So, I’ve been gone a long time. Too long. In my defense, I have been working on my book. The draft I finished is now beta read, revised, and completed. I’ve even queried it. I’ve had a fantastic response but no agent or publisher yet. I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll hear something good soon.
But my writing career is not why most of you come to this blog. It’s really for book recommendations. Since I may have a bunch of new traffic, let me explain what I do. I don’t really review books. I feel like it’s so subjective, and often I can’t exactly put my finger on why I did or didn’t like a book. I can only tell you which ones I did like and would recommend.
I’ve read A LOT of books over the past year. Some of them I’ve already posted about. But one I haven’t (and that really deserves it) is Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. LIke a lot of the books I read, it’s a fantasy. But this one truly is different. Not so much magic. A lot of beauty in the world and the culture and society created.
Here’s the blurb from Amazon
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 freedom on one condition: she muust act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.
Her opponents are men-thieves and assasins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king’s 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 the 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.
Great, huh? Well, it gets even better. Maas wrote four novella prequels to Throne of Glass. They are: The Assassin and the Pirate Lord, The Assassin and the Desert, The Assassin and the Underworld, and The Assassin and the Empire. And I have to say, I almost enjoyed the novellas more than the actual novel. Now, you could read the novel completely separate from the novellas, but I think if you read the novellas first, you’ll get a much better understanding of Celaena. (Plus, they’re awesome!)
Throne of Glass is one of my favorite books of the year. If you like fantasy, and a bit of a love triangle, I think you’ll really enjoy this one.
Shari Lambert 