Discussion: Throne of Glass

I don’t particularly like reviewing books by my favourite authors. It is a personal thing, I always find that I struggle not to gush the entire time, so I always opt out of putting out a formal review – it doesn’t stop me from talking about the books a lot though! I love Sarah J Maas. If you have been following me for a while, you will know I have had such a weird relationship with the Throne of Glass series.

I have struggled reading this series. When I initially read it, I enjoyed the first two, liked the third, didn’t enjoy the fourth and then never continued the series. I remember trying to read the fifth and failing. I left it alone for a while, read A Court of Thorns and Roses loved it and have read that series multiple times. So, I tried the Throne of Glass series again, and the same thing happened – I stopped after book four.

It has now been a couple of years since I last attempted to read the books. Looking back, I was in a huge reading slump when I last tried to read them and I definitely was not in the right head space to be reading such a large fantasy series. I am now, however, in a much better head space and actually really enjoying fantasy again! I have repurchased the series and I am determined to read the whole book series. Because I was not in the right place the last time I read it and it has been a few years, I remember virtually nothing about these books, so I really do feel like I am going in fresh.

I thought I would start a little series on my blog, where I have a discussion post for all of the books in the series – what made me lose interest the first and second time? What am I enjoying this time? etc. These aren’t going to be reviews, more just information dumps about the books and seeing if I am going to grow to enjoy the series or just discuss why I can’t seem to enjoy this series. I think I am going to make these discussion posts contain spoilers which will be the main difference in these posts compared to my reviews.

At time of writing the first half of this post, I am on Chapter 32, which is just over half way through and I will return to writing the second half of this post with my spoiler-filled thoughts once I have finished this novel; so if you haven’t read Throne of Glass and don’t want any spoilers, I would stop reading now.

“Nothing is a coincidence. Everything has a purpose. You were meant to come to this castle, just as you were meant to be an assassin.”

When magic has gone from the world, and a vicious king rules from his throne of glass, an assassin comes to the castle. She does not come to kill, but to win her freedom. If she can defeat twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition to find the greatest assassin in the land, she will become the King’s Champion and be released from prison.

Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her.

And a princess from a foreign land will become the one thing Celaena never thought she’d have again: a friend.

But something evil dwells in the castle—and it’s there to kill. When her competitors start dying, horribly, one by one, Celaena’s fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival—and a desperate quest to root out the source of the evil before it destroys her world.

It’s been a couple of days, though of course not for you guys. I’ve finished the novel and the one thought that I keep thinking about is how much Sarah J Maas’ writing style has developed and matured. Just before rereading Throne of Glass, I had just reread A Court of Thorns and Roses and I think them both being the first novels in their series – it was really easy to compare the writing styles. Throne of Glass was Maas’ debut novel and after reading a lot of her other novels and returning to this one, it is quite obvious. It was something I wasn’t expecting and was a little jarring at first. It didn’t take long to adjust and it was still enjoyable and still wonderfully written, but I think it is also a credit to how much Sarah J Maas has come with her writing.

Another thing that I noted straight away that was a little unexpected, and completely stupid on my part, I had forgotten how many names Celaena has! In this novel she has the name Celaena Sardothien, Lillian Gordaina and Elentiya – and one of the things I do remember from the upcoming novels is that she is going to get a couple more names!

I did still really enjoy the novel. I have mentioned before that I started to struggle with the series at around the book three mark; book one was never one I had any trouble with. I had forgotten a lot though. I somehow completely forgot about the whole King’s Champion thing, which is of course what this whole book follows.

I found the tasks really interested and I particularly liked the interactions that Celaena and Nox had during the trials. With their interactions, I think you can really start to see Celaena’s confidence and her kindness too. She knew that she would beat Nox, but also continued to look out for his safety, which she didn’t need to do – particularly with her title as the assassin. I think this is the early signs of her showing some leadership skills and selfishness.

Another thing that did also continue from the first time I read it, is that I really don’t like the relationship between Dorian and Celaena. I personally cannot see the chemistry between the two of them. It always felt like Dorian lusted over Celaena and Celaena went along with it because she was bored. I could never see a genuine connection with the two of them, and I am glad that at the end of the novel it ended.

One relationship I do like, however, is the one between Celaena and Chaol Westfall. I loved their moments together during this novel, though nothing really happens between the two of them, you can really tell the two of them care for each other. For me, there is a much more obvious connection and chemistry between Celaena and Chaol rather than Celaena and Dorian. I am really looking forward to watching their relationship develop in the next novel.

Going back to Sarah J Maas’ writing style – I know I’m a little all over the place. I love how there are so many smaller plots all leading up to one big plot. Like the smaller narratives between Kalyan, Duke Perrington and the King of Adarlan. I do remember that there is something about the rings and headaches that come to later on in the series- but I cannot remember what. I am also interested in the Wyrdmarks and how this ties to the Duke and the King; and the loss of magic.

Speaking of Wyrdmarks – I am really interested in learning more about these in the next few books. I am also interested in Nehemia’s involvement – is she going to teach Celaena how to use them? Or just inform her more about them? I love their interactions together. I think Nehemia is a wonderful character – a great influence on Celaena and how devoted she is to her country and her people.

I am currently waiting for my copy of Crown of Midnight to arrive, and I can’t wait for it to get here so I can continue the series. It’s actually really refreshing to feel this way about the Throne of Glass series, because for so long I haven’t wanted to continue reading the series. Until it arrives though, you will find me reading Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood. I’m currently 100 pages in and I am stunned by the story already. I don’t know why, but I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it so much, especially already!

What did you think of the discussion post? Is this something I should continue throughout the series, or leave it at just this one? Let me know!

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