Hey everyone! Do I have a treat for you! Do you remember the time where I didn't know when or where I would read Throne of Glass? Well, I did! And so did both of my friends Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight and Holly @ The Fox's Hideaway. We have officially read the book! Woo! *throws confetti* So, what now? Well, instead of reviewing it individually, we decided to discuss it instead. This led to a rather lengthy discussion on what we thought, (what we forgot), and overall, what we liked and disliked about Throne of Glass! Since our discussion was *pretty* long, we decided to divide it in three parts! Links will be provided at the end to both parts 2 & 3!
Without further due, here is part 1! Be prepared for some craziness!
Introduction
Val: I'm about to start this discussion again, for real. So I really liked Throne of Glass, I liked it a lot. I'm not sure who I was rooting for, Dorian or Chaol (I can’t believe his name is pronounced as “Kale”, hahahah)
Holly: Whoa. Whoa. Wait. His name is pronounced as “Kale”? THAT MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL. Also I am totes team Kale, after that Trial type of thing.
Val: I KNOW. I think I saw it on someone else's blog, and I was like “wut, I've been pronouncing it 'Ch-AWL' this entire time. What is life. But yeah, I am ALSO TEAM KALE. Shannon what team are you on?
Holly: I've been pronouncing it like Ch-awl too! IT MAKES MORE SENSE TO ME.
Val: Yeah I DON'T EVEN KNOW.
Shannon: I thought it was Kale from the start? But I also thought I was wrong, so who knows!
Celaena
Holly: Celaena is a BADASS. I mean, she could be extremely stubborn, obnoxiously vain, and cold. But I think those “flaws” just made me love her all the more. I liked that she was a sexually confident female too, because they are sorely lacking in YA books.
Val: TRUE. It is so lacking in YA that I myself don't even know what sexually confident means. And I loved how she became slightly more caring in the end.
Holly: Basically, it means that these females know they're hot, and they don’t apologize for that. They're confident with and around guys, and they like flirting. NO SLUT-SHAMING. In so many books I read, most girls are the typical Mary Sue. Shy, innocent, always blushing at everything. They don’t know they're pretty, and they find it ridiculous that a guy would call them beautiful. They're kind of made to be superior to “those other girls” and it’s such a harmful stereotype and leads to slut-shaming. And oh, I loved her growth. She was so closed-off and angry at the whole world, but slowly, so slowly she became warmer and more caring. She started to feel more for people, let herself open up again. She’s been through a lot, so I totally understood her need to shut down and keep people out.
Val: Oh I see! YAY NO SLUT SHAMING. Yeah, same here. I've only read a few that have had confident girls as well. It all sounds very humble and modest :P And like what a girl is SUPPOSED to be like. Seriously. I’m glad that the people around me at least think differently, well I guess on Tumblr, Book Blogging community, and hopefully my friends think that slut-shaming is bad too, at least.
Holly: Oh, I don't think I have friends outside of this that see slut-shaming as a problem, which is sad. I try and catch it in books, and I like reading ones that say “fuck you” to the gender norms.
Shannon: I liked her by the end, but in the beginning, holy hell she was VAIN. I was like, girl, you are about to die, and you are worried about your boobs and your hair. STOP IT.
Ready to continue? Part 2 Part 3
Jordin · 510 weeks ago
My recent post Review: Heir of Fire
vlangloisx3 116p · 509 weeks ago
Charnell · 510 weeks ago
vlangloisx3 116p · 509 weeks ago
aperfectioncalledbooks 76p · 510 weeks ago
Celaena IS such a badass, and she gets even more badass as the series progresses. I'm so glad that Celaena is so confidant and proud of her sexuality. There's no slut shaming, and she totally owns everything she does.
Ahhh I'm glad you guys are loving this!! :D
vlangloisx3 116p · 509 weeks ago
YES WE ARE LOVING THIS. Except Shannon went on to already read books 2 and 3 :P
fictionalskylines 36p · 510 weeks ago
And oh heck, yeah, she was VAIN. I liked that she was proud of herself despite being in prison/slavery for so long but when she was agonizing over wet shoes and not being invited to balls even though she was beautiful, it was like....she was another person?? I was just "whut gurl, get yo head back in the game and train or figure out weaknesses or the politics of the palace".
Heh, I hope she grows out of these characteristics later in the series :)
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vlangloisx3 116p · 509 weeks ago
As of right now, I'm not as attached to Celaena because it's only the first book, but I definitely agree in that she could've been less focused on her appearance and more on the game! Though in the end I have to say she was very focused on the whole mysterious fae thing going on in the castle.
I AM ALSO EXCITED FOR THE REST OF THE SERIES!
shannonmiz 83p · 510 weeks ago
My recent post We All Read Throne of Glass (And No One Remembers)
vlangloisx3 116p · 509 weeks ago
And of course you know that because you already went ahead and read the rest of the series :P
kaylasanchez2 69p · 510 weeks ago
I'll agree with Shannon and say that Celaena's character in the next two books develops SO MUCH. Like, I can't even handle it. I CAN'T HANDLE THIS SERIES.
GO READ HEIR OF FIRE SO YOU CAN CRY WITH ME.
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vlangloisx3 116p · 509 weeks ago
caitdrews 124p · 510 weeks ago
AGH I PRONOUNCED IT CHAY-AL. (I guess that's my Australian accent on Ch-awl hahahaaha. Ahem.) But not Kale. I knew it was Kale when I finished bk 1, but he's still Chay-al in my head. XD No regrets!
Loved the discussion, you three!!
vlangloisx3 116p · 509 weeks ago
Thanks Cait :D
Emily · 509 weeks ago
I was pronouncing "Chaol" as "Coal" lol until I went to a book signing and heard the author pronounce it. Whoops!
My favorite thing about Celena is her badass-ness and it gets better, so I hope you keep reading this series!
Emily @ Follow the Yellow Book Road
delicateeternity 69p · 508 weeks ago
And I always thought it was pronounced "kale", haha. But I often pronounce names wrong, so I am actually pretty surprised that I was right this time *happy dance*
I am really glad that I kept on reading this series, though, because I have ended up LOVING it. There's so much more showing of Celaena being badass, and she grows so much as a character, as well.
On the sex positive note: I think Sarah J. Maas does a good job of that on the whole, because Feyre was the same in ACoTaR. Sex wasn't made out to be this huge, monumental thing only to be undertaken when everything is perfect etc etc etc. I mean, sure, it CAN be something like that but it doesn't HAVE to be - which I think is the message that a lot of YA books put out there, which isn't the best in my opinion.
Great discussion :D
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