough to chill the blood. Surrounded by a compelling cast of people in their own right, Celaena is quickly swept up in a world of intrigue, forbidden magic, and love as her simple quest for freedom turns into a fight for survival. For adventure, mysterious circumstances, and a gripping plot, Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass deserves five stars.