"Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass is the first book in a very popular YA fantasy series by Sarah J. Maas. Earlier this year I read the first book in another fantasy series by this author and was underwhelmed by both the plot and the writing. However, Throne of Glass seems to have much better reviews and a lot of readers really like it so I decided to give it a go. The main character is a young assassin named Celaena who has been sentenced to work in salt mines and that is where we meet her in the very beginning of the story. The King of the land decides to hold a competition and choose a champion to do his bidding. The Crown Prince tracks down the famous assassin and promises her freedom if she wins the competition and serves the King for four years. Celaena feels she was made an offer she could not possibly refuse.

First of all, let's talk about our main character Celaena. I loved her. She is smart, sassy, fiercely independent, an impossible flirt and she is lethal. She sort of reminded me of Rose from the Vampire Academy. I also thought she acted her age which was really refreshing. A lot of times in YA characters seem way too mature to me. I was not that mature when I was 17-18 years old. Making mistakes is part of being young and I like to read about characters who act their age.

In terms of the overall story line, I thought the plot was quite interesting with unexpected twists. I liked the supernatural/fantastical elements of the world. The book is very fast-paced and easy to read. I literally flew through it. The world is definitely not as complex as in some high fantasy novels (e.g. A Game of Thrones), but I also don't think that was the author's intent. This book was just exactly what I needed when I read it, and I really enjoyed it. Needless to say, I will continue with the series. I hear the series gets better with each subsequent book. This was a 5 out 5 stars read for me.