UGH! Terrible, terrible, horrendous. Nonsensical, stupid, pointless. Fluffy, pathetic, ridiculous. Need I say more? Really? Need I? I think only America Singer from The Selection and Zoey Redbird from Marked could top that, and this is saying a lot. How, indeed. But, that being said, I really enjoyed the banter between her and Chaol. And Dorian wasn't bad either. I've said it before but I'll say it again for the benefit of this review: I actually don't mind love triangles when they're convincing and both candidates for the MC's heart are on equal footing so there's some tension over who they're going to end up with. Though I may have to do all kinds of evil things - like... stomping around my bedroom angrily or letting library books become overdue - if Celaena doesn't end up with Chaol. Ms Maas, you've been warned.

I'm afraid it doesn't work that way; you don't get to tell me that this girl is an accomplished, feared assassin at the age of.... sixteen?.... but her entire mentality, her entire personality does not ring true of an assassin. I hateread a chapter from book five of this series with a friend. And I'm going to register my opinion that while it may have slightly improved in character development or worldbuilding or etc etc etc - I wouldn't know - it is, objectively, just as horribly written as this book.

With each day he felt the barriers melting. He let them melt. Because of her genuine laugh, because he caught her one afternoon sleeping with her face in the middle of a book, because he knew that she would win.” In terms of plot, I cannot deny that there was always a level of suspense present. I did want to know how this story ended, and yes, there were actually parts when I feared the whole thing would not end well – partly because my beloved heroine did not deem it necessary to inform certain people about what she had witnessed in the castle. Overall, though, the story remained a tad too juvenile and simple for me. Important events were mentioned only in passing and the mythology did not go any further than what was important for the main story line. Many things remained unsaid – doubtlessly for the sake of sequels yet to come – but it was not the subtle way of remaining unsaid but hinted at I love in fantasy novels, it felt more like remaining unsaid to lure me into reading on. I would say, if you enjoyed The Selection by Kiera Cass, but long for a less self-abasing character than America, then I think you might enjoy Throne of Glass. Second; this sounds more like something a ditzy princess-wannabe would say. Oh, after I win this competition, I'm gonna buy myself some clothes. For someone who has spent years suffering, who spent her childhood being trained as a ruthless killer, she comes across sounding so privileged.

I actually tried to read Throne of Glass once before, earlier in the year, and I managed to stop after precisely two words, change my mind and read something else. I don’t know what got into me then, but I dropped it like it’s hot, really. But boy was I wrong because I actually enjoyed it and it was VERY readable. The assassin pivoted around the table and took aim again. She missed. Gritting her teeth, she considered snapping the cue in half across her knee. But she'd been attempting to play for only an hour. She'd be incredible by midnight! She'd master this ridiculous game or she'd turn the table into firewood.' [Now, now, CINDERBRAT. Temper tantrums are, like, so unbecoming.] Do you know how insulting it is to pretend to be some nobody thief from a small city in Fenharrow?" I have a new hero!! She bad to the bone! Assassin Celaena Sardothien! She's the toughest assassin around and she loves books and plays the pianoforte. Imagine that :-)I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well formed and excellently developed. There are recognisable and enjoyable twists on the classic Cinderella. Example Celaena Sardothien's fairy godmother is a ghost of an ancient warrior queen. There are also slight touches, such as Celaena having an innate charm with animals. You can tell someone didn't really do their best at researching. The setting and the way all characters behave could have been a little more authentic, and, holy crow, the ooc-ism was too much, even for a mediocre book. Cain was little more than a pawn in a game to amuse the king ... ' [That's what they keep saying, but the king isn't even present in the castle for the majority of the competition, so ... ] But something rotten dwells in the castle - and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying mysteriously, one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival - and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world, and the people she has come to love. There was something girlish about her, too. Oh, he couldn't stand her contradictions!' [INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS!!! Because *my* Chaol doesn't have a va-jay-jay ... ]