Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This review will have some minor spoilers. The version of "Throne of Glass" that I read is the violet cover with Celaena holding weapons at her side. This is important because to understand the rating, I need to discuss the cover. "Throne of Glass" is marketed as a YA Fantasy, specifically to fans of "Game of Thrones" and "Hunger Games." The premise is that Celaena, an 18-year-old assassin, is given the chance to become the king's Champion. If she defeats all the other opponents, she'll serve the king for four years and have her sins forgiven and forgotten. If she loses, she returns to the deadly Salt Mines to finish out her life sentence. This book was recommended to me by my 14-year-old niece. She raved about it, and specifically about the love triangle. I'm a sucker for a well-written triangle, so I took a glance at the cover and premise and decided to give it a shot. First, this took me WEEKS to slog through. Initially it was just the author's writing style. By no means is it bad, but several phrases and contradictions stuck me from the beginning, so I unfortunately only became more critical the more I read. And it was easy to be so critical because the story completely failed to deliver on its marketed promises. To be clear, I don't mind when a book is one thing but turns out to be another. That's the marketing game. But this is recommended--ON THE COVER--to fans of "Hunger Games" and "Game of Thrones". Even the name, "Throne of Glass," is a failed promise. The comparison novels have intricate worlds, a lot of depth, a ton of secrecy and lies, and both make statements on the world as it is today. GoT makes all sorts of statements on modern day politics, while HG makes statements about the darker world of celebrities. They have themes. They have deep, intriguing characters. They have surprises and several unexpected moments. "Throne of Glass" has NONE of that. It's not a YA Fantasy, it's a YA Fantasy Romance. The romance and Celaena is the meat and potatoes of this story. Things the marketing promises to deliver: - A deadly competition - A wildly skilled assassin - Deep, intricate worldbuilding - Some form of a love story - a throne of glass, either physical or metaphorical Things the book actually delivers: - A bratty female main character that the two main men fall for, and for NO clear reason - Celaena's self-absorbed nature and volatile temper - Celaena's obsession with being pretty - Celaena dallying with both the prince and the Captain of the Guard with zero regard for how this could affect her life, WHICH SHE IS SUPPOSEDLY FIGHTING FOR - a predictable "political plot" that is barely touched on - ALMOST NOTHING ABOUT THE COMPETITION - ALMOST NOTHING ABOUT CELAENA'S SKILLS AS AN ASSASSIN - a cliché deus ex machina ending to the competition - false tension in a romantic triangle that is so clearly predicting who she ends up with (seriously, if it's not Dorian, I'll eat all of my shoes) - the most predictable cliché of a female lead I've ever read published - ABSOLUTELY NO REFERENCE TO THE TITLE. THERE IS NO THRONE OF GLASS. THE THRONE IS NOT MADE OF GLASS, AND IT IS NOT IN A FRAGILE OR PRECARIOUS POSITION, BECAUSE THE KING IS CLEARLY SECURE AND IN ABSOLUTE CONTROL. Celaena is every fanfic writer's self-insert, only this is an original novel. She's "strong". She's "tough." She's suffered unimaginable hardship, which only affects her when the reader has probably forgotten that she's suffered, so the author inserts them just to remind us. All the important men fall for her, everyone respects or fears or loves her. The only person who doesn't do any of those things is the king, and he's such a one-note, predictable cardboard cutout of every abusive dad in a position of power that it's incredibly boring to drag yourself through the scenes he's in. This kills me, because the concept was SO GOOD. I was legitimately excited to start, but the letdown was so immense that I was planning this review before I reached the halfway point. I usually only get time to read during lunch at work, lately, but I avoided it for much of this novel because it was such a bore. Obviously, Ms. Maas has a talent for reaching her audience, because this book is wildly popular. But it fails on every basic level of delivering a premise. It's abhorrently awful how misleading this story's marketing is compared to what it is on the inside. I felt CHEATED for reading this novel. I was expecting at least something of the competition, but we get MAYBE three detailed instances, and the rest is glossed over in favor of Celaena's ego. There is NO depth to her character, NO depth to any of the villains, and the rest are so unbearably predictable that literally the only thing that surprised me was Dorian's inaction toward the end. That is the ONLY surprise in this novel. Cain? Laughably predictable in his actions and motivations. Kaltain? Flatter than the cardboard of a cereal box. Dorian? Read easier than a first-grade homework assignment. Celaena, Chaol, the king, Perrington--all bland, forgettable characters. It is so, so incredibly difficult to pull off a believable love triangle, and this novel fails that, too. I'm notoriously picky about those, but this was as transparent as "Hunger Games" or "Twilight"--that the love triangle is there to give Celaena emotional conflict. Which is ridiculous, because in this case, there was so much more potential! And NONE of it was touched on! This is actually a book I hate the idea of giving it such a low rating, but this basically LIED to the readers to get their attention. The fact it worked means it's successful, but it burns me that I, as a reader, was basically tricked into reading a story that was wildly different than was promised, and ALSO failed to deliver on 95% of those promises. I don't blame the author, but good lord, I can't in good faith recommend this to anyone, either. Summary: the cover is a lie. The premise is a lie. The characters are boring. The plot is almost nonexistent. Celaena is one of the most painful clichés I've ever read. Do not recommend to anyone who likes either "Game of Thrones" or "Hunger Games."