Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas

Throne of Glass 

by Sarah J. Maas 

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom. Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best. Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

(summary from goodreads.com)

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I had heard a lot of good things about this book - one of my favorite book blogs even claimed it was their favorite book of 2012 and I had loved a lot of the same books she had. So I started this with some pretty healthy expectations - I expected a strong no-nonsense heroine, able to win her own battles, dealing with a fairly large amount of baggage, but able to struggle through it to not only survive but thrive. I was disappointed. Celeana was NOT the Katniss/Katsa/Yelena mix that I was hoping for. She was kind of shallow, annoyingly cocky (rather than charmingly cocky, I can deal with that), worried about boys/clothes much more than I thought her character in that situation should, and frankly I didn't like her all that much. She was so girlie! There is a time and place for girlie girls (Evie, for instance, is adorable in Kiersten White's series) but I didn't feel that this was it. She is an expert assassin, watched her family brutally murdered, and spent a year in a death mining camp. I expected her to be a little more focused on the serious things of life, not worried about who she would dance with. Has anyone read this book and had a different opinion? Please tell me why! I really wanted to like this book more than I did. I also thought it was a bit heavy handed at times hinting at things, but then never got around to saying it. Do you REALLY think we don't know Celeana's family was royalty? It's obvious, please just come out and SAY IT. If it's a huge reveal in the next book I might throw the book across the room for a bit. Which means, yes, I will probably read the next book. Sometimes new authors need to warm up a little bit, and I am prepared to give Sarah Maas a chance. I really liked a few of her characters (Nehemia and Chaol) and there was a lot of promise in the book. We'll see if the promise is delivered ...

(September 2013 addendum - I reread this book in preparation for the 2nd and liked it a LOT more. Rather than be disappointed by what I found lacking in Celeana, since I already KNEW what Celeana was like I could appreciate the contrasts in her character and enjoy the story more. A much better read the second time around ... )
 

Mom note: As a mother of readers, I also want to make a note to myself (and others if they care) why I would or would not have my children read this book, because honestly, sometimes I forget. This is a YA book, so everything is within YA strictures. Violence: yes, moderate, several grisly deaths and brutal fights. Profanity: none. Sex: mild discussions, some making out.