Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas

Goodreads Summary:
After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.
Her opponents are men—thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the kings council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she’ll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.
Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she’s bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it’s the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.
Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

Publication Date: August 7, 2012

Do you ever feel let down by a book that's getting a lot of buzz? I find that happens a lot with me. I pick up the novel and I end up disappointed that the book hasn't met my expectations. Luckily that isn't the case with Throne of Glass. The book was phenomenal on so many levels that I expect it will certainly sell a gazillion copies once released.

Fantasy isn't usually a genre I enjoy because I usually get lost or bored due the extensive world building. I didn't find this happening while reading this novel. Maas gradually brings you into her world without info dumping right at the start. She did the same with her characterization of Celaena. 

At first, you only know that she's a notorious assassin. As you get to know more about her, you discover that she's a very contradictory character who can be equally tough as well as feminine. She is able to kill a person within seconds, but also loves gorgeous dresses that make her look beautiful.

The plot was well-paced with plenty going on over the course of the novel. Besides the competition for the king's assassin taking place, the reader is embroiled in a mystery to determine who is murdering the challengers. There's loads of action and some of the fight scenes were described in such rich detail, I actually found it hard to read them.

As far as romance, I'm sort of torn over the love triangle aspect of the book. I liked both the playfulness between her and the prince and the quiet respect between her and Chaol, but I'm not sure who would make the better match. 

All in all a fantastic read! I will certainly be eagerly awaiting the sequel.

Rating: Five out of Five Stars 

Thanks to Bloomsbury for an advanced copy via NetGalley for my honest review!

Here's the UK cover. Any thoughts? I think I prefer it to the US version. Much more bada**.