Sarah J. Maas has been the epitome of romantasy in recent years, with her Court of Thorns and Roses series, and Crescent City series being at the top of BookTok lists! Where did it all begin for this author, though?
The epic young adult fantasy Throne of Glass series, following history’s most badass FMC, Celaena Sardothien, was published in 2012 by Bloomsbury Publishing, and it remains one of J Maas greatest works till today.
Crewfiction has everything on maasverse, from TOG character analysis, and TOG reading order, to SJM theories, and how the books are connected.
Let’s take things slow for now and start off with a full-plot summary of Throne of Glass, the first book in the Throne of Glass series. Beware of the spoilers!
Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan’s most famous assassin. What fate led an 18-year-old girl, and the protégée of Adarlan’s King of Assassins, to the slave camp in the salt mines of Endovier? Well, you guessed it—betrayal. It is all explained in the novella, The Assassin’s Blade, a prequel of the Throne of Glass series—yet one you must read to get the full experience. Get ready for real sobbing in this one, dear bookworm.
Barely alive, Celaena is dragged in front of the Crown Prince of Adarlan, Dorian Havilliard, who has a special offer for her; become his champion in a series of trials held by the King of Adarlan, and win her freedom by serving as the King afterward—if she survives.
After a failed attempt at escaping Endovier, Celaena has nothing to lose. Hope starts blooming in her heart, even if she must play the game of her number one enemy; the King of Adarlan, the tyrannical monarch who is responsible for draining Erilea of all magic, dooming many people—including her parents.
Celaena is led to the Glass Castle, a building with a mix of glass, stone and many secret passages, housing the royal family. There she gets some time to train for the championship with the Captain of the Guard, Chaol Westfall. She gradually grows close with Prince Dorian, who lends her books, and gives her sweet treats to feed mostly her broken soul. Their bond is so unique that Celaena starts to believe in a better future, where he rules Adarlan in his father’s place.
Her relationship with Chaol, however, is more challenging. The dutiful captain is close to Dorian, and very protective of him. The closer the prince gets to Celaena, the most tense Chaol gets. Imagine how mad he gets when Celaena and Dorian dance like lovebirds during a ball in the castle.
The trials start and when other competitors start disappearing or found dead, Chaol is the first to accuse Celaena. Well, since she is the main character, she is bound to discover the truth sooner or later. Surprisingly—not—her room is connected to a series of underground tunnels, leading to a secret room, housing the tombs of the late Adarlan’s rulers; Elena Galathinius, the first Fae Queen of Adarlan, and Gavin Havilliard. Shockingly, she discovers that magic still exists by talking to Mort, a charmed knocker on the door of the tomb.
There, she comes across the existence of ancient evil beings, the Valg, creatures from another realm which are responsible for the death of the champions. With the help of an unexpected ally—Nehemia, Princess of Eyllwe—Celaena learns how to draw magic from ancient runes; Wyrdmarks. It comes in handy when she fights off Valg in the tunnels.
Only if the Valg was Celaena’s only problem… Her main conflict is to act, knowing that the King of Adarlan is on to something shady along with his counselor, Duke Perrington, or keep competing and win her freedom by serving the King. Nehemia, though, has a secret agenda as well, hinting on things that Celaena would rather forget entirely about herself and her legacy. At the end, Nehemia’s sacrifice will be the force which will motivate Celaena to embrace her true fate, and true name: Aelin Galathynius.
Celaena meets with Elena in her dreams, where she gets scattered answers about Valg, and the existence of Wyrdgates that allow Valg into Erilea. Her mission becomes to find the three Wyrdkeys and forge the lock that will permanently close the gates and contain the Valg. What Elena fears mostly is the awakening of the Valg King. It is said that Erawan was put to sleep, but when he rises it will be the end of the world.
As Celaena is put through training, surviving the trials, and aristocracy scandals, she makes enemies of Duke Perrington and his champion, Cain, and Kaltain, an aspiring lady in waiting who will do anything to gain Dorian’s attention—even sell her soul to the devil. We will not spoil more about Kaltain, but her arc is incredible. Just be patient till Queen of Shadows.
Cain is the most probable to win the trials; he is merciless, cunning, and brutal. His strength is almost superhuman… Got the hint, right? Celaena catches him in the act, unliving a fellow champion in the dark corridors of the Glass Castle. He is Valg, a special experiment of Perrington’s, and her final rival in the championship.
During Celaena’s duel with him, he uses his dark powers to create an illusion, showing her glimpses of the word where the Valg reside. The demons attack her, and she is blinded by fear. Nehemia steps in, using her magic to protect Celaena. Elena also makes an appearance and fights alongside Celaena. Then, the Goddess of the Hunt’s symbol appears on Celaena’s forehead, marking her as the bringer of an ancient prophecy that we have at least three books to explore.
Celaena manages to survive the chaos and bring herself back to the present moment, standing in front of Cain, and the crowd watching the final battle. Cain, though, has the upper hand. There is no humanity left in him anymore. Celaena manages to defeat him and win. But Cain’s ultimate goal is to end her. She is ready to meet her parents in the afterlife, when Chaol manages to get to her, and kills Cain before he has the chance to finish Celaena off. Celaena is now the King’s champion and must save the world from the Valg.
Her story begins when Arobynn, the King of Assassins, finds her barely alive at a riverbank, and takes her to Rifthold. He trains, and grooms her, making her the most fearsome assassin in Adarlan. She is smart, fast, lethal, and stubborn. Someone can say she is arrogant, and a brat, but it is all well-explained. She went through brutal training, often tortured to learn how to endure pain, and went through great sacrifices to gain her freedom.
She has a weak spot for chocolate, hot baths, perfume, jewelry, and expensive clothing. Her silk underwear can drive a Fae Prince crazy—cue to Rowan. Again, patience until Queen of Shadows.
Also, she has the hero-syndrome. For the good of humanity, she needs to sacrifice. Literally. All explained in Kingdom of Ash—get your tissues ready.
Was she always ready to sacrifice? No. In Throne of Glass, she is rather reluctant to comply with Elena’s requests. The girl has just gained her freedom back—well, partially. Anyway, she has a long way to go before she comes up with her great world-saving plan. She has to free magic, get revenge on Arobynn, stay under the King’s radar, embrace her half-fae nature, endure Chaol’s endless whining and then get her ass kicked by the love of her life. Okay, no more spoilers. All the fun starts in the Heir of Fire. You know, enemies who hate your guts, but cannot stop themselves from biting your neck…
All in all, we love Celaena Sardothien because she is a badass, and a brilliant heroine. She fights for justice, dreams of a better world, and she is ready to burn herself into ashes to build it.
Our beloved prince is an intellectual. The perfect book boyfriend; gives you chocolate, discusses books with you, gifts you expensive things, respects your boundaries, likes banter… Okay, how much do we love Dorian? Yes.
He is a charmer, and a wanderer. When his powers start manifesting, as the descendant of Gavin and Elena, he does not stand still. He is afraid to open up to Chaol about it, or anyone in that regard, and carries that burden alone. He looks for answers, and does not hesitate to go against his father or Perrington. He is a diplomat who knows how to move in the aristocratic circles. In the next book, Crown of Midnight, we will discover a more rebellious side of him. We will see him break down, but, well, who doesn’t in this freaking book series? Is it worth the struggle? Definitely.
The Captain of Adarlan’s Guard is Anielle’s heir, who abandoned his home to serve the King. He is stiff, dutiful, and lives by a strict code of honor. He is loyal to Dorian more than he is to the King himself. Despite his initial suspicion of Celaena, he is drawn to her, mostly because of her skills, and the way she gets under his skin. Also, because he is hoping she will redeem herself for her past crimes as an assassin and serve the King respectfully—stay delusional. Did we mention that he is Celaena’s first? What a waste, girl!
He has a long way to go, too, and hard decisions to make. One of them will send Celaena to the end of the world, and then he will break all his moral codes and face the King. He will have his redemption arc in Tower of Dawn, the novella before the epic ending. Make sure you include it in your reading as great characters, like Yrene, who we meet early in Assassin’s Blade, and Nesryn from The Queen of Shadows, have their own stories unfold.
The Princess of Eyllwe becomes Celaena’s best friend, as they grow on each other during her visit to the Glass Castle. Her main goal is to meet with the King, and start talks of peace, and freedom for her people who have become slaves of Adarlan. Her rebellious spirit, and love for her people, is an inspiration for Celaena. She can speak in Nehemia’s native language, a fact that brings them even closer, and gives Celaena the chance to learn more about Wyrdmarks and other forms of magic that are connected to Eyllwe’s lore. In exchange, Celaena helps her learn the common language.
Later, Celaena will discover that Nehemia knows more than she lets on. She is aware of her true identity as a Galathynius, and has been communicating with Elena long before Celaena had the chance to. Nehemia is a part of a greater plan to free the world. Sadly she is collateral, a symbol to stir the people’s resistance, and make Celaena see her true mission.
It is not exactly that Celaena wants to redeem herself because of her work as an assassin. She has her own moral code—staying away from children, for one—and mostly has to do with shady figures anyway. In Throne of Glass, we learn that she feels deeply guilty about her legacy. She is the last heir of Terrasen, their lost princess, but she chooses to bury her name as she considers herself a coward, and unworthy of leading her people. Well, she kinda blames herself for her parents’ death, too. We won’t spoil why, though.
She is conflicted between acting on her knowledge that Elena shared about the world ending, or ignore, it altogether. Her need to redeem herself, though, even silently, even anonymously, is greater. She feels she owes it to her people, to Terrasen, to Adarlan’s slaves.
Several powerful female figures appear throughout the series, and we love them all! In Throne of Glass, we are introduced to Elena, Nehemia, and Kaltain apart from Celaena. All fighting for their own causes, each one of them represents a different struggle. Elena fighting past demons, Nehemia being politically involved in the kingdom, and Kaltain struggling to survive as a woman of lower birth, romanticizing marrying Dorian to end her hardships. Don’t get us started on Manon Blackbeak and Elide Lochan.
In a fully patriarchal society, women fight to find their voice, and defy the rules. Celaena is skillful, cunning, and strong, outmatching almost every enemy with sheer strength and wit. At the same time, she has embraced her femininity, and enjoys the perks of being a woman and acting on actual emotion…
The world-building is not too complicated, yet smart enough to intrigue. There was magic in the kingdom of Erilea, until the King of Adarlan banished it, hunting down anyone who was practicing or was born with it. Then, he found a way to contain it, depriving the earth from it. However, there are other sources of magic that still have an effect; ancient runes, called Wydrmarks can conjure all kinds of spells. Locking spells, protection spells, opening-gates spells…
The thing is that there is a multiverse. There are many realms, where different kinds of creatures, fae, valg, you name it, reside in. At some point, they travelled across and got stuck in Celaena’s realm. Some came to conquer, though. Those are the bad guys we will struggle with till the end—and some evil ancient queens.
Politics are as important, as the society is built upon hierarchy, and, as always, wealth. Marriages of convenience, balls, aristocratic circles, shady underground groups, and of course, rebels. It is a tyrannical society, especially after Terrasen fell, and the King of Adarlan took charge of Erilea. The rebels mostly come from Terrasen as you can already guess, and keep pushing the King to change tactics, and free the slaves. Also, Eyllwe has rebels, and Nehemia is one of them.
It goes without saying that where there is repression, there must be a form of resistance. Aelin Galathynius carries the symbol of that resistance; people’s last hope of freedom.
The Throne of Glass books are definitely worth the hype. Some may compare it to A Court of Thorns and Roses series, but it would not do it justice as a young adult epic fantasy. The romance in this book series is more of a sub-plot rather than the main driving force. So if you are into hot bat-boys, who would burn the world down for their woman, you’re better of with A Court of Thrones and Roses. Check the ACOTAR characters one by one in our analysis.
However, if you like Fae Princes, broody captains, charming princes with shadow hands, and badass assassins and witches, go to your Amazon library and add Throne of Glass asap. Check your Goodreads or any other alternative and see the hype for yourself. Now if you have already gone through Maasverse, then here is a list of 18 books to read after ACOTAR.
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There are some spicy scenes throughout the series, starting from Crown of Midnight, and there is definitely tension between the main characters, but if you expect much of it, then you are in the wrong place. Shout out to those who cried with what Lorcan did… If you know, you know.
Yes, there are characters throughout the series that have or develop same-sex romantic relationships. In Heir of Fire, we are introduced to Aelin’s cousin, Aedion, who claims he has been with both males and females, and then Emrys and Malakai, two males who have been in a relationship for years. At Tower of Dawn, Hasar, the daughter of the Khagan, ruler of the southern continent, has a female lover, Renia.
No, Rowan Whitethorn comes much later, in book four of the series, if you include the novella as well. He makes his appearance at the very beginning of Heir of Fire in his animal form, a white-tailed hawk, on a rooftop where Aelin lies drunk in the sun in Wendlyn.
Nikki Sheryee insists that she’s “up to no good” whenever she’s in the company of books. Armed with a degree in English Language and Literature, she wields the power of words like a mischievous wizard. Her lifelong dream? To be the editor who sprinkles magic dust on manuscripts! To Nikki, a book is more alive than a caffeinated squirrel on roller skates. Readers nurture it, cuddle it, scold it, and occasionally challenge it to a duel! But in the end, a book does its own thing, pulling at our heartstrings and revealing our inner human-ness. Nikki’s favorite pastime? Well, it’s none other than the noble art of daydreaming! And she wears her daydreamer’s badge with pride, sharing this delightful delusion with the crème de la crème of her friends.
