Throne of Glass | Crown of Midnight | Heir of Fire

To say I inhaled the first three books of the epic Throne of Glass series would be an understatement. Sarah J. Maas’ creation pulled me into her world from the first chapter of the first novel, Throne of Glass.

We meet the main protagonist, Celaena Sardothien, in the salt mines of a slave camp just before she is released under orders of the Crown Prince of Adarlan. Calaena is baffled by this abrupt and unexpected request, but does not argue as she is led out of the darkness, leaving the rest of the slaves behind.

We soon learn a bit of Celaena’s history and the danger and violence broiling just underneath the surface of her skin. After the murder of her parents when she was just a girl, Celaena was “adopted” and trained by the world’s best assassin. She has honed her killing skills to a level of near perfection. However, Celaena was captured and thrown into the slave camp approximately one year ago, after a betrayal that left her heartbroken, alone and lost.

Celaena realizes she is being led to the King’s castle to participate in a challenge to become his Champion (his personal assassin). The King of Adarlan is the man directly responsible for the destruction of Celaena’s entire world approximately 10 years ago, the night her family was murdered, and she was left with nothing and nobody. She struggles with the idea of serving the man she hates to earn her freedom within a few years of servitude. Ultimately, Celaena decides she does not have many options and agrees to the challenge.

Book 1, Throne of Glass, focuses primarily on the competition for the King’s Champion. We get to know Celaena, Prince Dorian and the Captain of King’s Guard, Chaol. Against all odds, Celaena earns both Dorian and Chaol’s respect, and vice versa. Celaena begins to see that not everyone in the castle deserves her hatred. There is a bit of a love triangle forming and both Chaol and Dorian grapple with their feelings for Celaena. I don’t think this love triangle and relationship arch takes anything away from the true storyline, though. If anything, it enhances it. The emotional turmoil involved in these relationships helps us connect to the characters, aids us in seeing their faults and strengths.

The love triangle does not last forever, and it does not prohibit the growth of our main characters. By the start of Book 2, the triangle is dismantled, and we all move on to bigger things. Like Celaena’s promise to a queen long dead to find and defeat the evil darkness steadily growing within the castle. The King has somehow recovered a magic long lost and is using it to slowly conquer the world, one continent at a time, leaving nothing but death and destruction in his wake.

Book 2 focuses primarily on Celeana’s journey to uncover the truth. She has solidified her position as the King’s Champion and is using her title to discover the dark secrets the King is hiding. We also build a bigger relationship with Dorian, as he struggles to overcome his feelings for Celaena and grow as a Prince and one day King. We meet Nehemia, a visiting Princess who quickly befriends Celaena. We grow to love her kindness and the warmth she offers Celaena as one of her only true friends. Peace and harmony cannot last forever though, and their friendship comes to a shattering end.

Book 3 transitions to Celaena’s recovery from the end of her relationship with several of the people she befriended in the castle. She is journeying to a safe hold on a supposed task from the King, but she has her own hidden agenda. She has decided to return to her homeland and ultimately reclaim a title long lost to her. We see her growth and acceptance of her responsibilities in Book 3 more than anywhere else in the series up to this point.

Heir of Fire also introduces us to the Witch clans, and the role they will play in the coming wars from the sky. I have not yet gotten invested in the story line with the witches, they are probably my least favorite saga within the novel series. While their journey is well written, I found myself wanting to skim through their chapters to return to Celaena and Dorian’s sections. By this point in the series, we are completely invested in Celaena’s journey to save the world. We don’t bat an eye as she recovers a magic long lost to her, and soon becomes one of the strongest wielders of fire the world has seen.

While Celaena is by far the main protagonist, I grew to really like Prince Dorian and Prince Rowan as well. The entire cast of supporting characters serves the novel well, even Arobynn. My least favorite by the end of the third book turns out to be Chaol – his grappling with his loyalty and decision making on his path forward become a bit frustrating. It is painfully obvious the King is travelling a dark, disgusting road and there is no reason to blindly follow. I wish Chaol would just make the commitment to rebel fully, and trust that Celaena is doing her best to make changes for the better.

Sarah does a wonderful job of putting in the perfect balance of action and description. There were very few instances when I felt like things dulled or were at a lull; which typically is inevitable during a series of this magnitude. But I felt each chapter kept things moving forward very well. The balance of character building, romance, action, magic and war wove together wonderfully throughout the chapters. Typically, I feel a bit disappointed when magic does not take a front running spot in Fantasy series. Throne of Glass, however, made this OK to deal with during the first novel. Then, it made a drastic appearance and really took hold after Celaena left Rifthold.

Books 4 – 7 seem promising with loads of twists and turns to keep us on our toes. I already have the entire series purchased and plan on spending the week inhaling the rest of it!