Book Review: Throne of Glass

Title: Throne of Glass

Author: Sarah J Maas

Genre: fantasy

Review:

Sooo...I finally read Throne of Glass after hearing so much about it. My feelings about this book are very, very mixed. I've heard so much good stuff about it. I absolutely loved the plot, which goes a little something like this: Celaena is the best assassin in the world...unfortunately for her, she got betrayed and got sent to a labor camp to rot and die. But then she is given a shot at freedom when the king announces to host a tournament where sponsors will feature Champions to compete in Tests until there is one Champion left. When the Prince chooses to sponsor Celaena, she jumps at the chance to earn back freedom. And let the games begin!

Just reading the plot synopsis got me all excited. But (insert dramatic *dun dun dun*) here come's the stuff that bothered me:

1. Celaena--I thought she would be this awesome kick butt, assassin (kind of like June only a bit more, I dunno, cold hearted.) What Celaena actually is like: very smart, very talented and very full of herself. She treats almost everyone as if they were below her and is obsessed by looks and clothing. Why oh why couldn't have she been more lovable?

2. Exclamation points--there were so many exclamation points! Especially in the first 25% of the book! So it seems as if Celaena is surprised at every other thing she sees! I mean, usually books have 1-4 exclamation points throughout the entire novel! But I found 10 exclamation points within 3 pages! Fortunately, the author dialed down on the exclamation points as the story progresses!

3. love triangle--okay, this one didn't bother me nearly as much as the previous 2 points, but the romance still seemed pretty rushed and somewhat predictable

Okay, enough about the negative and move onto the positives. I loved the idea of portals between worlds/dimensions. Yeah, I know this isn't an original idea, but the author still works it into the plot very well. When Champions begin to die in horrible, mutilated fashions, little does Celaena realizes that a very dark force has been unleashed in the castle (did I mention the tournament takes place in a castle built out of glass?)

Plus I found this gorgeous quote:

"Libraries were full of ideas--perhaps the most dangerous and powerful of all weapons."

Will I read the next book in the series? Yes, but only because my sister borrowed it from the library today. The plot is engaging enough and I dearly hope the Celaena's temperament improves in the second book.  The interesting plot is really what saved this book to me.

Rating:

Oh, and on a completely side note, check out this song, "Castle of Glass" by Linkin Park that I think should be the theme song to this book :-)