Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

taken from goodreads

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. 

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.

Lets just establish something, if the bad ass cover doesn't immediately draw you in and the bad ass synopsis doesn't immediately  draw you in then hopefully this review will do what the previous two failed to do.

First, I would like to say that the fantasy genre is the marmite of the book world for me. It's not often that I feel neutral towards these books, I either love the book or hate it. In this case, if you haven't already established, I freaking loved this book. Although, I found that at points it was pretty obvious what was going to happen, it doesn't draw away from the overall effect that this book has on the reader.

Celaena could possibly be the strongest female protagonist I have encountered in the YA world - she has her eye set on her freedom and she will stop at nothing to gain this and whilst she may be an assassin, she isn't emotionally detached from life like you may expect a killer to be. Not only is she an assassin, she is an avid reader and she could take you down with words in a matter of seconds. One of my favourite quotes from the entire book is one from the end, during the final fight and well, maybe you'll understand why it is my favourite once you've read it: “My name is Celaena Sardothien. But it makes no difference if my name's Celaena or Lillian or Bitch, because I'd still beat you, no matter what you call me.”  I cheered so hard when she said that, it definitely highlights her strength and complete bad-assery. 

The description in this book is wonderful, Maas wastes no time in plunging us into the world of Adarlan and the Glass Palace. There is one point when Celaena is stood looking out onto the city and I felt like I was stood right next to her. It's easy for writers to fall into the trap of telling rather than showing but Maas has not fallen down on this aspect, rather she has strode at least 10 ft past the trap. A well built world is one of the greatest things in literature.

Every single time I read a new book, I try desperately to not fall in love with the characters but with Dorian and Chaol it was too difficult. They are polar opposites which is why it is okay to love them both and I will not envy Celaena when it comes to choosing which of the two will be her endgame guy. Dorian is sassy, kind, hilarious and adorable that at times he seemed so much like Will Herondale that I found that I had to remind myself that I was not reading The Infernal Devices. However, I have been informed that this was written long before The Infernal Devices series so obviously this kind of guy is the archetype for YA. Chaol on the other hand is distant, strong, a warrior but there are times when his emotions slip through his cold exterior. The first time he tried to slyly smile at something Calaena had done was the point of no return for me.

Overall, I give this book a very solid 5 stars out 5. You can find the book on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Throne-Glass-Sarah-J-Maas/dp/140883233X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1379884156&sr=8-2&keywords=throne+of+glass

Legend by Marie Lu

Taken from Wikipedia

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

After doing a quick search on Goodreads to see what other readers thought of Legend, it would seem that there are mixed reviews on how people found this. On one hand- I totally get where the people that don't like it are coming from. There are certainly some aspects of Legend that became a bit repetitive and the colloquialisms used by Day and June can become quite dreary (e.g goddy, what the hell does that mean?!) However, Marie Lu's writing style helps build a vivid depiction of the Republic in our minds and the characters are well put together. 

The synopsis paints a picture of the Republic that looks awfully similar to The Hunger Games' Panem. Well, yes it does. They do share similarities- a large nation bounded together by a government that are awfully corrupt but really, that's a relatively common feature of YA dystopia novels. Or at least quite a few of the dystopia novels that I have read. The setting of Legend actually takes place in a city familiar to most people; Los Angeles. It isn't an undisclosed location that the readers have to take a stab at placing or picturing rather a place a hefty majority of the readers will have at least seen pictures of. Granted, it has changed quite a bit from the glamorous city we know it to be. The way Marie Lu has formed the LA of the Republic as both beautiful and so run down that the stark contrasts of how June and Day live helps you understand their characters and how they have been sculpted.

As for the characters themselves, they are everything you would expect from the stereotypical YA characters. An intelligent heroine with an intelligent, sassy hero at her side. But something about these two protagonists seem different. With many heroines, they have a special skill set but with June she is an all round intelligent character. She is quick to assess the situation around her and whilst some readers have criticised this because it is unrealistic, you have to remember that stupidity is being bred out of the humans in this novel. People need to be intelligent and athletic because it's the only way to survive and live a good life. Personally, I found June to be a strong independent character that held herself well in a way that would make her a strong asset to the Republic. And as for Day. He is what many love interests and heroes in YA novels are; sassy, attractive, stealthy, troubled and strong. Although that's not to say his character is a copy of many before him. Day is ridiculously intelligent (ignore the negative adjective, I mean it in a good way) and even though he consciously mentions this, it seems like he underestimates just how intelligent he is. He is the victim and the criminal. I could sit here and tell you that he is a misunderstood victim, which he is, but he is a criminal- albeit he is a criminal with good intentions but there is really no avoiding this. Some ridicule Day, much like they ridicule June and it is difficult to put across how different they are from what you may expect.

Now for the plot, if you have read this far then I assume you have a basic grasp of what happens in Legend. Sure, there are resemblances to other novels but this really is a page turner and honestly, it's difficult to put down. The one thing that I would've appreciated was June's time at school being extended so that we could understand her and the way she works more. But this fits in very well with the fast pace of the book, Marie Lu throws us into disequilibrium and almost as soon as the new equilibrium is established another disequilibrium is thrown at us and really, it works well considering the nature of Legend. The use of alternating perspectives is also a strong point for this novel as we get to experience the events through two sets of eyes and two completely different sets of views towards the Republic. 

I think Legend deserves a strong 4.5 stars for a good build up of suspense  and for setting up what looks to be a great series. I will definitely be reading the sequel Prodigy to find out how the pair will survive and evolve as characters. Check out the trailer for Legend below;