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Throne of Glass
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Throne of Glass
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Throne of Glass
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Throne of Glass

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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About this ebook

Lethal. Loyal. Legendary.

Enter the world of Throne of Glass with the first book in the #1 bestselling series by Sarah J. Maas.

In a land without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She has no love for the vicious king who rules from his throne of glass, but she has not come to kill him. She has come to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three murderers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she will be released from prison to serve as the King's Champion.

Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. And a princess from a faraway country will befriend her. But something rotten dwells in the castle, and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying mysteriously, one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival-and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

Thrilling and fierce, Throne of Glass is the first book in the #1 New York Times bestselling series that has captivated readers worldwide.

Editor's Note

Action & romance…

Despite the apparent transparency of a throne of glass, much isn’t what it seems in this sweeping fantasy series starring the baddest of badass assassins. Full of jaw-dropping intrigue and sweet romance.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateAug 7, 2012
ISBN9781599909394
Unavailable
Throne of Glass
Author

Sarah J. Maas

Sarah J. Maas is the #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author of the Crescent City, Court of Thorns and Roses, and Throne of Glass series. Her books have sold millions of copies and are published in thirty-eight languages. Sarah lives with her family in New York City. sarahjmaas.com facebook.com/theworldofsarahjmaas instagram.com/sarahjmaas

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Reviews for Throne of Glass

Rating: 4.458131487889274 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

1,445 ratings236 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    New read date June 5th-6th, 2016

    Original read date March 9th-10th, 2013
    Celaena Sardothien is doing hard labor for being the Assassin of Ardalan when she's given the opportunity to earn her freedom. Crown Prince Dorian offers her a deal she can't afford to turn down, if she refuses it would mean spending what's left of her life in the Salt Mines of Endovier. Prince Dorian asks her to enter a competition to become a Royal Champion, upon winning she will serve a term as the Kings personal Champion and earn her freedom in a matter of years. As much a Celaena hates the idea of having anything to do with a King she despises with all her soul she knows she has no other choice, it's a lot better than dying a sad death in one of the most horrible work camps. She accepts and begins her journey to becoming a Royal Champion.

    Celaena quickly realizes things aren't as they seem when the competition starts and the contestants are dying in the most horrible ways imagined or unimagined. She starts to fear for her life and the other competitors as well, even though there is no love lost between her and most of the competitors, she just can't stomach the idea that someone is trying to eliminate them.

    Celaena is a hot head who doesn't realize her own arrogance, her trainer Captain Westfall and the Prince's best friend has to deal with her impatience and anxiousness to show she's the best. Their distrust for each other was strangely funny, they kept playing an unspoken cat and mouse game with each other. Celaena's mind can be very toxic at times but kind of amusing, she is constantly thinking of ways to kill someone who annoys her, I guess I shouldn't expect anything else from a former assassin. I'm sure she still thinks of herself as one though.

    A very unexpected event took place when Celaena was tasked with ridding the evil that is killing the competitors. I thought it would just be her journey for her freedom and a love triangle, but I was very surprised with the twists and turns of this story. I was already loving the story and was even more captivated when all the extra elements of the story started to pop up and added more layers and depth to a very interesting concept. Definitely a must read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I picked this up because several friends are reading it, and have highly recommended it. It's the first book in a series. Some points in its favor include a strong female lead, good character development, interesting conflict situation, and use of cool symbols (the pysanky artist in me adores that.) It was a good book. I enjoyed reading it, but didn't fall in love with it. I'll probably read another book in the series (after all, I've done that for books I like far less) and maybe that'll be the ticket to make me adore the series. Still, Sarah J Mass has done a really fine job with her story, characters, and arc building.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A fun, exciting chapter a day read on my Nook!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wow, this is a compelling read. The story, the characters, the suspense... I loved every minute of it. It's an action-packed book with just a touch of romance tossed in. The twists included several things I never saw coming, and it ends on a high note with great potential for the future books. This is one of those that I wasn't sure about, but kept hearing so much about that I finally caved and decided that I had better read it. I was definitely not disappointed, and will be working my way through the rest of the series ASAP.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book was really good, interesting characters and plot. In my opinion though it wasn't perfect or a complete 5 stars, I'd give it 4.5.

    The things that I didn't like where, that there was a little to much description of the dresses and such. Nicely worded, just wished less wordy. Second, there was one chapter, chapter 40ishsomething, it was a 3-4 page chapter that was completely redundant as it added nothing to the story just went on about the exact thing the previous chapters were about. And lastly, my biggest gripe is with the first 3/4 of the book. Things were happening to keep me reading but nothing was blowing me away, it was just just meh. The last 1/4 of the book is where it really picked up and blew me away. Just wish there was more excitement during the first 3/4 of the book.

    All in all though, I did really enjoy this book. The female character was fun to learn about, and the male characters were interesting enough. Just find it funny how for some reason in these kinds of books, all the males fall for the girl even though she spends pretty much the entirety of their time mouthing off and being as belligerent as possible.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I wasn't sure about this one when I started but I kept being drawn back in. I liked the stories and the characters. I'm interested to see where this goes in the second book.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Interesting character and world.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    SPOILER ALERT!! I just finished this book and I have so many questions! What will happen to Celaena as the king's champion? What is going to happen between her and Dorian and Chaol? What's going to happen to Nehemia? Ahhh! just can't wait to read the second book. Unfortunately I don't have money right now:( I'm saving up to buy A Song of Ice and Fire series so I'll probably have to wait till next month to buy the second book:'( Noooooo!!!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I decided to give this book a try because I kept hearing so much about it, but honestly it just wasn't for me. I did really get into for a little while, but then just lost interest. I am not a fan of fantasy and I don't read a lot of YA, so while this book may be great to a lot of other people, it just wasn't my cup of tea.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    13/6/2014

    ITS SO GOOD
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I have heard about this series from friends and students so I was ready for a great read. And I was not disappointed. Calaena Sardothien is an assassin who was serving a sentence in the Salt Mines of Endovier, a truly horrendous place. She is removed by Prince Dorian and Captain of the Guards Chaol, and taken to the capital as the chosen representative in a competition to chose the King's Champion. She must beat other representatives in trials until only four remained and then duel for the winner. Someone or something else is killing the representatives. Magic had been wiped out of the kingdom so what could be going on?Of course, both the prince and the captain become infatuated with her and she is torn between the two of them. Late to the show, I look forward to reading more from this series.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Drama, suspense, secrets, abuse, friendship, and hope abound in this story. A testament to never quiting, never giving up hope. A well written story with good plot and character development
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It was a good thing I had today off. I picked this up for a half hour of reading at 8am I finished the book at 2.30pm. I'm looking forward to the next one!!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wow! I purchased this book and left it on my shelf collecting dust for weeks. Not sure what compelled me yesterday to pick it up with the intention of "only" reading for a few minutes. The "only for a few minutes" dragged to a full day and eventually I spent the entire weekend curled up in my bed devouring this book. It's not a masterpiece, mind you. There are loop holes and slight inconsistencies here and there but overall compared to what is available in the market these days, this by FAR, surpassed my expectations and is well worth the 4 stars and a half I rated it. I'm impatiently waiting for the bookstore to open to get my hands on the sequel.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It felt slow to really grab my attention. At 50% of the way through I just about gave up but then it pulled me in and kept me up till the very end. Loved the mystery, the friendships, the building of a new world and all its culture. That second 50% was fantastic and I can't wait to read the next one!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Drama, suspense, secrets, abuse, friendship, and hope abound in this story. A testament to never quiting, never giving up hope. A well written story with good plot and character development
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I absolutely loved Throne of Glass! I fell in love with the characters and the story itself. It was like a mixture of The Selection, The Hunger Games, and Game of Thrones, except much better. Beautiful.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This will undoubtedly turn up somewhere in my top 10 books of 2013. Holy crap, this was awesome. I read it in one day with barely any breaks, except the period in which the sun came up and my body decided to tell me it was tired.

    Celaena was such a well-rounded character! I loved that she could not only kick ass, but love the finer things in life like beautiful dresses, food and the like was just so unbelievably amazing. I've never encountered any female protagonist like her.

    Also, in the book, it is not only mentioned that she gets her period, but it's shown. After she escapes emaciation and becomes healthy, she gets her period back. I thought that was a pretty great addition to the book for however many pages it was mentioned in (I think maybe like five).

    My one gripe is that she shows more interest in Dorian than Chaol. Chaol was such a good match for her. They're both snarky as fuck, kicks some ass, and like to tease each other. Dorian? "Oh, Celaena looks pretty!" and that's it. That's pretty much it for them.

    The mystery in the book was well written. I fucking loved every moment in this book. I'm barely coherent. GAH.

    I have Crown of Midnight on my shelf right now but I'm hesitant to read it because I'll finish it too quick and then I have a long wait until the next book. I WENT THROUGH THIS WITH SHERLOCK, OKAY? I WATCHED SEASON 1 AND 2 TOO QUICKLY AND NOW I'M JUST AN INCOHERENT MESS WAITING FOR THE 3RD. I've learned my lesson the hard way.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book was better than I thought it would be. It was the book cover that made me try the book and I've been burned multiple times before where I hoped for a great book because of the cover art. There's a reason that so many people saw to not judge a book by it's cover and I know the truth of it. So I wasn't expecting much. However it surprised me. It's not a phenomenal book but it was entertaining. I think I can see a love triangle forming and Celaena seemed out of character sometimes but otherwise I enjoyed "listening" to this book. I've already added the next book in the series to my TBR list.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    So cool!I finally know what I was missing, having not read this book when it came out. I read all the rave reviews and now totally understand them.Calaena is one helluva character! She not only kicks butt, but she takes names too. I really liked her a lot, and though she sorta hooked up with one guy, I really wanted her with another. Still do actually. That guy that I want her with, became my favorite character about half way through the book, Though he is gruff, I could tell deep down he was a softy too. I do wish the fighter scenes were longer, or maybe just more of them. A couple of times the pace really slowed down for me during the more dramatic moments, and all I wanted was aggression. Maybe that is just me though, but when you have an assassin in a tournament of champions, I expect a non-stop bloodbath. At least more than the dramatics.Still, I loved it.My thing is such a small thing, it's almost insignificant.Can't wait to read book 2! I hope for more kick-butt action!4.5/5
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I tried to read this book last year and struggled to get through the first chapter because I found the tone of the book really annoying. So on Saturday I was going to London and wanted something to read and thought I'd try this again only because it fit into my handbag! Well, I almost missed both my stops because I was so engrossed and did not want to stop reading it. It isn't without flaws but it's such good fun that I had to give it 5 stars. I'm hoping the next two are just as good. I have read some pretty awful books this year and am happy as Larry to find something that has cheered me up!! I've missed reading :(
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Celaena's chance for freedom is dependent upon her becoming the king's champion. She has spent the last year enslaved after being captured. Her former occupation: assassin. To become champion she must best the other candidates in a series of tests with the final challenge being one on one combat. Can she be strong enough to face battle hardened soldiers, sly thieves, and intrigue. With the help of her guard Chaol and the support of her sponsor Prince Dorian she regains her strength. While at the competition, some of her challengers are brutally and gruesomely murdered. Celaena has to face her competition and try to avoid being murdered by a mysterious and violent killer. There is a lot of action and intrigue mixed with some ghosts and spirits. Along the way Celaena has to deal with some unwanted love interest and the jealousy or other ladies at the castle. To win her freedom she must survive and win the competition. But can she do this while also battling an evil force? Hard to put down, kept me turning the pages. Finished last night and starting book two, Crown of Midnight, today.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Read from September 07 to 11, 2014Read for Fun (Library)Overall Rating: 3.50Story Rating: 3.50Character Rating: 3.50First Thought when Finished: Though it took me over half the book to get into Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas, the second half made me want to continue the story to see where it leads.Story Thoughts: I probably should have started with character thoughts because they kind of go hand in hand for the first half of the book: if the pace was going to be slow and methodical there needed be more character and suspense building. I have heard that I would have felt more "hooked" if I read the novellas first but I don't like the fact that I "needed" to. With the story, I felt that the pacing was uneven the 1rst half: started off with a bang, crawled to a stop, then slowly picked back up again. The 2nd half (around page 200) was more even with a great ebb and flow of up and down (hook me in then let me breath). I also felt the story got much tighter in the 2nd half with everything being meaningful and each detail leading to another reveal. In other words, I really think this could have been 100 pages lighter and it would have been perfect.Character Thoughts: I think I would have been OK with the pacing in the first half if it was filled with character building but everything that I learned about the characters that meant something to me all came in the 2nd half. The first half just made me aware of the bad guys more than anything but hating them didn't really make me "like" the leads any more. Also I am going to admit it: I don't like the Prince. From beginning to end, he seemed shallow, arrogant, and bored with it all. To be honest, if the love triangle blossoms I am likely to lose interest. As far as C, I liked her from the beginning. Yes she was arrogant (or confident) but there was always something there that made you think "champion" (though not for the king). I liked many of the side characters, especially in the 2nd half and I wouldn't mind if the 2nd book focused more on them. They really were a fascinating bunch.Final Thoughts: I know it sounds like I had a lot of problems with the book but those all cleared up in the 2nd half for me. The writing and storytelling ended strong so I will be continuing the series as soon as I can get my hands on book 2.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    So I've been staring at my screen for days no trying to review this, not because I didn't enjoy it, but the opposite. When I first read The Fault In our Stars, it was so hard to review it because how could I truly put into words what had gripped me about the book? how could I review it and say anything that hasn't been said before? the answer is I couldn't. When I first started to read Throne of Glass I knew very early on that I was going to have problems reviewing it, and boy was I right. High fantasy wasn't a genre I really took notice of, that was until a while ago. I've always had a very soft spot in my heart for fantasy, slowly but surely though I'm starting to ride the high fantasy train, and it's books like these that are pushing me on it. Normally when a book is hyped up I'm very cautious because I expect so much, though this book was hyped up to the max, it's completely justified because this book had me hooked from start to finish. One thing I loved the most about this book was the characters. Each one, no matter how big or small a role they played in the book, had their own personalty and story. Each one was needed and the sub character were in no way overshadowed or forgotten about. But the main characters? just shut up. There isn't a single thing I could say about them that would come across as negative. One of the hardest things for me to find these days when it comes to the fantasy genre is a strong female lead. (if you can recommend me a book you think has one, I'm happy to have a look at them) Celaena is one hell of a girl, we are promised a female assassin in the summary and boy does Sarah J. Maas deliver. She was a strong minded, hot headed at times, deadly 18 year old and I loved reading about her. I think one of the things I loved the most about her was that even though she had a lot to complain about, she wasn't a woe is my type. She got on with it, which is a lot more than I could have done haha.And lets not forget our leading males. Though I loved Choal more than I loved Dorian, they both were such likable and at times relatable characters. They were well thought out, well developed and just all around brilliant. I loved the playfulness of Choal while still acting professional, I loved how Dorian knew he was good looking and desirable and flaunted it at times, I just loved them both.And of course we can't have a book without some sort of romance right? well this yet again got high marks for me. Everything about it was subtle, with a slow build up. They weren't fighting one minuet and clutching at each other the next. I suppose you could say there is a bit of a love triangle in this book, one that at first isn't exactly obvious. It isn't over done, it doesn't take over anything else or overshadow what would be the main romance and there isn't a stupid competition between the two males for Celaena's attention. It was such a mature love triangle. She wasn't bouncing between the two either, she didn't declare her love for one only to go running to the next, and from the time the triangle became apparent there was no real indication as to who she would end up with or who she had the stronger feelings for.The only thing I would say about this book is the trails in my opinion could have been a little harder, given what was at stake. I know that towards the middle of the book the story was more focused on what was going on in between trails then the trails itself, but as the first book is about her may or may not working for the king, I still feel like they could have been more to them. (and I could be the only one on that)Overall, as you can tell, I really liked this book. I can't wait to see what happens next and I'm so excited for the rest of the series that is looking to be a rather long one, and if it isn't then I'm thankful for the plethora of novella's to keep me going for a while. The book is over 400 pages, and I wasn't bored once. Well done Sarah, well done
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    So close to five stars. So close.

    I loved this book, I really did. Magic-kinda, puppies, kickass assassins, pretty dresses, awesome heroine - I should be happy! I would've enjoyed it more if the book wasn't so punch-you-in-the-face obvious with the love interests, because everything else was delightfully unpredictable. I would've preferred no love interests, honestly, and shame on me for not checking to see how blatantly YA romancey it was beforehand. Everything else, though, was worth it. A little fantasy, a little murder mystery, ghosts (?), a lot of stabby-stabby, some pretty dresses and nefarious plotting - it's got a little something for everyone.

    That said, this series has me absolutely hooked, and that's something that hasn't happened to me since I read The Hunger Games. Sure, I plowed through Divergent in two days (loved it!), The Selection in a week (not for me), Delirium in two days (rad!), but Throne of Glass has been sitting heavily in my chest for the past few nights. It has the weight of a good story, writing that isn't condescendingly simple nor is it pretentious, and I feel like I actually won't be able to predict what's going to happen next.

    The ending felt rushed, a bit slapdash, but it was satisfyingly not tied in a neat bow or ended on a deliberate, ridiculous cliffhanger.

    I could stop right now if I wanted to and there would be a whole little story arc complete.

    So obviously, Crown of Midnight is getting snatched up at my local library today. I don't know who I'm kidding - I won't be able to stop until I've devoured every piece of this series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A girl who happens to have been trained as an assassin is brought out of prison to fight a deadly contest in order to become and "Kings Champion" and thus be freed. It could have been much more gruesome than it was and for that I liked it. Lots of magic with a queen coming back from the dead to help give advice to the monster that goes around eating out people's internal organs so that his "master" will become more powerful. Loved most of the characters--except for of course the truly hateful ones. A bit predictable in parts and I wish that there had been more backstory, but I guess that is in the novellas that were written that of course mean more money for the author. For that alone, I may or may not buy this series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Good balance of action and reflection. Not quite what I was hoping for, but not bad.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Amazing!!! Celaena is such a strong female character. Loved her attitude and strength. Chaol was also an interesting character.

    I really enjoyed the different perspectives we go throughout the book. Whether it was Celaena, Chaol, Dorian, Neehemia, or Kaltain's perspective. Cannot wait to read the next book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Really good! Look forward to more.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I've owned this book for a while, first on my kindle, then I bought a hard copy of it. There are certain books which I try reading on my kindle, and for whatever reason, I am just not able to continue on, so then I stop reading it. This was one of those books. I tried reading it when it first came out, then stopped. I had been seeing a lot of hype about the release of Heir of Fire, the third book in the series, and decided I had to try it again since so many people seemed to enjoy. So, after buying a paperback version, I started it again. I am glad I did.

    I enjoyed reading this book. Calaena Sardothien is a badass, arrogant assassin who is released from prison to fight as the Crown Prince's champion in a competition. She has to defeat 23 thieves, murders, and assassins to be the king's champion (incidentally, the same king that threw her into prison and ordered the guards to give her special attention). I both loved and hated Calaena, to be honest. She is a strong woman, who was not broken in the year that she spent in a horrific prison. Yet, she is also very arrogant, which I can understand since before she was thrown in prison, she was the most feared assassin in the country. I just wish in this story I could have seen more of what lay behind her confidence.
    There is not much action in this story, mostly her practicing for the trials, bodies being found in horrific conditions, with the most action the book sees at the end when four competitors go head to head to win the title of the king's champion. With the competition being the main reason she was taken out of prison, Sarah Maas spent precious little time on that story line. Instead, another plot line of competitors murders took over the story. While they do have significance to the story, I was slightly disappointed with this. Also, why would they trust these thieves, murders, assassins with weapons? Why would they let the Prince be so close to someone who could in a few seconds, slit their throat? And to fall in love with them? It bothered me, I'll be honest.
    I was slightly bothered by the love triangle that seemed to develop. If you don't know it already, I have a hate love triangles, since they seem to be the crutch that a lot of authors fall back on lately. It seemed for a while like it was going in that direction.

    For all of that, I did enjoy the book. I am looking forward to starting the second book, Crown of Midnight. I've heard the next books are a lot better than the first, so I can't wait to get to them.