From Barnes and Noble:
In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king’s champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.
The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass—and it’s there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena’s fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.
Stars: 4/5
What’s it like? It reminded me of elements of Harry Potter, specifically Goblet of Fire and Chamber of Secrets. It also has aspects of The Hunger Games in it as well.
What did I think?
I liked it. I didn’t love it. I will read the next book in the series. Nothing really bothered me about the book. I was sort of hooked but I wasn’t in complete love. Celaena is very confident in her abilities, and she rarely has trouble with any of her tasks. I think this might have made her unrelatable. I also don’t know her backstory too much because I haven’t read the prequel. She’s in love with two guys and she’s stuck on which to go with, and they’re stuck on what to do. This is generally overdone. I don’t really care who she picks. I like both of the men.
The contest she’s in is something between the Tri-Wizard tournament and the Hunger Games. She has to pass each task and manage not to get killed. Then there’s something in the castle doing some more killing (which is why I’m saying this is like Chamber of Secrets).
Overall, I would recommend it, but I would possibly hold out on that based on how the next book in the series goes.