Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (Mini Book Review)

Title: Throne of Glass
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's
Release Date: August 7, 2012
Format: ARC (signed by the author!)
Source: ALA (American Library Association Conference)
Buy It: Amazon
Add It: Goodreads

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 kings 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.

Let this be known... Throne of Glass is my very first epic fantasy! After meeting Sarah at ALA, I came home really excited to read it. She's so nice, and I had fun chatting with her. And seriously? Epic fantasy? Wow! I'm becoming so versatile that I'm surprising myself! I'm totally a convert to the genre, though, and I think this was a great way for me to enter in. I'm loving the glass castle, deadly secrets, hardcore assassin vibe happening with this book, and I can't wait to see where this series goes. 

I really loved the story, and all the elements that went with it: magic, romance, suspense, politics, mystery, a glass castle, an assassin, hidden identities, mythology, fairies, demons, crazy creatures, fight scenes, secret passageways, a handsome prince, a mysterious captain of the guards, a love triangle, pretty dresses, a masquerade ball, a princess from another land, a fight for survival, an amulet, a freezing winter, portals to another world, and scheming, all wrapped up into an exciting package with beautiful writing.

Celaena is awesome. She's extremely dynamic and exciting, not to mention mysterious. She's like this wolf in sheep's clothing, and I loved watching her surprise people. Oh, and she loves candy. Like, a lot. Actually, she loves all food. It's a unique trait that we don't see very often in young adult fiction. She also has the ability to really soften people up with her charm, especially Captain Chaol, who wanted to dislike her but ended up really enjoying her company. And then there's Dorian, who turned into a puddle of mush around her. The love triangle with these three was so much fun, and I had a really hard time deciding on which guy I liked the best. 

Really, this book had everything I could ask for, and I loved the glimpse I got into this magical world. I'm left a little speechless, which is why my review is so short. I can't wait to see what the future holds for this author, and the Throne of Glass series. Oh, and now I'm off to get the 4 prequels to this book that were released before its publication date.