*****/5
(by Sarah J. Maas)
"She'd win, and serve the king, and then vanish into nothing, and think no more of castles or kings or assassins. She didn't wish to reign over this city again. Magic was dead, the Fae were banished or executed, and she would never again have anything to do with the rise and fall of kingdoms."
Book Review: (mild spoilers)
Celaena Sardothien has spent a year in the Salt Mines of Endovier as a slave after being imprisoned. Celaena is a feisty, violent, and skilled assassin who built herself a reputation that has held even over her year of slavery. The prince, Dorian Havilliard, sprung her from the death sentence of the mines to participate in a challenge to become the King's Champion. Upon accepting his sponsorship of her and entering into the competition against various other assassins, warriors, and thieves, she is thrust into the King's castle with servants of her own, resources she could only dream of, and a new, fancier cage than the mines.
It doesn't take long for Celaena to determine who of her competition will be a challenge to beat, and works hard to keep herself in the top place by physical training with Captain Chaol Westfall and mental training with books from Prince Dorian. It is apparent very early on that Celaena harbors a significant amount of hate towards the king, and he certainly doesn't give us any reason to dispute that hate throughout the book. He's just an arrogant prick the entire time. He reminds me a bit of Uther Pendragon from the BBC series Merlin. A lot, actually.
We only get a toe-tip into the massive world mapped out on the book's inner cover. Partway through, we meet Princess Nehemia of Ellywe, and if you're like me, you'll immediately fall in love with the character. She plays an important role in bringing out more of Celaena's backstory through both dialogue and inner monologue, and represents another facet of the "strong, female heroine" character: intelligent, brave, respectful, and steadfast. Where Celaena is strong-willed, willing to do some pretty dark things, and abrasive, Nehemia is empathetic and compassionate. Both are aspects of strength and I love seeing them represented in the pages.
After a few rounds of the competition, which takes a few weeks, Celaena begins to notice that nothing everything is as it seems. Cue the secret passageways, wafts of magic long gone, and an otherworldly presence that promises threats beyond compare. After a few of the competitors are killed (well, mutilated is a bit more accurate) Celaena starts to feel her attention pulled in not only winning the competition but to solve the mystery lurking in the halls of the castle.
I loved this book. The characters are unique and jump off the page. The relationships are truly slow-burn, both in romance and friendships. The setting was alive and we only got a tiny taste of it. While the competition itself seemed a bit far-fetched for a king to hold and to allow some of the previous assassins and thieves a chance to be his most trusted lackey, in the fantasy setting it did hold some weight.
I did not, however, like the love triangle. I hate love triangles, particularly when I like both of the boys and don't want to see either of them hurt but have a definite preference towards one. To me, it is unnecessary drama. The back of the edition I borrowed even says "Two men love her, the whole land fears her, only she can save them all." Just not into love triangles, sorry guys.
Parental Guidance: (Major Spoilers)
This book is marketed as YA/Teen, and while the romance was fairly appropriate, there was a significant amount of death that was very detailed. I do not do gory details, even in books, because I can still see it mentally. While you could still skip over the details, it was still a significant plot point of the book and happened frequently. As Celaena was/is an assassin, she would sometimes tell stories of people she had killed or think about how to kill someone, and I did not enjoy those moments of narrative.
This book also deals with physical abuse, child abuse, and childhood trauma. I would highly recommend for younger readers that their parents pre-read this book. It definitely borders on being an 18+ book for me due to the graphic nature of death in it.
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