A "Serie"ous Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

      

    

This review covers the main series as I have not read any of the prequel materials.  Normally, I would review each of the individual books, then the series as a whole.  In this case, to prevent spoilers, I will be reviewing the entire series.  When Celaena is rescued from the slave mines in order to take part of a competition, by the crown prince Dorian, she is thankful.  All of her opponents are men - thieves, assassins, brutes.  However, something dark is lurking in the castle and killing off the fighters one by one.  She must kill in order to survive, while also avoiding what is killing her competitors.  In the final fight of the competition, it brands her and sets her on the path to her destiny.   

I loved this series!  I would finish one, then try to get the next one as quickly as possibly.  They are very fast paced and difficult to put down.  I spent more than a few nights staying up on my Kobo reading in the dark, much to the frustration of my husband.  The author is a master of the cliffhanger, so you just HAVE to read the next book in order to see what happens next.  Celaena is a very independent woman who knows what she wants and she'll do what she must in order to get it.  On the path to her destiny, she makes a number of unusual friends and allies who will assist her in the ultimate and final confrontation.  LGBTQ+ friendly.

Similar Books:
Graceling Realm Series by Kristin Cashore

    

The main character from Graceling reminds me of Celaena.

The Ascendance Trilogy by Jennifer A. Nielson

    

Although the main character is male, the cutthroat competition is very similar to Throne of Glass.

Rule Series by Ellen Goodlett

 

The politics of the kingdom remind me of the politics that occur in the Throne of Glass series.  Bonus points for LGBTQ+ normalization of relationships.

A "Serie"-ous Review: Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce

Tortall:  The Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce

A coworker at the library suggested this book for my Adult Summer Reading Club Bingo.  She said she didn't like Harry Potter because she read this series first.  To me, this is still fantasy, but it is a different sort of fantasy than Harry Potter.  I would put this more in a "classic" fantasy where it is set in a completely different world.

I'd review each book individually, but this is better off reviewed as a whole.  The basic plot is that Alanna is far better suited to be a knight than her twin brother Thom, who wants to be a sorcerer.  Alanna and Thom switch spots with Thom being trained in magic and Alanna being trained as Alan of Trebond as a knight.

The series follows Alanna as she learns to control her magic and use it for good.  She must learn who to trust, including herself, as she goes on many wild adventures and grows from Alan of Trebond into Alanna, the Lioness Rampant.  She faces and defeats many foes until she is ready for the penultimate confrontation.

She is a strong, confidant girl who grows into an amazing woman.  Although she hides and denies her femininity at first as part of her disguise, she learns to embrace it.  Her growth in this area reminds me of this part from Avatar:  The Last Airbender:  

I would definitely suggest this to older teens and adults as there is some sensitive topics (puberty, birth control, implied sex) who are more emotionally capable to handle these implications.

Similar Series (Strong Independent Woman Protagonist)

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede (Ages 8+)

Princess Pulverizer by Nancy E. Krulik (Ages 5+)

The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale (Ages 5+)

The Belgariad by David Eddings (Ages 13+)

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (Ages 18+)

Wonder Woman (All Ages)

A "Serie"ous Review: The Mapmaker's Trilogy by S.E. Grove

          

The Mapmaker's Trilogy by S.E. Grove

In The Glass Sentence, we travel with Sophia on an adventure where she follows the directions of a mysterious glass map.  She finds and makes new allies along the way including a new companion named Theo.  The politics of the time echo our own.

In The Golden Specific, she sets out on a mission to find her parents after being given a hint to their whereabouts by a mysterious benefactor at the Nihilism archives.  We also meet some interesting new characters and find out more about the different Ages across the globe.

In The Crimson Skew, Sophia and her companions arrive back in North America only to find everything in disarray.  She continues onward to find her parents and along the way gathers the necessary allies as they all head towards their shared destiny.

I honestly picked up the first book on a whim from the library.  I wasn't really reading anything at the time and wanted something interesting.  The cover captured my eye and the description on the back clinched the deal.  Sophia is a strong, independent female character who accepts her companions as they are.  The plots are compelling and, once the world building is out of the way, very fast paced.  You will read the entire trilogy just to see what happens next.  This is a wonderful fantasy series!

Other similar series:

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman


Northern Lights is the adult edition of The Golden Compass.

Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede



Inkheart by Cornelia Funke