“To protect the House of Havilliard's reputation and for her safety, Celaena was made to assume another identity throughout her training for the title of Royal Champion, she became Lillian Gordaina: a spoiled daughter of a rich merchant and jewel thief extraordinaire. In addition to assuming another identity, Celaena was ordered to play average on tests to avoid suspicion from other champions and their sponsors, after all her reputation precedes her and springing her from Endovier will certainly cause problems for Prince Dorian. Celaena struggled with this because she takes pride in being The Celaena Sardothien and it was challenging for her to pretend defeat and take the other champions' mockery.
Reeling from the events in the prequels, especially the heartbreaking ending of The Assassin and the Empire, I started THRONE OF GLASS filled with sorrow and bloodlust in Celaena's behalf. Here we meet a very vulnerable but unbroken Celaena. Gone is the over confident girl we met in the prequels, she's still lethal but her edge has been tempered by her loss and horrible experience in the Endovier salt mines. Grieving and in denial that she and Sam was betrayed by someone close to them, Celaena hardly resembles her former sharper self.
Here's a lesson for you, Weapons Master. Give me real men to fight. Then maybe I'll bother trying.
Even if I'm craving for the Assassin, I still love the soulful Celaena. I like her character growth, the heart that she showed to balance her jagged edges, the grace she exhibited despite the difficulties. It's so easy for Celaena to spiral down, be vindictive and bitter but I love how she still found reasons to laugh and show gratefulness for what she have and not dwell on what she lost. It was these dark-to-light contrast that SJMaas did that made Celaena even more endearing to me. Dorian and Chaol also proved to be wonderful distractions to our fallen heroine, they gave her joy and hope plus Celaena finally found a friend and a powerful ally in Princess Nehemia Ytger of Eyllwe.
What's the point in having a mind if you don't use it to make judgments?What's the point in having a heart if you don't use it to spare others from the harsh judgments of your mind?
I like the brand of romance SJMaas used in THRONE OF GLASS, there's no insta-love and even if there's the staple love triangle, it was far from a tug-of-war rather it's a classic case of passive-agressiveness between Dorian, Celaena and Chaol. I can't help but get invested in this three-point entanglement especially when you add a scheming and ambitious courtesan like Lady Kaltain Rompier in the mix. Kaltain's character was well-written, she's evil and it's hard not to hate her especially when she's always looking for ways to get Dorian's attention at the expense of Celaena.
THRONE OF GLASS was compared to Game of Thrones (Song of Fire and Ice) but to me it felt more like Lord of the Rings than the George R.R. Martin series with fae thrown in the mix. I'm certain that those of you who have read the novel first before the prequels will disagree with me but I love the main idea of the novellas with its straightforward Guild of Assassins and the Underground world filled with rivalries and politicking power players where trust is a commodity and respect is garnered through fear. I love magic but in this case, I rather it remained an urban legend than a reality.
"No matter what happens," she said quietly, "I want to thank you."
Chaol tilted his head to the side. "For what?"
Her eyes stung, but she blamed it on the fierce wind and blinked away the dampness. "For making my freedom mean something."
But despite my very subjective pondering, I truly, madly, deeply love this book! SJMaas created a well thought out plot designed to keep us invested in the characters. I felt extreme emotions throughout the stories from wrath, to hate, love, amusement and fear, rolling off together into this big snowball of zealousness for Celaena Sardothien's life I can't get enough of it. My thirst for vindication for Sam's death is still intense but I'm also happy to read Celaena's fate change and hopefully when she finally faces Arobynn, they'll be in equal footing.”
Braine wrote this review Thursday, September 13, 2012.
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