Publication: May 7th 2013 by Bloomsbury USA Children's
Source: Library Book
Goodreads Summary: "Nothing is a coincidence. Everything has a purpose. You were meant to come to this castle, just as you were meant to be an assassin."
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 Celaena 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.
Goodreads Page
My Thoughts:
*Romance spoilers*
I reeeeally didn't think I'd like this book as much as I did. If you've read my past review, you'd know that I wasn't a fan of ACOTAR. Considering the same person wrote both of these, I was guessing that I wouldn't care for ToG. I was totally wrong.
It's going to be difficult to review this without comparing it to ACOTAR since I read that one first, but ToG is so much better written than ACOTAR. All of the issues I had with the previous mentioned book were not issues in the least for this one even though they both contain some of the same elements such as Fae/faeries. I felt that the magic elements were explained well within their contexts without info-dumping or being boring. I like that it all made sense, and I'm a it-has-to-make-sense kind of reader and that definitely was fulfilled for this book while I felt it was very poorly done in ACOTAR. I haven't read a vast many fantasy books so can't compare this to other fantasy reads but I liked it plenty well enough that's for sure.
I loved Celaena. Even though I had to look on Sarah's website to figure out how to say her name (It's a bit of a pet peeve for me with having to look up how to say names but tis how it is with fantasy more often than not). She's strong (which is one my favorite things in a female protagonist) but she's real and human. She's kickbutt and kind and funny and honorable. She won't go down as my favorite female character ever but she definitely wormed her way into my heart as I read her story. I also love special-skilled/spy/assassin type of characters and am always so dumbfounded by their skills and that there are actually people like that. How do they even exist??
I loved Chaol as well. There was just something about his slight elusiveness and pretend carelessness from the beginning that caught me. The whole time I felt like he was standing just out of my reach, you know what I mean? And then in the ending when he risks so much to help Celaena, my heart was just going YES YES YES. I have no idea what the future books will bring for him, or for Dorian for that matter, and if Celaena will choose one of them or not, but let me tell you I am rooting for Chaol. I kept wanting more romance for them but it just didn't happen. My heart kept going Pls, Sarah, more Chaol-Celaena but nope.
I loved the way that both Dorian and Chaol are portrayed however with their feelings for Celaena. I feel like Pgs. 179-180 (hardcover vrsn) really demonstrates their differences and it struck me so immediately when reading it. They're both watching Celeana as she sleeps (kinda creepy sounding but not in the book) and Dorian sees her as the girl she is while Chaol sees her completely differently and sees how much she truly is an assassin. This slight love triangle gave me so many feels, and I say slight because Sarah spent quite little of the book focusing on it so don't let my raving about the romance deter you from reading it if that's not your thing.
I thought the plot was paced well with just the first couple chapters being slow for me. It took me a while to get into the flow of it but it sucked me in quite quickly. I felt there was a pretty good balance between everything going on with Celaena and with the trials that the contestants are going through. It can be difficult to get a good balance while also balancing characters' appearances and I felt Sarah did a really good job on that part.
I am so looking forward to reading the second one!
Likes: The romance! So sweet, so little-I want more! Celaena. I loved Nehemia's and Celaena's friendship. Plot paced well.
Dislikes: I can't think of any! Just wish there was more Chaol in it.
Overall:
Recommend? Yes!
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