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Title: Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Fantasy, Magic, Adventure
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: August 2012 (I received this book as a digital ARC from NetGalley)
Pages: 432
Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis (from goodreads):
Meet Celaena Sardothien.
Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness.

In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught.

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?

My Review:

Every now and then I come across a novel that takes me forever to read. Not because I’m not enjoying it but rather the opposite – it’s because I’m having so much fun that I try to draw the story out as long as I possibly can. This book took me two weeks to read… which is an extraordinary time for me to read a book… I’m usually finished in one or two days.

Throne of Glass is the story of Celaena Sardothien – a notorious young assassin who has spent the last year slaving away in the saltmines of Endovier. But a year in a slave labour camp has done nothing to quell Celaena’s somewhat arrogant and cheeky attitude.

Celaena has been trained in the lethal arts since she was a young girl found by the Assassin King and she’s proud of all she’s accomplished. Not just anyone manages to be the Adarlan’s Assassin – the best in all the land – at seventeen.

When Crown Prince Dorian Havillard comes to the salt mines with a proposition for her, Celaena accepts his offer to represent him in a contest his father is holding – to find a Champion – and earn her wealth and freedom in four years.

But all is not well in Rifthold’s Glass Castle. Fellow competitors are turning up dead and the ladies of the court are nearly as vicious as assassins.

I was surprised by just how much I liked Celaena. She comes across as slightly arrogant but the more I read the more I realized that she had reason to be cocky. She’s achieved more in her years – not even to mention that she’s spent an entire year in a slave labour camp mining salt – than people do in entire lifetimes. And it’s true that whilst her life isn’t exactly ethical – she managed to kill 24 people in an attempt to escape from Endovier – she’s a force to be reckoned with.

I think the most surprising thing was that Celaena wasn’t just the hardened criminal that she seems at first glance. She’s there for her friends and stands up for poor defenceless animals. There’s a lot more to Celaena that I imagined.

This story is exciting. Assassin contest complete with many tasks and a duel to find the winner at the end. Add in a yuletime ball and gorgeous ball gowns… there was enough in this book to keep me interested from the first page to the last.

The love triangle in this novel was fantastic- and I’m not someone who usually likes when there’s more than one love interest. It’s one of those where there’s no clear leader and I like the mystery. Prince Dorian and Captain Chaol Westfall – best friends and romantic rivals are so different and yet best friends. They’re strong characters and I really enjoyed their interactions with Celaena and with each other.

I’ll definitely be reading the next book in this series. There’s a lot that’s left a mystery with so many questions regarding Celaena’s history and so many more about the magical world that still exists within Adarlan. I can’t wait till the next book is released.

Amazon / Book Depository

Title: Shooting Stars
Author: Allison Rushby
Genre: Contemporary, Chick Lit
Publisher: Walker Children’s
Publication Date: February 2012
Pages: 272
Rating: 3.5 stars

Synopsis (from goodreads):
Meet Josephine Foster, or Zo Jo as she’s called in the biz. The best pint-sized photographer of them all, Jo doesn’t mind doing what it takes to get that perfect shot, until she’s sent on an undercover assignment to shoot Ned Hartnett—teen superstar and the only celebrity who’s ever been kind to her—at an exclusive rehabilitation retreat in Boston. The money will be enough to pay for Jo’s dream: real photography classes, and maybe even quitting her paparazzi gig for good. Everyone wants to know what Ned’s in for. But Jo certainly doesn’t know what she’s in for: falling in love with Ned was never supposed to be part of her assignment.

My Review:

Josephine Foster, daughter of paparazzi royalty, can pap with the best of them. In fact, armed with her handy faux-iPod camera and sneaky sunglasses cam, little Zo-Jo is the best stealth celebrity stalker (I mean paparazzo) in the business. But she’s not happy with the dirty world of underhanded tactics. All she really wants is to get enough money to do the portrait photography course she’s got her heart set on and leave the business of snapping celebrities to someone else.

When Jo is offered the opportunity to get all the remaining money she needs in one job, she’s not as eager to accept as one might expect. That’s because her client wants her to spy and take photos of singer-songwriter Ned Hartnett – the celebrity who showed her kindness a few years ago and has held a special place in Jo’s heart ever since.

After reluctantly taking the job of going undercover in the rehab facility in Boston for teens with non-substance abuse kind of issues, Jo is having a moral dilemma. Ned doesn’t recognize her but Jo is falling even further for the star with every passing day. Doe she betray the boy she is starting to really care about or does she take the chance to finally get out of the game for good and take the money and the photos?

I enjoyed reading this book. Last night I couldn’t sleep so I picked up my copy and started reading. Before I knew it, I was over three-quarters of the way in and by that stage I couldn’t stop before the end. It is a fun read. From the start I enjoyed being privy to Jo’s life as a paparazzo and just what it entailed for her.

It’s a little cheesy in places and there were some parts that I sort of found a little unbelievable but this is not real life – it is a novel – and I found it very entertaining. I did feel a little cheated by the ending. This whole novel revolves around Jo and how she’s not quite all she seems. She goes to the retreat as a way to get close to Ned but whilst she’s there we see that she has some real issues of her own that she needs to deal with. I felt like that part of the story was glossed over a little. I know it’s not a deep and meaningful book but it seemed like we had the big reveal and then it wasn’t really addressed in a way I was satisfied with.

There is a lot to like about this story: the characters are entertaining and there were a few complete surprises in terms of the plot. I enjoyed the journey the author took me on.

In many ways this reminded me of a Meg Cabot novel (Teen Idol in particular) and I recommend it for anyone who appreciates teen stories where the hero is a bit of a heart-throb celebrity.

Purchase the novel from:

Amazon