Bel and Krista Review: Sarah J. Maas's - Throne of Glass
How do you judge a really good book? Is it the way it resonates with you and changes you in some way come the last word on the final page? Is it the way the world falls away while you’re reading it and nothing can stop you from turning the pages? Is it when you lovingly add it to the pile of books you WILL reread until the book falls apart?
For me Throne of Glass is all of the above and more. My hubby was incredibly embarrassed when I refused to leave the book at home and was reading while we were grocery shopping. (Sorry to the people I accidentally ran into in the store that night.)
I was reading the uncorrected proof of this epically engaging tale of strength, so the cover art isn’t the finished version, but it is pretty close. On the proof, we have an icy blue backdrop and the shadow of Celaena stalking toward us. On the finished paperback book we have the artist’s rendering of Celaena in some seriously awesome clothes and deadly looking weapons out the wazoo.
I’ll grab the blurb from goodreads.com, so I don’t give away anything the publishers don’t want you to know until you pick up the book… and you know, I think you should.
Celaena Sardothien is a daredevil assassin with unrivalled fighting skills. After a year’s hard labour in the salt mines of the kingdom of Adarlan, Celaena is offered her freedom on one condition—she must fight as handsome Prince Dorian’s champion in a contest sponsored by the king, facing the deadliest thieves and assassins in the land in a series of set-piece battles in the country’s stunning glass palace. But there is more at stake than even her life—for Celaena is destined for a remarkable future…
I was in awe of the world building Sarah has worked so hard on; I was enchanted with thoughts of entire castles made from glass and the gentle way the seasons turned. The clock tower sounds rather foreboding, and who doesn’t love the thought of exploring a long forgotten part of a castle?
The characters were well developed and I think Celeana will become one of the best heroines of 2012.
The theme of the book is strength. You don’t have to have rippling muscles to be the strongest person. There is strength of morals, strength of will, courage is a type of strength and so is making the difficult decisions even if they go against every fiber of your being. All Celaena wants is her freedom, but is she strong enough?
If you like Jaqueline Carey’s Kushiel series, Rowena Cory Daniell’s King Rowland’s Kin and the T’en series, then you will seriously love this book. I recommend reading it while the weather is cooler so you feel even more a part of the story, not that you won’t get sucked in even in the repressive heat of summer.
This will definitely be on my top 5 list of best books of the year.
Will it make your top 5?
http://sjmaas.livejournal.com/
Paperback, 404 pages
Expected publication: August 2nd 2012 by Bloomsbury
ISBN 140883233X (ISBN13: 9781408832332)
