Are you familiar with Sarah J Maas?
I recently plunged into her Throne of Glass YA series after a recommendation from a friend, and have zero regrets.
The last YA series I read was The Raven Cycle—a phenomenal series—in May of last year. I’m a big fan of YA, though I haven’t read the genre in some time. In fact, the first book I wrote was a YA Fantasy. I was passionate about the genre and wanted to write a story that would have appealed to my teenage self.
After 5 re-writes (maybe more 😬), I put the story to rest. A couple of years later, I moved to the romance genre, but my love for YA never abated.
Throne of Glass was recommended to me by my friend, Katina. Thanks, girl!
I devoured the first two books in the series over the course of a week and curbed my trigger-happy finger from purchasing the five subsequent books and prequel novella. Although my husband and I are very lenient with our money when it comes to purchasing books—we’re both bibliophiles—I held back. After all, I have five other books waiting to be read, sitting on my bedside table.
Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight were a delight to read. Fast-paced and action-packed, I didn’t mind that I correctly guessed the first couple of plot twists. Maas does a fantastic job of leaving the right clues for her readers to catch and builds on the anticipation of your knowledge over the protagonist’s oblivion.
I enjoyed both books, but I did find I liked the first better.
As I left my reviews for each book, I learned not everyone shared my viewpoint. Scrolling to see what others had to say, I was taken aback to see such harsh opinions of the characters being dealt out.
Our Maas’s characters perfect? No. Of course not. They’re flawed and they’ll most certainly get on your nerves for making the wrong decisions. However, those bad choices and wrong decisions are what will make their eventual growth so satisfying. Or so I assume.
💁♀️
But that’s just this author’s humble opinion. Check out my quickfire review of Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight below.
When was the last time you read a YA book?
Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness.
In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, Celaena, an assassin, is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is 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 of glass—and it’s there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena’s fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.
From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Bold, daring, and lethal, assassin Celaena Sardothien won the brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.
Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.
Then, an unspeakable tragedy shatters Celaena’s world. She must decide once and for all where her loyalties lie . . . and whom she will fight for.
Purchase either book here!
Cheers,
Rebecca