Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass
(Throne of Glass #1)

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Publication Date: August 2nd 2012

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Genre: Fantasy

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Synopsis:

Meet Celaena Sardothien. Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness.

In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught.

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?

My Thoughts: So with all of the hype around Throne of Glass at it's release, I decided that I absolutely NEEDED to read it and it is the only book that I have ever preordered (I even got the UK cover because I like it so much more!). So of course, it sat on my bookshelf until this month. Go me! Am I glad I finally got around to reading this (as well as the four novella prequels)? Yes, yes I am.

First of all, if you are planning on reading this and haven't read the novella's yet, you should most definitely check them out first! There would have been so many references that I didn't get if I hadn't of read them. And they are really cheap, like $1 each for Kobo. Secondly, stop hesitating like I did! These are seriously awesome! I love the world, characters and the writing style. It had been so long that I've read a decent fantasy that I couldn't get enough. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book. Sarah J. Maas just has a way of grabbing a hold of you and dragging you in. Only letting you emerge long enough to go into withdrawals before needing to continue reading. In my case it's terrible because I have to wait so long for me next "fix". I'm seriously a book junkie.

So the main character is Celaena. I like her a lot but I'm still having a hard time judging her character. I mean, she is the deadliest assassin around. I get the feeling that she doesn't like what she does most of the time, but then sometimes she does, if she really despises the person she's killing. She is apparently stunning and knows it. She's been pretty spoiled during her training, so is a bit of a brat to begin with (in the novellas more so) but after her time in Endovier she does change a bit for the better. She has trust issues (someone did set her up to get her captured) and no friends, so a bit of a loner. Overall, while I wasn't her biggest fan to begin with, she did change enough that I really like her now.

Since she is at the Glass Castle for the tournament, she is always guarded. As are the other champions. Mostly she is followed around by Captain Westfall, who is fairly cold toward her. There are a couple of love interests at the castle (both who are swoon worthy in their own ways! And no a love triangle is not set up! At least it didn't end with a feeling of one!) and a couple of friends to be made. There is something scary going on as well. Something killing in the castle, but only the champions. There are a ladies who'd like nothing better than to dispatch of Celaena, not that they know who she is. So Celaena has a lot of people to watch out for. As well as visits from ghostly figures.

As I said before though, Sarah J. Maas is a great story teller. I've already added any and all of her upcoming books to my TBR pile, how can I not after how thoroughly enjoyed Throne of Glass. She just has a way with words that made me unable to put this down. It's most likely going to be one of my top reads of the year. I definitely recommend it. Especially if you enjoy fantasy! It really is as good as everyone says! Just read the novellas first!

Review: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Grave Mercy
(His Fair Assassin #1)

Author: Robin LaFevers

Publication Date: April 3rd 2012

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Genre: Historical Fiction

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Synopsis:

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

My Thoughts: What do you get when you add historical fiction, romance and assassins? A kick butt, awesome story that I loved, that's what! Grave Mercy was a great read that I was unable to put down. If you are a fan of historical fiction, you should definitely give this book a read.

One of the things I liked the most about this story was Ismae, she is such a strong person after all of the years of abuse that she had to put up with. Although, it doesn't help her love men. Once she is rescued and sent to the convent, she harbours a great hatred for men even and doesn't trust them at all. When she is sent on her mission with Duval, she thinks it will be easy, but she couldn't be more wrong. Sometimes you just need the right man to make you realize that not all men are awful. So will she warm up to Duval, can she trust him? She certainly doesn't want to!

The romance in Grave Mercy isn't really shoved in your face. You know it's there, but it's a cute type of romance with a girl trying to figure out her first crush. Duval is a very nice guy, although he doesn't trust Ismae right away, she is an assassin after all! She doesn't trust him either. Can they get past these things and find love?

As for the basic storyline, all we know is that there is a traitor who is close to the duchess, Ismae and Duval must figure out who the traitor is before it's too late. The French is invading and there is a lot of arguments over who the duchess should be made to marry. Once Ismae see how things work, she begins to doubt her convents orders, is it possible they've made mistakes? Can she carry out these orders as she used to? What happens when you begin to question' Mortain's will? 

An overall page turning adventure, where you don't know who to trust. Grave Mercy was an exciting read full of deceit, murder and love. There are so many chapters that left off on cliffhangers that I couldn't put the book down. Although it is a bit long compared to the "normal" young adult novel, it's an excellent read. I definitely recommend this novel to anyone who likes a good kick butt heroine, romance and a bit of history. LaFevers made an awesome debut novel and I will definitely be watching out for more from her in the future! 

Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy!