Throne of Glass

By:

Sarah J. Maas

Spice Scale

Number of books

8 Published

KU

❌

Audiobook

✅

Series Status

Complete

Interconnected

N/A

Overall Rating

Coming Soon

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas is a sprawling young adult fantasy series beginning with an 18-year-old assassin, Celaena Sardothien, pulled from brutal salt mines after a year of captivity to compete in a deadly tournament at the Glass Castle, where she must defeat 23 rivals to become the tyrannical King's Champion and earn her freedom after four years of service. Amid palace intrigue, mysterious murders plaguing contestants, and forbidden flirtations with Crown Prince Dorian and stoic Captain Chaol, Celaena uncovers dark forces, ancient secrets, and whispers of lost magic in a kingdom stripped of its mystical heritage. As the saga unfolds across seven main books plus novellas, her journey evolves from survival games to epic quests involving Fae heritage, Valg demons, rebel alliances, and world-shattering wars, blending high-stakes action, slow-burn romance, political betrayal, and themes of identity and defiance.

Jamie’s review

Were the hours of ignoring my family and putting off all my responsibilities worth it? YES. Was I glad to put the last book down? Also yes!

I was annoyed at first because it was more fantasy than romance, but I eventually got VERY invested in all the robust storylines and characters. Strong Game of Throne vibes throughout. Believe me when I say that these books stay with you long after you read them. This series is required reading at this point and I think Rowan started the entire “Who Did This To You” trope.

I loved all the protagonists, except bitchass Chaol. And I especially loved all the strong females that basically save the world and solve all the problems, what’s new.

I did research and read them with TOG first and Assassin’s Blade 4th, while also reading Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn in tandem. I was happy with that reading order. It still blows my mind that SJM wrote these books when she was 16 years old. I was recording the hot 9 at 9 on my cassette tapes, she was writing this masterpiece.

Were the hours of ignoring my family and putting off all my responsibilities worth it? YES. Was I glad to put the last book down? Also yes!

I loved all the protagonists, except bitchass Chaol. And I especially loved all the strong females that basically save the world and solve all the problems, what’s new.

Erica’s review

They say that distance makes the heart grow fonder. This is a recurring theme with the Throne of Glass series because it’s such an undertaking that it’s hard to appreciate until you’ve fully digested it and some time has passed. Did that happen for me? Meh. Not really. Now, don’t get me wrong – I loved a lot of it. But, there is just SO much of it. 8 books and they are thiccccc gals.

The good: I have such fondness still for the characters, even a few years later. There are a lottttttt of them but they are all so well written. You truly fall in love with so many of the characters – for life. I also have mad respect for SJM and the fact that she started the series at just 16 – like, who can do that? I was writing subpar English papers at best at that age…LBH. The world building is out of this world (pun intended) and probably the best I’ve read to date.

The meh: the weeds. Just so many long ass war scenes. I just personally don’t need every war and fight scene detail to drag on. This was also one of the first series where something random pops up out of the blue and becomes a twist that essentially changes the trajectory of the story. Spoiler alert – it happens a lot in Romantasy – but it weirdly irritated me in this series. And, most importantly – WHAT DID LORCAN DO SARAH?!

Overall – if you love Romantasy – it’s a rite of passage and I’ll always recommend it. Just know it’s a trek and you will be emotionally damaged in the best way.