Throne of Glass Readalong 2016 – Part Three

As I said in my post last week, I will be running a Throne of Glass readalong until 18th January. In case you missed them, you can find Part One here and Part Two here. I plan on re-reading the first three books in the series before finally reading the fourth and most recent addition, so I thought I’d turn it into a bit of a blog event and encourage my readers to join in! Whether you’ve read the book before or are reading for the first time, feel free to leave your thoughts! And of course, as this is a readalong discussion post, there will be spoilers for Throne of Glass ahead.

Today I’ll be discussing the third part of the book – chapters 28 to 39.

The third part of the book sees yet another brutal murder of one of the Champions by an unknown force, and Celaena coming up with a plan to infiltrate the Yulemas masked ball.

• This is quite possibly one of my absolute favourite quotes from this part of the book. It describes Celaena playing billiards.

Celaena jabbed the cue, and hit the ball with such force that it zoomed toward the back wall of the table, knocking three coloured balls out of its way before it collided with the number three ball, sending it shooting straight for a hole.

It stopped rolling at the edge of the pocket.

A shriek of rage ripped from her throat, and Celaena ran over to the pocket. She first screamed at the ball, then took the cue in her hands and bit down upon the shaft, still screaming through her clamped teeth. Finally the assassin stopped and slapped the three ball into the pocket.

And I absolutely pictured Celaena having a screaming match a la Regina George…



No? Just me? Okay then…

• Celaena’s friendship with Nehemia grows. I love this friendship. There is a tendency in Young Adult fiction to use the female best friend as exposition – the main character can discuss boys and romance with them, therefore sharing this information with the reader too. And I say boys and romance specifically because they seem to be, about 80% of the time, all that these friends talk about. Celaena and Nehemia, on the other hand, discuss politics, languages, and they learn from each other. It’s a genuine friendship based on curiosity and mutual interest and I just want to cheer them on, maybe make them little friendship bracelets…
• Chaol getting embarrassed over the mention of periods. Boys will be boys… even in a fantasy world. It’s all okay contemplating the fact that Chaol may have to kill someone in the future due to his position, or that he will most likely see (or has already seen) a lot of death, but periods? No way! Can’t deal with those nasty feminine issues! Menstruation reduces the toughest of men to screaming babies, apparently.
• We’re told that Dorian is a womaniser, but somehow I can’t imagine it. I could see him as a big flirt – but actually sleeping around? He seems to have this innocent quality to him that makes me think he’s not done anything but sweet talk a little too much. Unless that is how he is actually meant to be and I’m just misreading it (or reading it correctly in that case…). What do you think?
• Celaena’s reaction to sweets. Like a little child, so adorable. Or… like Andy Dwyer from Parks & Recreation. 😉



• Dorian and Celaena finally kiss, after lots of lusting and wistful gazes. This is going to be a foolish move, and you know it. The Crown Prince and an assassin? Uh oh…

What did you think of Part Three?

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Throne of Glass Readalong 2016 – Part Two

As I said in my post last Monday, I will be running a Throne of Glass readalong for the next three weeks or so, and discussed Part One last Thursday. I plan on re-reading the first three books in the series before finally reading the fourth and most recent addition, so I thought I’d turn it into a bit of a blog event and encourage my readers to join in! Whether you’ve read the book before or are reading for the first time, feel free to leave your thoughts! And of course, as this is a readalong discussion post, there will be spoilers for Throne of Glass ahead.

Today I’ll be discussing the second part of the book – chapters 14 to 27.

Part Two sees the first Tests for the Champions begin, but we also learn a little more of Chaol’s background. Cain, who becomes Celaena’s main nemesis, is introduced – and shortly after, the murders begin. One by one, competitors for the King’s Champion are being picked off in an incredibly violent manner.

• One thing I often wonder in fantasy stories is why our holidays are sometimes used. Maas mentions Sammhain (Halloween) and Yulemas (Christmas, although could be a winter solstice type festival).
• We learn more about Celaena’s history with Sam, but there’s still a lot missing.
• Both Dorian and Chaol seem to be falling for Celaena – one quicker than the other. When we see her through their eyes, she seems to be in a more vulnerable position, softened slightly.
• I hate the use of the term Dark Lord! It’s so cliched and overused in fantasy fiction. However, it’s only mentioned once here, and used as a backstory element rather than being a current threat, so it’s not quite as bad.
• The book takes on more of a ‘magical fantasy’ feel when Celaena finds the sarcophagus. Instead of being a book that could easily be set in our world, albeit in the past, it’s suddenly clearer that this is not our world when the magical elements come into play.

What did you think of Part Two? What do you think of the developing relationships between Dorian, Chaol and Celaena?

Throne of Glass Readalong 2016 – Part One

As I said in my post on Monday, I will be running a Throne of Glass readalong for the next three weeks or so. I plan on re-reading the first three books in the series before finally reading the fourth and most recent addition, so I thought I’d turn it into a bit of a blog event and encourage my readers to join in! Whether you’ve read the book before or are reading for the first time, feel free to leave your thoughts! And of course, as this is a readalong discussion post, there will be spoilers for Throne of Glass ahead.

Today I’ll be discussing the first part of the book – chapters 1 to 13.

This first part of the book sees Celaena Sardothien, also known as Adarlan’s Assassin, being taken from the Endovier Salt Mines, where she has been imprisoned and enslaved for over a year. Her ‘rescuers’ are Crown Prince Dorian Havilliard, and the Captain of the Guard Chaol Westfall. Dorian wants to enter Celaena into a competition to be the King’s Champion, and eventually personal assassin. If she wins, she will have to work for the King for four years – and then she will have her freedom, and be pardoned from all past crimes.

Later chapters show that, despite his position as Crown Prince, Dorian clashes with his father often. Celaena meets the King and the other champions, and begins her training. She also meets a princess called Nehemia, from the country of Eyllwe.

• One little note before the book even properly starts – I always appreciate it when books include maps at the beginning! It makes it a lot easier to get my bearings of a fantasy country or world.
• I’ve always read Celaena as Celina, even though I know it must be Suh-lay-na due to the spelling. However, I still read it my own way throughout this re-read – it’s stuck!
• Additionally, I still have no idea how Chaol’s name is actually said, even though I’ve met Sarah/seen her talk about the book, so I’m pretty sure his name was mentioned…
• Compare Celaena’s first thoughts of the guys: Dorian = ‘… achingly handsome…’; Chaol = ‘It’d be nice to see his blood spill across the marble’ …
• I never really thought about the different sides to Celaena before – she is both tough and quite girlish at times. Of course, anyone can be both – but it feels like quite a sudden juxtaposition in this case.
• One thing I want to know… is everyone in Endovier a hard criminal? Are they all assassins, murderers etc, or all kinds of criminals? It feels like the justice system of Celaena’s world is quite harsh – are there petty thieves, perhaps people who stole just to feed their families, mixed in with all the killers? I kind of get the impression that this is how it works. But I also feel like at least a couple of people would have lasted as long as Celaena, or escaped/nearly escaped.
• We see a small hint of Celaena’s past in chapter 5 – for those reading for the first time, I can’t wait for some big reveals!
• I feel like I’m reading so much more slowly this time, trying to soak in every detail. Since I already know what happens, I don’t feel the need to rush ahead in order to find out.
• I forgot that Celaena is actually quite witty, wonderfully flirty and actually quite adorable – despite being an assassin.

What do you think of Throne of Glass so far? I’ll be discussing Part Two on Monday!