Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas – The Book I Wish I Had Read Sooner

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Hiya! Kicking off 2025 with the TOG series!

It took some convincing to get me to pick up this series. I started with ACOTAR instead of TOG, like most people. So far I find the series interesting, but I’m only one book in and have a feeling things are about to really start getting crazy. 

Please also note that I have chosen to read this series in the romantic order. Which is essentially just swapping Throne of Glass and The Assassin’s Blade vs. reading them in the published order. 

So let’s dive right in!

Goodreads / Storygraph

“I name you Elentiya.” She kissed the assassin’s brow. “I give you this name to use with honour, to use when other names grow too heavy. I name you Elentiya, ‘Spirit That Could Not Be Broken.”

Summary

In a world where magic has been banished and a tyrant king determined to keep it away, an assassin is summoned. She does not come to kill the King, but to win her freedom in a competition against twenty-three other deadly assassins, criminals, and thieves. 

If she can beat them and serve the crown, she will eventually be granted her freedom. But with a charming prince, a thorn in her side, Captain of the Guard, and an evil looming within the castle walls, our main character, Celaena, has a lot of obstacles. 

But there is more to Celaena than meets the eye. 

Thoughts on the Plot

The plot starts off fairly slow and pretty straightforward. Celaena is going to do her best to win the competition and eventually win her freedom. 

But things start to go a little sideways when ghosts decide to use Celaena to find the root of evil within the castle walls. 

Despite having battles of both the supernatural and real to defeat, Celaena finds herself trying to just get through the day. 

The plot drags a bit but as the competition lessens, Celanea finds more time to focus on actually figuring out what is going on. 

It was a bit obvious if you read between the lines. I had a semi-solid idea of what was happening formed before Celaena even became to try figuring it out. 

The competition is also seriously lacking. What is it with all the trials being described as deadly and then actually just being kinda…tame?

These are apparently assassins and criminals and thieves and yet one of their trials is literally to play darts with knives? 

Okay. 

There was a bit of romance too, but the YA romance actually stays YA, which is nice. The love triangle that started to form felt a little weird and clunky. 

To be honest, I kind of wished there was no romance at all. The fantasy aspects and maybe some horror-esque aspects.

It just fell kinda flat and didn’t pick up until the second half. By which point things became to come a little too easily for Celaena. 

Thoughts on the Characters

Let’s start with Celaena. Our barely eighteen-year-old assassin with a bad memory, enough trauma to last her a lifetime, and a desire to finally get a good night’s rest. 

Celaena is in need of a character arc. She is very flawed. There are a lot of things about her that make her character feel a little unbelievable. Like her being the most famous/notorious assassin despite her age. 

I do like that she is flawed and, despite her past, still appreciates a beautiful gown. 

Then there is Choal Westfall. Who I pronounce as “Coal”. 

He’s this gruff and grumpy character who really needs to lighten up. I have no idea how old Choal is supposed to be but he comes off as early 20s. 

I wanted a little more depth to Choal, but he felt very married to his work. 

Then there is Prince Dorian. A big flirt with gorgeous blue eyes. 

I found I quite enjoyed the torture Dorian put himself through and his inner turmoil. Especially when it came to his father. 

The King, whose only personality trait seems to be intimidating. 

The guest of the castle, Princess Nehemia, is an interesting character. I liked her friendship with Celaena and the role she plays as the story continues on. 

Kaltain felt like a waste of a character. When she wasn’t complaining about her headaches, fawning over Dorian, or plotting with Perrington (who I imagine as an older redheaded man whose overweight with yellow teeth), she just kind of got on my nerves. 

Also, does Hollin eventually come home and torture everyone? 

Overall Thoughts

To be honest, I’m kind of glad I read this book first. It was a nice introduction to the series and while I am sure there is a ton more to be expanded on, this is a nice start. 

The banter between Celaena and Dorian 100% had me giggling and I also 100% teared up when Nehemia gives Celaena the Ellwye name of Elentiya.

It just pulled on my heartstrings. What can I say?

I’d give Throne of Glass 4 stars out of 5 stars. Although 3.5 out of 5 is probably end up being the final rating as I continue on with the series. 

While I liked this book, I did want more. A lot of aspects that could have been done well ended up feeling rather lackluster. 

Have you read TOG? If so, are you reading them in the traditionally published order or “romantic” reading order? 

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