Kaltain: is apparently terrible. Celaena hates her at first meeting, because Celaena, "hates women like that. They're so desperate for the attention of men that they would willingly betray and harm members of their own sex. And we claim men cannot think with their brains. At least men are direct about it." Aside from putting the blame for societal conditioning on the woman you are critiquing, and instead of asking how that could have happened (at one point Celaena's companion goes 'I pity [Kaltain's] servants' and Celaena says, 'I pity her father.'), the book sees no irony in Celaena saying this directly to a man. About another woman. Who she has met once. For two minutes. In a society structured oh-so-originally after medieval-ish western europe. Where we are explicitly told that the only upward mobility possible for women is by marrying high ranked men. In the second book Celaena, while working to free and/or not assassinate numerous nobles that the evil emperor/king wants assassinated, runs into Kaltain in prison, where we are helpfully informed that she is raped regularly. Celaena, being the kind-hearted woman with strength of character attested to by all the characters in the book, gives her a cloak and leaves. Also Kaltain smokes an opium pipe to get rid of her headaches, which is of course terrible. Look, book, if I thought smoking an opium pipe would help with my headaches and migraines you bet I would do it in a hot second. Don't you judge her.

Reserved, devoted to duty, honor and excellence, Captain Chaol Westfall's personal opinion of his prince's chosen Champion isn't very high. She's nothing but a convict, a murderer of countless people. She's manipulative, dishonorable, not to be trusted, soulless and devoid of humanity... right? However, as Chaol trains and guards the young assassin for the competition, he discovers that his initial opinion of the notorious Celaena Sardothien, Adarlan's Assassin, may have been hasty and unfair.

About Sarah J. Maas

Read the first book in the epic saga Time Magazine called, One of the best fantasy series of the past decade. In a land without magic, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is summoned to the castle. If she defeats twenty-three hardened warriors in a competition, she will be released from prison to serve as the King's Champion. The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle-and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to save her world. About This Edition ISBN: My problem is not (entirely) that she is a terrible fighter and an even worse assassin, though I do find it problematic that our main character is a woman and supposedly badass while continuously being shown to be bad at her job or rescued by one of the love interests. My problem with Throne of Glass and many YA novels lately is the raging epidemic of Special Woman Syndrome (shortened drastically from what I called it in my review of Defiance). Only the main woman is important. Other women can't do what she does. Much like Celaena, who says on the one hand that she hates women like Kaltain while being exactly what she accuses women like Kaltain of being while the book tells us she isn't, YA novels have a bad habit of saying "you can be special. Only you, though, because only you are like the heroine, not those other girls, who have sex and hate women. You can't trust those girls, they aren't like you. No other girls are like you. Those other girls get raped and murdered. But you're strong. You're special. You are not like other girls." The biggest problem with this book is the dual plot: the competition and the murders, which are interconnected, they don't really seem that way, which is a problem. The thing is, the book becomes somewhat convoluted with both the competition and the murders. I think the competition would have provided enough conflict. I also kind of find it strange that these soldiers, thieves and assassins wouldn't try to sabotage and kill each other off (themselves, without a prowling monster) when they each fight for their freedom. Calaena doesn't seem like the character who'd just be content with reading and training all the time, when freedom means so much to her... and that's exactly what she was doing. I really feel that Maas should have focused more on the competition, having more fights and stand-offs between the competitors rather than putting on so much focus on the grisly murders and developing the love triangle between Celaena and two romantic interests. The second problem I have with the plot is the fact that Celaena was the only female competitor. I refuse to believe that aside from her, Ansel and Nehemia, that there are no other baddass women around. In fact, it seems that aside from Nehemia and Kaltain, and a couple of other supporting females, most of the cast of characters are male. I demand more female characters!

Celaena is likable, mostly. More so than the average lead. If a little wishy-washy both on her choice of romantic partner and just her general day-to-day attitude. Leads like this have a tendency to not really be multi-dimensional, so much as script flipping. One moment they're brash and mouthy and the next they're blushing like a delicate belle. That's just something I've come to expect though, whenever an author is attempting to craft what they see as a 'strong female' character. Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas is a complex and engrossing fantasy epic that ultimately triumphs, despite its slow start, earning a laudable 4.5-star rating. Queen Elena: ancient half-fae queen known for her beauty and grace and purity and stuff. There's really not much else to say aside from a side-eye of yet another stereotypical queen trope. Oh, did I mention she is also super pale and blonde and beautiful. She and Nehemia would probably wrestle for the presidency of the Celaena Sardothien fanclub, were Elena corporeal. I guess they can now, SINCE THEY'RE BOTH DEAD. Celaena, with her formidable skills and biting wit, is a riveting protagonist. The depth of her character unfolds gradually, revealing a mix of vulnerability and tenacity that is both relatable and admirable. Her journey from enslaved assassin to a formidable player in the game of thrones is compelling and filled with unexpected twists.

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Dorian & Chaol. The Crown Prince and his Captain of the Guard. A reader and a warrior. The best of friends. Both fascinated with the same girl. A very, very dangerous girl. No summary of the plot that I could write would accurately show just how awesome this story is. There is action and mystery and the supernatural. There is a love story ... sort of. It's pretty subtle at this point in the story. This is a story of survival as well as a story of a society which is potentially at the dawn of a new age. This is the story of a girl who has gotten by in this life by taking care of herself and herself alone for the most part, but who finds herself letting her guard down enough to find friendship and companionship. There are so many things to like about this story. I think I'll boil all of it down to these things: Celaena is as much an epic hero as Frodo or Jon Snow!”—Tamora Pierce, New York Times bestselling author on HEIR OF FIRE I agree completely with Lisa that Nehemia was just as amazing! Nehemia provided Caelena with a friend and confidant and I loved their friendship. Once they learned to trust each other, they were unstoppable!

Even the villains were perfect! Kane, Princess Kaltain and The King were so unlikable and despicable and I loved to hate them! In a land without magic, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is summoned to the castle. If she defeats twenty-three hardened warriors in a competition, she will be released from prison to serve as the King's Champion.I also completely adored Nehemia and her strength and smarts. This girl had willpower only comparable to Calaena's. That's right, you read it correctly... TWO amazingly strong heroines to take part in this story!

I like music," she said slowly, "because when I hear it, I . . . I lose myself within myself, if that makes any sense. I become empty and full all at once, and I can feel the whole earth roiling around me. When I play. I'm not . . . for once, I'm not destroying, I'm creating.”

With all the guy "team" talk I've seen, I had no idea which way I would go with this one... but I'm totally Team Choal. There's just something about him I really enjoyed. Maybe his total unwillingness to accept his feelings for Calaena, or maybe how protective and strong her came off. Either way, he was totally *SWOON* in my opinion! There is one thing you need to do before you read Throne of Glass and that is: read the prequels. If you do, you'll have met the main character and understand what she's gone through much better. Simply dazzles. . . . The clamor for a sequel will be deafening.”—Starred review, Booklist on A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES