A Throne of Glass

Lethal. Loyal. Legendary.

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.

Trigger Warning: Alcohol consumption, Blood, Death, Gore, Profanity, Violence

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My Thoughts

Let’s start with one of the hottest topics when it comes to the Throne of Glass series…book reading order! Little did I know how many debates and opinions (strong opinions) exist on the exact ordering of reading this series. I was scrolling through Tik Tok (#Booktok) rabbit hole when I stumbled upon a booktoker (don’t remember who it was) gave her suggested reading order and 30 minutes later I was still watching the debate. There appear to be two popular suggestions:

1. Read Assassin’s Blade first since it’s the prequel and the timeframe is prior to Endovier and fighting to be the King’s Champion then continue with Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight and so on.

OR

2. Start with Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight (even reading Heir of Fire) and then read Assassin’s Blade.

Anywhoooo…I decided to go with option 2 and I am SOOOOO glad I did (full transparency I’ve already finished Crown of Midnight and Assassin’s Blade as I’m writing this). Personally, I needed the level of investment into the characters TOG and COM gave me before I read AB or I might have given up!

I really enjoyed Throne of Glass. I was a bit disappointed after the high of the ACOTAR series (romance, spice, war, drama) but reminded myself that SJM does like her world building and I knew this was clear Young Adult, not New Adult (AND she wrote this when she was like 16 years old). 

Celaena Sardothien, the female protagonist (and badass assassin) is barely surviving Endovier, a horrible work camp where she’s spent the last year (most people don’t survive more than weeks). Celaena is a spoiled, cocky, hot-headed, pain in the ass but is so freaking lovable and endearing. She is caring and clearly has a very interesting (and traumatic) past. One minute she’s gutting her enemy and the next she’s putting on a beautiful dress and dancing in a ballroom or playing the piano like a well trained pianist. 

Dorian (who I just love and want to be friends with) is the Prince of Adarlan. He is a funny, beautiful, fuck-boy (hence why I only want to be his friend).  Dorian is the exact opposite of his horrible father, the King of Adarlan, and if everyone can get their shit together and destroy the King, these folk might stand a chance of a better world with Dorian (I will keep my fingers crossed for the King’s assassination).

Speaking of the King (or Dictator Douch-bag), he is a power hungry, sadistic, piece of trash with waaaaayyyyyy too much power (and what’s with the black ring?!). The King is searching for a “King’s Champion” to basically kill all of his enemies …enter Celaena as a contestant for Champion…enter Dorian who picks Celaena to fight and takes her out of Endovier.

Chaol (apparently pronounced like Kale but I read as Cole or else all I see is lettuce) is the Captain of the Guard and Dorian’s best friend. To be honest, I’m not sure how Chaol-Kale-Cole is Capt. of the Guard. Apparently, he’s never killed anyone and he NEVER SOLVES ANYTHING! Oh this dead guy’s guts are all over the floor and his blood has been drained and there are weird markings on the floor all around him? Maybe he fell down the stairs. WHAT? But I’ll go with it without too much criticism…for now.

A few honorable mentions that I’m not sure if, or how, these characters will play out: 
*Nehemia – I think I like her but I can’t tell if she’s genuine or shady (maybe I’m just to suspicious)
*Kaltain – Bitch! buuuuut I feel like we’re set up to hate her so quickly that maybe things will turn around
*Nox – I really like him and love the friendship I’m seeing between him and Celaena. So, of course I’m worried SJM is going to kill him or he will be a backstabber but I’m hoping he’ll be part of the future books and be Celaena’s friend.
*Sam – Not a lot of info but clear he’s very important to Celaena (I need to know more).
*Elena – long lost dead Queen.
*Duke Perrington – Shady as F@%k.
*Cain – another fighter who is basically a beast in human skin.

There was some romance (very PG) and a love triangle (think Twilight’s Bella, Edward, and Jacob). There were threats, hidden gems, and a lot of world building (When I say a lot, I mean a lot).

A few notes of importance as I continue the series:
*Black rings
*How did she become the “best assassin in the world”? And is that even really true?
*Tiny children(?) in the forest who give her flowers
*The Tower and the Clock
*Wyrdgates, portals, demons, wings flapping

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Favorite Book Quotes

“Libraries were full of ideas—perhaps the most dangerous and powerful of all weapons.”

“You could rattle the stars,” she whispered. “You could do anything, if only you dared. And deep down, you know it, too. That’s what scares you most.”

“No. I can survive well enough on my own— if given the proper reading material.”

“We all bear scars,… Mine just happen to be more visible than most.”

“My name is Celaena Sardothien. But it makes no difference if my name’s Celaena or Lillian or Bitch, because I’d still beat you, no matter what you call me.”

“How long was I asleep?” she whispered. He didn’t respond.
“How long was I asleep?” she asked again, and noticed a hint of red in his cheeks.
“You were asleep, too?”
“Until you began drooling on my shoulder.”

“Names are not important. It’s what lies inside of you that matters.”

“Still, the image haunted his dreams throughout the night: a lovely girl gazing at the stars, and the stars who gazed back.”

“Sometimes, the wicked will tell us things just to confuse us–to haunt our thoughts long after we’ve faced them.”

“I like music,” she said slowly, “because when I hear it, I . . . I lose myself within myself, if that makes any sense. I become empty and full all at once, and I can feel the whole earth roiling around me. When I play. I’m not . . . for once, I’m not destroying, I’m creating.”

“No matter what happens,” she said quietly, “I want to thank you.”
Chaol tilted his head to the side. “For what?”
Her eyes stung but she blamed it on the fierce wind and blinked away the dampness. “For making my freedom mean something.”

“She moaned into her pillow. “Go away. I feel like dying.”
“No fair maiden should die alone,” he said, putting a hand on hers. “Shall I read to you in your final moments? What story would you like?”
She snatched her hand back. “How about the story of the idiotic prince who won’t leave the assassin alone?”
“Oh! I love that story! It has such a happy ending, too—why, the assassin was really feigning her illness in order to get the prince’s attention! Who would have guessed it? Such a clever girl. And the bedroom scene is so lovely—it’s worth reading through all of their ceaseless banter!”

“I name you Elentiya.” She kissed the assassin’s brow. “I give you this name to use with honour, to use when other names grow too heavy. I name you Elentiya, ‘Spirit That Could Not Be Broken.”

“Of course.” He picked up the brown bag of candy on the table. “What’s your . . .” He trailed off as he weighed the bag in his hands. “Didn’t I give you three pounds of candy?”
She smiled impishly.
“You ate half the bag!”
“Was I supposed to save it?”
“I would have liked some!”
“You never told me that.”
“Because I didn’t expect you to consume all of it before breakfast!”
She snatched the bag from him and put it on the table. “Well, that just shows poor judgment on your part, doesn’t it?”

“In the garden, the Captain of the Guard stared up at the young woman’s balcony, watching as she waltzed alone, lost in her dreams.”

“We each survive in our own way.”

“As my friend, you should either bring me along, or keep me company.”
“Friend?” he asked.
She blushed. “Well, ‘scowling escort’ is a better description. Or ‘reluctant acquaintance’, if you prefer.”

“Second place is a nice title for the first loser.”

“I’m not married,” he said softly, “because I can’t stomach the idea of marrying a woman inferior to me in mind and spirit. It would mean the death of my soul.”

“Apparently, a woman can only go so long without a sword between her hands.”

“You could be great. You could rattle the stars. You could do anything if only you dared.”

“A lovely girl gazing at the stars, and the stars who gazed back.”

“He was done with politics and intrigue. He loved her, and no empire, no king, and no earthly fear would keep him from her. No, if they tried to take her from him, he’d rip the world apart with his bare hands. And for some reason, that didn’t terrify him.”

“You’re going to keep a low profile throughout the entire competition… You’re going to stay solidly in the middle, where no one will look your way, because you’re not a threat, because they’ll think that you’ll be eliminated sooner or later, and they should focus their attention on getting rid of bigger, stronger, faster champions like Cain.

“What’s the point in having a mind if you don’t use it to make judgements?”

“When she awoke every morning, she repeated the same words: I will not be afraid.”

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world.

At least, he’s not a beast all the time.

As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin – and his world – forever.