yarisbooksandbevs's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I devoured this book. It was easy to follow and even the slower parts were interesting. I was kept engaged and intrigued. I love Dorian and Celaena’s witty banter. The way Chaol cares for Celaena in his own way is amazing. Celaena and Nehemiah’s friendship is precious and I love how Elena defends Celaena.
I do wish there was a clearer distinction and more organized approach when switching POVs but it’s a fun switch.I also thought the reveal that Cain was summoning creatures was a little predictable. I was surprised to see that Perrington was controlling him and not just influencing him.
I’m excited to see where this series goes. This was a great opener.
I do wish there was a clearer distinction and more organized approach when switching POVs but it’s a fun switch.
I’m excited to see where this series goes. This was a great opener.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Gore, Vomit, Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Grief and Drug use
Minor: Child death, Infidelity, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, War, Torture, Alcohol, and Animal cruelty
xvxnlxx's review against another edition
5.0
I tried to read this book the summer of 2021. I couldn’t get into it. That is when I started reading ACOTAR. I fell in love with that and wasn’t ready to begin this series. I’ve read enough books between these two series that I decided to try again. And I am in love. This was an experience. I didn’t think I would love this as much as ACOTAR. It was amazing. The way Celaena’s story was told is captivating. I can’t wait to continue this series.
delfinarcheron's review against another edition
4.0
(Un 3´5, en realidad)
Trono de cristal es una primera parte entretenida y adictiva, que te mantendrá enganchado hasta el final.
La historia empieza cuando Celaena Sardothien, la asesina más conocida, es sacada de la prisión para participar en una competición, con el fin de conseguir un puesto de trabajo para el rey. Durante su estancia en palacio, conocerá al príncipe heredero del trono, Dorian, y a su guarda, Chaol.
Después de leer la trilogía de Una corte de rosas y espinas, supe que tenía que continuar leyendo libros de esta autora. No tenía demasiadas expectativas con esta novela, ya que sé que es de las primeras que sacó y algunos amigos míos ya me habían avisado de que no era tan buena como la primera trilogía.
He de decir que el libro ha estado más o menos a la altura de mis expectativas. No me esperaba un novelón, pero tampoco un libro aburrido ni pesado. Sí que es verdad que es una novela algo introductoria, pero teniendo en cuenta que esta saga es bastante larga, lo veo algo normal.
Pese a que la trama no es demasiado profunda (en un principio) y que el final se puede predecir a kilómetros, la pluma de Sara J. Maas te engancha continuamente a la historia. Además, avanza con rapidez conforme se va adentrando en la trama.
En esta novela, la autora nos introduce en un mundo en el que la magia está prohibida y en el que muchas personas la consideran como extinta. Sarah J. Maas mantiene durante toda la novela ese misterio sobre la existencia o inexistencia de la magia.
Si algo tengo destacar, es el personaje de Celaena. Me ha dejado completamente enamorada. Muestra el papel de una mujer fuerte que comete errores y a la que le asaltan constantemente dudas sobre las decisiones que toma. Me ha parecido alguien tan real y cercano que le he cogido muchísimo cariño. Además, después de leer el libro de relatos (que ocurren antes de esta novela), entiendo mucho más esa angustia y ese sufrimiento que ha tenido que dejar atrás y que muchas veces vuelve a atormentarla.
Otro personaje que me ha gustado ha sido Nehemia. Aunque la autora no se haya detenido demasiado en ella, me ha parecido alguien muy misterioso e inteligente. Me gusta muchísimo esa amistad que mantiene con Celaena, a pesar de que cada una tenga sus puntos complicados.
A diferencia de la mayoría de los lectores, a mí no me agradan demasiado ni Dorian ni Chaol (unpopular opinion, i know). Siento que se quedan un poco flojos en comparación con Celaena y en algunas ocasiones me consiguen desquiciar.
Resumiendo, me ha parecido una primera parte fresca, que nos mantendrá enganchados hasta el final.
Trono de cristal es una primera parte entretenida y adictiva, que te mantendrá enganchado hasta el final.
La historia empieza cuando Celaena Sardothien, la asesina más conocida, es sacada de la prisión para participar en una competición, con el fin de conseguir un puesto de trabajo para el rey. Durante su estancia en palacio, conocerá al príncipe heredero del trono, Dorian, y a su guarda, Chaol.
Después de leer la trilogía de Una corte de rosas y espinas, supe que tenía que continuar leyendo libros de esta autora. No tenía demasiadas expectativas con esta novela, ya que sé que es de las primeras que sacó y algunos amigos míos ya me habían avisado de que no era tan buena como la primera trilogía.
He de decir que el libro ha estado más o menos a la altura de mis expectativas. No me esperaba un novelón, pero tampoco un libro aburrido ni pesado. Sí que es verdad que es una novela algo introductoria, pero teniendo en cuenta que esta saga es bastante larga, lo veo algo normal.
Pese a que la trama no es demasiado profunda (en un principio) y que el final se puede predecir a kilómetros, la pluma de Sara J. Maas te engancha continuamente a la historia. Además, avanza con rapidez conforme se va adentrando en la trama.
En esta novela, la autora nos introduce en un mundo en el que la magia está prohibida y en el que muchas personas la consideran como extinta. Sarah J. Maas mantiene durante toda la novela ese misterio sobre la existencia o inexistencia de la magia.
Si algo tengo destacar, es el personaje de Celaena. Me ha dejado completamente enamorada. Muestra el papel de una mujer fuerte que comete errores y a la que le asaltan constantemente dudas sobre las decisiones que toma. Me ha parecido alguien tan real y cercano que le he cogido muchísimo cariño. Además, después de leer el libro de relatos (que ocurren antes de esta novela), entiendo mucho más esa angustia y ese sufrimiento que ha tenido que dejar atrás y que muchas veces vuelve a atormentarla.
Otro personaje que me ha gustado ha sido Nehemia. Aunque la autora no se haya detenido demasiado en ella, me ha parecido alguien muy misterioso e inteligente. Me gusta muchísimo esa amistad que mantiene con Celaena, a pesar de que cada una tenga sus puntos complicados.
A diferencia de la mayoría de los lectores, a mí no me agradan demasiado ni Dorian ni Chaol (unpopular opinion, i know). Siento que se quedan un poco flojos en comparación con Celaena y en algunas ocasiones me consiguen desquiciar.
Resumiendo, me ha parecido una primera parte fresca, que nos mantendrá enganchados hasta el final.
dumblemort's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
archerfenreads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
brownpaperbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.5
andreamgillespie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
makiavellico's review against another edition
1.0
Caelina, la protagonista di questo libro, è una rincoglionita patentata – questo purtroppo Sarah J. Maas non ce lo dice, lo dico io: e credetemi, è vero.
La storia ufficiale è che la Mary Sue di turno perde i genitori a otto anni, al che viene presa in custodia da un uomo che recluta ragazzi e ragazze per trasformarli in assassini. Dieci anni passano e Caelina è diventata l’assassina più nota e temuta del regno.
Cosa farà – vi chiederete – questa bravissima assassina?
Da brava cretina qual è, tutto tranne che fare l’assassina. Si prova vestitini, si lamenta delle domestiche, flirta con i figoni di turno (perché ogni Young Adult deve avere due boni che sbavano dietro alla Mary Sue, ovvio), mangia, legge, e giusto ogni tanto si ritrova a portare avanti la trama. Del resto questo libro è l’esempio perfetto di come molte autrici YA non abbiano proprio idea di cosa lo show, don’t tell: ti viene detto che Caelina è un’assassina abilissima, che ha traumi dovuti al suo passato, che è molto intelligente, che ama leggere, che s’intende di politica… peccato che niente, ma proprio niente, provi queste fantomatiche abilità, anzi vengono ripetutamente smentite. Quello che c’è sulla carta non corrisponde a quello che ci viene mostrato: lei e il principe (uno dei due figoni che le va dietro – e ci mancherebbe che non fosse un principe) discutono di libri e politica, ma questo viene solo accennato, mai mostrato nei dialoghi; ci viene detto che è la migliore degli assassini, e ciononostante passa tutto il tempo al castello a sbattersene delle prove perché è troppo impegnata a portare avanti un teatrino degno di una romcom con i due boni che le vanno dietro che per me poteva pure essere uno solo, tanto sono identici, cambia solo il fatto che lei sia palesemente attratta dal principe.
Quanto all’intelligenza, basti sapere che nonostante gli indizi per giungere alla soluzione di un mistero cardine della trama le vengano offerti su un piatto d’argento, Caelina ci arriva solo e soltanto quando becca il suddetto sulla scena del crimine. E qui due sono le cose: o Sarah J. Maas pensa che i lettori siano pirla come la protagonista, oppure non gliene frega un bel niente.
Vorrei quantomeno spendere parole positive per gli altri personaggi, ma in questo castello non c’è nessuno se non il re, che se ne va venti pagine dopo aver detto che ha indetto il torneo per suo divertimento (logico), il principe che va a scuola, una principessa a caso che ha mezzo neurone in più della protagonista (non che sia difficile), e una tipa del cui nome non ce ne frega una mazza perché tanto l’unica cosa che fa è drogare la protagonista perché gelosa del rapporto che ha con il principe.
Un libro che consiglio solo per farsi due risate.
La storia ufficiale è che la Mary Sue di turno perde i genitori a otto anni, al che viene presa in custodia da un uomo che recluta ragazzi e ragazze per trasformarli in assassini. Dieci anni passano e Caelina è diventata l’assassina più nota e temuta del regno.
Cosa farà – vi chiederete – questa bravissima assassina?
Da brava cretina qual è, tutto tranne che fare l’assassina. Si prova vestitini, si lamenta delle domestiche, flirta con i figoni di turno (perché ogni Young Adult deve avere due boni che sbavano dietro alla Mary Sue, ovvio), mangia, legge, e giusto ogni tanto si ritrova a portare avanti la trama. Del resto questo libro è l’esempio perfetto di come molte autrici YA non abbiano proprio idea di cosa lo show, don’t tell: ti viene detto che Caelina è un’assassina abilissima, che ha traumi dovuti al suo passato, che è molto intelligente, che ama leggere, che s’intende di politica… peccato che niente, ma proprio niente, provi queste fantomatiche abilità, anzi vengono ripetutamente smentite. Quello che c’è sulla carta non corrisponde a quello che ci viene mostrato: lei e il principe (uno dei due figoni che le va dietro – e ci mancherebbe che non fosse un principe) discutono di libri e politica, ma questo viene solo accennato, mai mostrato nei dialoghi; ci viene detto che è la migliore degli assassini, e ciononostante passa tutto il tempo al castello a sbattersene delle prove perché è troppo impegnata a portare avanti un teatrino degno di una romcom con i due boni che le vanno dietro che per me poteva pure essere uno solo, tanto sono identici, cambia solo il fatto che lei sia palesemente attratta dal principe.
Quanto all’intelligenza, basti sapere che nonostante gli indizi per giungere alla soluzione di un mistero cardine della trama le vengano offerti su un piatto d’argento, Caelina ci arriva solo e soltanto quando becca il suddetto sulla scena del crimine. E qui due sono le cose: o Sarah J. Maas pensa che i lettori siano pirla come la protagonista, oppure non gliene frega un bel niente.
Vorrei quantomeno spendere parole positive per gli altri personaggi, ma in questo castello non c’è nessuno se non il re, che se ne va venti pagine dopo aver detto che ha indetto il torneo per suo divertimento (logico), il principe che va a scuola, una principessa a caso che ha mezzo neurone in più della protagonista (non che sia difficile), e una tipa del cui nome non ce ne frega una mazza perché tanto l’unica cosa che fa è drogare la protagonista perché gelosa del rapporto che ha con il principe.
Un libro che consiglio solo per farsi due risate.
poorashleu's review against another edition
2.0
2022 thoughts: I have no memory of reading this. This listening was truly like listening to it for the first time, which wasn't bad. It was just...truly like a first read. Anyhoo this was fine? IDK. I think the hype by now is..a choice. 2 stars.
Original 2013/2014 thoughts:3.5
Originally posted here
I read this book when it first came out and I was not kind. It was not a book for me. Wrong book, wrong time blahblahblah bullshit. In all honesty I’m not even sure I finished it. I have no memory when it comes to this book. Then all of my friends loved and adored it. Was I missing something? I had to be missing something. I knew this but then books come and go and this stayed on the back burner. Nothing personal. Just time and grad school and life. Finally two of my favorite book pushers got together in the same town, flailed about it and fiiiine, I gave it a second shot.
This Celaena is not the Celaena I remember reading the first time around. This one is snarky. She’s bad ass. She takes no shit. I love it. I understand the book has not changed, but me, the reader has. Or finally, right book, right time. I joke with my friend Lauren I can only read this genre when I’m on a plane. That’s the only moment I can get sucked in. So the fact I got caught up in this book while on the ground speaks volumes.
Celaena was chosen to fight, as she is an assassin and seriously this girl takes no shit. She doesn’t watch her mouth, she doesn’t care about what she wears, and it’s awkward for her to sleep on a bed. She doesn’t even look twice at the Crown Prince because puhlease there are more important things to be on the look out for. (Although, of course this slightly changes later on!)
Throughout the novel, Celaena love of books constantly gave me hearts in my eyes. What Celaena wasn’t aware of was when she came to court, that everyone would seemingly view her as the Prince’s harlot and she didn’t want that, there was more to her than that (and of course the fact it wasn’t true!) She hated being seen as Ms. Prim and Priss. She’s a bad ass and she’s fine who who she is. There were 23 men between her and freedom and she barely blinked. As someone who reads a fairly heavily amount of YA, it was fascinating to read a female character that she knew what she was getting into and she was fine with it. She wanted to be closer to her own freedom, even if that meant killing.
What was also fascinating to me was the dynamic Celaena has with men in this book. To be blunt: she doesn’t care for them. Her purpose is to get out of slavery. The Captain of the Guard, Chaol, and the Prince, Dorian, are just in the way of her victory. While yes, they are attractive that just is stopping her from the one thing she wants. Freedom. In her way are a gaggle of men who also want to be the King’s Champion. The 23 also have something that they are worth fighting for. They are just underestimating her because what everyone was told was that she’s a “jewel thief.” Because of this they without blinking underestimate her because what can a simple jewel thief do. And she uses that to her advantage, as she should! Then she shows them. While she is supposed to fly under the radar, and she does try, she also gets them all to shut up with a simple bow and arrow.
That being said, the Assassin is not perfect at everything, she sucks at pool and it annoys her that she isn’t perfect. Particularly because she was caught by Dorian. One half of the slow burn love triangle. A love triangle that I was actually okay with. Where love triangles rarely work for me this one did because it was slow and realistic. If at the beginning Maas would have had Celaena jump one of the boy’s bones I would have had problems believing it because she was so focused on her training. Slowly though, as time moved on, a realistic interest in both boys occurs. However, there is a point where the love triangle makes me start to shake the book because it started to seem forced. It seemed Maas tried to turn the triangle into something it wasn’t.
That being said, I will be reading Crown of Midnight because I heard it was even better and I also know if I don’t there are at least three people who will come to my house and force me into reading it
Original 2013/2014 thoughts:3.5
Originally posted here
I read this book when it first came out and I was not kind. It was not a book for me. Wrong book, wrong time blahblahblah bullshit. In all honesty I’m not even sure I finished it. I have no memory when it comes to this book. Then all of my friends loved and adored it. Was I missing something? I had to be missing something. I knew this but then books come and go and this stayed on the back burner. Nothing personal. Just time and grad school and life. Finally two of my favorite book pushers got together in the same town, flailed about it and fiiiine, I gave it a second shot.
This Celaena is not the Celaena I remember reading the first time around. This one is snarky. She’s bad ass. She takes no shit. I love it. I understand the book has not changed, but me, the reader has. Or finally, right book, right time. I joke with my friend Lauren I can only read this genre when I’m on a plane. That’s the only moment I can get sucked in. So the fact I got caught up in this book while on the ground speaks volumes.
Celaena was chosen to fight, as she is an assassin and seriously this girl takes no shit. She doesn’t watch her mouth, she doesn’t care about what she wears, and it’s awkward for her to sleep on a bed. She doesn’t even look twice at the Crown Prince because puhlease there are more important things to be on the look out for. (Although, of course this slightly changes later on!)
Throughout the novel, Celaena love of books constantly gave me hearts in my eyes. What Celaena wasn’t aware of was when she came to court, that everyone would seemingly view her as the Prince’s harlot and she didn’t want that, there was more to her than that (and of course the fact it wasn’t true!) She hated being seen as Ms. Prim and Priss. She’s a bad ass and she’s fine who who she is. There were 23 men between her and freedom and she barely blinked. As someone who reads a fairly heavily amount of YA, it was fascinating to read a female character that she knew what she was getting into and she was fine with it. She wanted to be closer to her own freedom, even if that meant killing.
What was also fascinating to me was the dynamic Celaena has with men in this book. To be blunt: she doesn’t care for them. Her purpose is to get out of slavery. The Captain of the Guard, Chaol, and the Prince, Dorian, are just in the way of her victory. While yes, they are attractive that just is stopping her from the one thing she wants. Freedom. In her way are a gaggle of men who also want to be the King’s Champion. The 23 also have something that they are worth fighting for. They are just underestimating her because what everyone was told was that she’s a “jewel thief.” Because of this they without blinking underestimate her because what can a simple jewel thief do. And she uses that to her advantage, as she should! Then she shows them. While she is supposed to fly under the radar, and she does try, she also gets them all to shut up with a simple bow and arrow.
That being said, the Assassin is not perfect at everything, she sucks at pool and it annoys her that she isn’t perfect. Particularly because she was caught by Dorian. One half of the slow burn love triangle. A love triangle that I was actually okay with. Where love triangles rarely work for me this one did because it was slow and realistic. If at the beginning Maas would have had Celaena jump one of the boy’s bones I would have had problems believing it because she was so focused on her training. Slowly though, as time moved on, a realistic interest in both boys occurs. However, there is a point where the love triangle makes me start to shake the book because it started to seem forced. It seemed Maas tried to turn the triangle into something it wasn’t.
That being said, I will be reading Crown of Midnight because I heard it was even better and I also know if I don’t there are at least three people who will come to my house and force me into reading it
craftybedhead's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75