Readers Choice Runner Up: Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas

 I love how I had two assassin books and they got the highest votes! It was fun comparing this book to Grave Mercy-- this is much more standard fantasy fare, whereas Grave Mercy is much darker.

Goodreads Book Description: After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom. 

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best. 

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. 

Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas is a YA fantasy about an assassin, Celaena, who is chosen as the Prince's pick for the competition to become the King's Champion. The choice is easy-- either stay as a slave and likely death or enter the competition. Things quickly become complicated as there is a lot of politics and intrigue that surround the court, and contestants start being killed. Who can she trust? Will she find a way to survive with all the odds against her?

I really enjoyed reading this book-- it felt like a combination of the Hunger Games and Graceling initially, but then with some great world building and character development, it become a world of its own. Celaena becomes a likeable character, and I enjoyed the training sessions, and the intrigue that stemmed around the court. I thought the book was pretty well paced as well, 

There were a few moments where the dialogue and/or text became clumsy. I wonder if these moments were preserved from a much earlier draft that Maas wrote when she was 16. In general, I'm not a huge fan of multiple viewpoints-- this book is mostly written in Celaena's perspective, but we get cut scenes to the Prince, the King's Guard, and other supporting characters. It's kind of nice to get in their heads but tends to take us out of the story.

Overall, an entertaining YA fantasy, that sweeps the reader through intrigue, danger, and magic.

Thanks again, guys, and don't forget to enter the poll about adult reads!