It was January 2018 when I first read Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. I did it the other way around, I first read A Court of Thorns and Roses (and loved it!) before I dove into this series. I attempted to reread the entire series before, but I somehow neglected that project. Now, Throne of Glass was a monthly read in a Discord server I’m in, so the perfect excuse to pick it up and reread it! And I loved it as much as I did the first time around!

About the book

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass #1
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing on August 7, 2012
Pages: 406
ISBN: 9781599906959
Genres: Adult, Fantasy

The first book in New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas’s sweeping fantasy saga – now available in hardcover with a new look to match the series
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 she 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.

My review

The first time I read this book, I read it in Dutch, my native language. I didn’t feel confident back then to pick it up in English. The only books I have read in English from the series at the time were Kingdom of Ash and The Assassin’s Blade. The translation of the final book took so long that I couldn’t wait anymore, I wanted to know how the story would continue. Plus, the novellas hadn’t been translated at all just yet. However, I still had a desire to read the entire series in English. So, I got myself the audiobooks years ago, and here I went!

I think the best part of this book is the transformation of Celaena. She starts out as a slave, who has endured a lot of bad things. Throughout the book, we see her developing more into the assassin she used to be before she was locked up in the salt mines as punishment. This growth was definitely through the help of both Dorian and Chaol, two very important supportive characters. And of course, let’s not forget about another supportive character, Nehemia. You already know that there is something going on here, but you only get small hints of it just yet. However, some supportive characters, who are actually antagonists, give away some details already. I didn’t like the supporting characters except the ones I have mentioned before. They played an important role in the story, even more than you think so at first sight.

Since this book has been published in 2012, it makes it the authors first published book. I already knew her capabilities as an author, because I have read A Court of Thorns and Roses first. So, I had to remember that this one is a little bit older. However, the writing was already good back then, the potential Was already visible. No wonder why Maas has become the author she is now, because the talent was already visible at a young age. I heard people say they have trouble with the changing of POV, but I don’t mind this at all as it’s all clear for me. Also, it’s providing me bits and pieces of information I actually love to receive in order to fit the puzzle pieces.

We all know the plot for this book, right? Celaena is competing to become the queens champion and therefore to be finally free again. This competition is a very interesting part and takes up most of the book. However, underneath there is more. Because why are champions Getting missing? What’s going on here? And why are there so many strange marks everywhere? It’s time for our main characters to find out and this already shows that there is so much more to this series than you actually think when you start the first book. I was completely sucked in again and I really enjoyed rereading this first novel! It’s still as intriguing as six years ago.

As you can see, I really enjoyed my reread of Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. I intend to continue rereading the entire series this year through the audiobooks which are narrated by Elizabeth Evans, but I am not too sure when I will pick up the next book. Why? Because the author is releasing a new book at the end of the month, and I don’t want to have an overkill! However, rereading this series is actually a really good choice!