Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas {Yomna's Review}

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

My rating: 4.5/5

“And so, struggling and shaking, Celaena stood.”

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Incredible, incredible read. Truly amazing. Where has this book been all my life?

I'm actually kind of disappointed in myself for not reading this sooner because it's such a great read and I love romantic fantasy so I should've read this book ages ago. I don't know why I just didn't like the cover. It just looked like one of those pointless reads with 16 books in a series that you read on the airport. Did anyone else get that vibe? 

Anyways, I'm probably not going to be the best critic in this review because of the amount of love I have for this book. 

Torn: so I'm rating this book 4.5/5 because I don't think it's deserving of a 5/5 since it didn't make me cry, but at the same time this book was pretty epic so I'm not sure. I know this is only the beginning of the series, and as SJM progresses it will probably get better, so I'm hoping this series will give me some 5/5s. 

Without any further ado, let's get started. 

In the beginning: this book hooked me from the first chapter. And that rarely ever happens but SJM just really gets to the point and doesn't waste time. This one is a real ride from beginning to end. 

Bad ass main character: so I'm a really big feminist, so I always love having a bad ass main character who happens to be female. It makes girls feel empowered because they can relate more. Celaena Sardothien is nothing short of a well-written character, and though I can hardly relate to her situation, I can definitely relate to her mind. 

Girls can be powerful and inspire change too (and we have seen countless examples in the real world) and it's time to see some representation of that in the books we read. 

Love of reading: I remember back in 6th grade when I read Matilda and I loved it because I could relate to Matilda's love for reading so much. This book, same thing, except you can relate to two characters in the book, not just one. They are, of course, Celaena, and Dorian. Reading is one of my favorite activities and I love to see that in books. I relate to the kind of books Celaena would read more than I relate to Dorian's (I bet he reads biographies) because I love a good romance. 

The love of reading that the characters demonstrate in this book made me love the book just that much more. 

Romance: I've read only one other SJM book, and that is A Court of Thorns and Roses, so I expected this book to be a lot steamier than it was. I think we will see more romance in the next books, but the romance in this book was still well written. The anticipation for the kissing scene between Celaena and Dorian was killing me and when it finally happened, I could not have been more satisfied. It was amazing. 

I think we can all tell that there is some romantic tension between Chaol and Celaena and I have no doubt that there will be a love triangle. I know that Celaena said she wanted to be free from any commitments, but I think she won't be able to resist. I am Team Dorian. I love a prince in a story and he said he loved her so I think they could have a really lovely love story. Celaena would make a great queen, she's seen the innocents suffer and could inspire great change. And I just think that the relationship between Celaena and Dorian is adorable. 

Period encounter: I have read a great amount of YA books, and I had yet to encounter one where there is representation of periods. Honestly, cramps are an issue that girls and women have to deal with, and I don't enjoy YA books trying to sidestep it. It's just part of the female experience. This is why I was delighted when Celaena was on her period in this book so you could see two males' reaction to it. Chaol just ran away, embarrassed, and I still don't quite understand why guys do that. Dorian said that it wasn't that bad and implied that she was exaggerating, which might have been insulting if I didn't feel he had good intentions. Anyways, I found that encounter hilarious. 

Nehemia: her name is amazing! SJM is definitely good at picking names for her characters. Nehemia is such a great character. Again, girl power! She's so strong and graceful and just a wonderful best friend for Celaena. I feel she added a lot to the story. 

Humor: this book deals with a lot of dark themes, but despite that, you still see some great humor. Celaena herself is hilarious, every interaction that she had with Chaol or Dorian is just so lively and funny. I just love that. 

The world, Elena, Cain: this is a book where the world-building could have gone completely wrong. And that is because this book moves really fast so the world building could've been ridiculously rushed. Thankfully, SJM builds the world masterfully, adding a little bit more magic, depth, and wonder as the story progresses. A+ world building. 

Elena: so when she says that 'blood ties can't be broken', that leads me to believe that Celaena might in fact be, a magical being, or some kind of queen. We will definitely be finding out more in the next book and I'm really excited. 

Cain: villain of the story. He's horrible. SJM writes him well and he is undoubtedly a character you LOVE to HATE. 

Really enjoyed reading this book as it surprised me in many ways. Fascinating read, and worth the time!!! Looking forward to progressing in this series soon. 

Love,

Yomna