Guest Post: A Throne Of Glass Review by Aagya Pradhan

Do you ever get the feeling that your friends are much, much smarter than you and actually, have an awful lot more to say? Because I do. And that's not belittling myself, I know that I'm smart too and I also have a lot to say, but all of my friends are very intelligent people and I respect them a lot. So I thought what better way for me to share their knowledge and life experiences than asking them to feature on my blog?

This is my first of (hopefully) many Guest Post's to come and it is a review of Throne of Glass by my good friend Aagya. I don't think that I ever posted a review of this book myself, so it'll be something special, indeed. Please enjoy!

'Throne of Glass' is a book that Natalie has raved about quite a lot so, I was elated when she finally gifted it to me for my birthday. However, we were both uncertain about whether I would actually enjoy the book (give my lack of experience with YA novels). Spoiler alert: I liked it more than I expected myself to.
 Initially I couldn't see myself getting into the book because I found the plot to be quite cliché. It was very much The Hunger Games but with trained assassins. However, Sarah J. Maas makes the plot stand out with the inclusion of supernatural / magical elements. It was an unexpected yet very effective sub-plot because it got me way more interested into the book. I wanted to see how Maas would tie in Celaena’s fight for freedom with her fight against black magic (for lack of a better term).
 Another issue I had with the book that was the author’s excessive focus on setting. While it is necessary to establish the character’s surroundings and help readers visualize the events in the book, it should not take precedence over developing your characters. There’s a lot of scenes in the first few chapters where she describes what was happening in the scene but somewhat disregards how the characters reacted to it. I thought that it not only took away the focus from the story but, also made relating to the characters a lot more difficult. But as above, the narrative gradually finds its footing and gives more insight into the different characters by approaching the story through individual perspectives.
 The stand-out character for me was obviously Celaena. She was not only a head-strong, witty and overall badass heroine but also one that is practical and somewhat relatable even though our worlds are very very different. Furthermore, Nehemia was also one of my favorites because of how intelligent she is and the lengths she is enduring in order to safeguard her city.
 In summary, ‘Throne of Glass’ is an exciting, action-packed book which follows the story of a brilliant and talented heroine. Even if YA or fantasy novels do not appeal to you, I would recommend giving this book a try in order to experience Sarah J. Maas' excellent presentation of some very kick-ass women. 

Where to find Aagya
Twitter: @aagyaprdhn
Instagram: @aagyaprdhn
Goodreads: Aagya Pradhan