I just completed the whole review and was about to save this in WordPress when suddenly, WordPress gave me some stupid notice about how this action wasn’t legit — I’d been inactive for some time, and I guess that is why the changes didn’t stick. I am so angry, but the review I’d written wasn’t that great anyway.
So, before I decided to muster up the courage and use my real name for this blog, I was on Tumblr. I am still on Tumblr, and I follow some book blogs that gravitate towards YA books — that isn’t surprising as a lot of users are teenagers, and so I was treated to a lot of YA book recs.
There was a post about how there weren’t any mentions of girls getting their period in books, and someone answered the OP and posted an excerpt from a book that was familiar — I’d read the scene before, on the internet. It turns out that one of the stories I’d read on FictionPress.Net got a book deal, and the first book was published in 2012. It’s called the Throne of Glass Series, and there are supposed to be about six books in total.
There are about three out, and they look like this:
Books 1 and 2 didn’t disappoint, and they showed what a difference good editing makes.
In the draft I’d read online, Celaena Sardothien is hauled out of the salt mine Endovier, gets dressed up, meets the prince (Dorian) and the captain of the guard (Chaol?). They show her interest, and one of the ladies, Kaltain Rompier, is the requisite mean girl as she tries to dissuade the prince from liking her, but he doesn’t give a shit and they live happily ever after. I know there was some other conflict, but it remains fuzzy. The books are a far cry from this draft and show an expanded universe.
Synopsis: In Book One, we follow the journey of Celaena Sardothien, an assassin who is freed from the salt mine of Endovier (same story, different day,) and is recruited to be the King’s Champion in some fantasy version of Lord of The Flies. The winner serves the king for a few years, killing whoever he requests her to, and then she gets her freedom. Things aren’t as simple, of course. There are politics, a dark force summoned to kill the champions, and the two love interests that she must choose between.
This is resolved well, however, and in Book 2, we see the protagonist defying the King by pretending to execute his enemies, all the while telling them to get rid of all their valuables, change their names, and run for their lives. The king also asks her to kill an old friend, and, well, I shan’t spoil it for you.
Review: Books 1 and 2 were fast-paced, had relatable, likeable characters, and a plot so intriguing that you wouldn’t want to put it down. I felt that even Dorian and Chaol were likeable, and this plays a large part in getting me hooked to a book. A huge plus for including a menstruation scene and to have the Captain of the Guard freaking out, as well as establishing a strong friendship between two women — Celaena befriends Nehemia, a princess whose kingdom was conquered by king, and we see a friendship develop between the two.
Book 3, however, was a disappointment. It was like JK Rowling all over again with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire — Maas expanded the universe so much that it compromised pacing and action.
In the latest book, Celaena gets sent to Wendlyn to kill the royal family, but she undergoes more training by one of Queen Maeve’s soldiers, Rowan. Meanwhile, Chaol tries to stage a rebellion and get out of the deal he made with his father (coming home to be his heir), while Dorian gets with one of the healers in the palace. Meanwhile, the king has a secret army of witches who are training to use wyverns, and one of them, Manon, is trying to be the head of all witches. This all sounds pretty cool, but the pacing was off and the book dragged on more than it really should, and switching viewpoints Also, I started not giving a shit about Chaol and Dorian, although Manon — the head witch — was pretty cool.
I know Manon’s arc foreshadows an upcoming war, but in this book it fell felt and felt separate from the entire narrative. I also stopped caring about Chaol and Dorian, and rolled my eyes as he started to chase yet another woman. I’ll still read the next book, because I’m rooting for Celaena and I want to see the rest of the universe, but if Maas makes her books longer and continues to compromise pacing, then I’m outta here.