Celaena Sardothien, the world famous assassin, is taken out of prison by the crown prince Dorian to act as his candidate in the contest for the King’s Champion. Although she is free of the chains of Endovier she is closely watched by Dorian’s closest friend, and captain of the guard, Chaol, who does not trust the deadly assassin at court. Celaena is given a new identity as the Lady Lilian to give her an upper hand in the contest. As the Lady Lilian, Celaena befriends the visiting princess Nehemia who confirms Celaena’s suspicions about unrest in the kingdom of Adarlan and abroad. As Celaena completes each task in the contest she learns of an ancient evil that is threatening the lives of those around her and of a destiny she is not ready to acknowledge.
Sarah J. Maas has described this novel as a Cinderella story, but only if Cinderella has gone to the ball to assassinate the prince! She was inspired by the scene from the Disney film in which Cinderella flees from the prince and is hotly pursued by the guards. The book is great fun from start to finish with interesting characters and world building that puts me in mind of Tamora Pierce’s Tortall. Recently I decided to reread the Throne of Glass series, I had read the first three books and the novella in 2014 and enjoyed them but I confess that I may have skipped sections due to my busy schedule at grad school. So now I am reading each book more closely and savouring the action Maas is so famed for.
