Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Publisher:  Bloomsbury
Publish Date:  August 7, 2012
ISBN:  978-1599906959
Pages:    416


I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you want to get a headstart, there are four novellas that take place before THRONE OF GLASS, they're all available as e-books - three are out now, the fourth will be out in July.

In 2002, Ms. Maas began posting chapters of her story online.  She received very positive feedback and ten years later - Ta-Da!

THRONE OF GLASS picks up following the 18 year old assassin Celaena Sardothien.  She's served a year hard labor in the salt mines and the Crown Prince is offering her a chance at freedom.  All she has to do is win a competition for the new Royal Assassin and serve in that capacity for three years.  How hard can that be?

Celaena was the most notorious assassin in the land, but no one ever knew she was just a girl.  So none of the other competitors suspect who she is.

The Main Characters:

Celaena - 18 year old assassin, pretty, eats heartily, athletic, smart, stubborn
Prince Dorian - flirty, good looking, afraid of his father
Captain Westfall - trains Celaena
Princess Nehemia - visiting royalty

Even without the novellas (which I didn't read), I was able to jump right in and figure things out easily.  There weren't a lot of 'extra' characters, which made it easier to concentrate on the ones we did have.  I was a little put out that I didn't care for Prince Dorian.  I'm not sure what it was, I wanted to like him, but I felt like he was too cowed by his father to really shine.  I like Captain Westfall a bit better, but still not enough.  I did like Princess Nehemia and want to hear more about her.

I've read a lot of reviews where bloggers compared THRONE OF GLASS to HUNGER GAMES.  That's ridiculous!  It was nothing like it at all.  I love HUNGER GAMES, don't get me wrong, but that was a staged game between 12 - 18 year old children to prove a point that the different regions were under the Capitols control  This is a full-on competition with adult assassins, court intrigue, relationships and a few surprises.