Reader Rayna

In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king’s champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass—and it’s there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena’s fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

Check out my old reviews from over ten years ago (ouch):
The Assassin’s Blade | Throne of Glass | Crown of Midnight | Heir of Fire

A Little Backstory

I’ve been doing a reread and first read of the Throne of Glass series, as well as Maas’s other books since the beginning of 2025. I started with the ACOTAR series, and have since caught up with what books we have out for that one (I’m SO excited for the upcoming releases), and so I knew it was time to tackle the other big series: Throne of Glass.

This series meant a lot to me when I first read it over ten years ago as it was my first big fantasy series that I got really into as an adult. It was one I read as it was releasing, it was there for me and with me during a lot of hard times, and I just loved the world and the characters that I got to read about as the books continued onward. I just… never finished the last two books in the series due to a lot of life circumstances where I couldn’t bring myself to read much of anything.

But now, a decade later, I’m making the time to reread my favorite series and worlds and characters, and seeing if they still hold true for me. And so far? They are.

Basically I’ve read up through Empire of Storms and never got to read Tower of Dawn or Kingdom of Ash. So everything up until those last two books will be a reread for me, which is wild, and I’ve reread the first three books three or four times already in a different reread attempt, but I’m actually putting in the effort this time and enjoying it much more this time around.

When I get to Tower of Dawn and Kingdom of Ash, I’ll do individual reviews on them like I would any other book. I think doing these cumulative reviews is a fun way to talk about how I feel about the books now vs when I first read them, though I don’t know if much of my opinion has changed, quite frankly lol

My Preferred Reading Order

There’s a few different reading orders online, but this was how I read them when I first got them ten years ago, and so this is how I read them now. Mind you, this is just for the books in today’s review:

Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, The Assassin’s Blade, Heir of Fire

This reading order makes the most sense to me and has the most emotional impact as far as reading the novellas because you get a real sense for who Sam is and his role in Celaena’s life.

As far as the reviews go, there may be mild spoilers for anyone that hasn’t read the series yet!

The Re-Reviews

Throne of Glass is actually a lot more fun than I remembered it being. When you hear people talking about it, they always say to “just get through this one” or that it’s not as good as the others, but there’s actually a lot of lore and important things that happen in this first book that really sets the backdrop for the rest of the series that I completely forgot about that I’m glad were introduced in this first book. As far as the plot itself goes, I would say that this one is the most forgettable, even though it’s the first and the basic of setting up the King’s Champion games and how Celaena has to go through trial after trial to overcome and win to hopefully gain her freedom in a few years after doing some of the King’s dirty work.

I found the character dynamics to be weakest in this first book, as though everyone was testing their footing – which makes sense, given that it’s a first book. The relationship between her and Dorian felt superficial at best when it was leaning more romantic, and I’m glad it never became the focal point of the story.

The plot itself is where the story felt driven, where the first book shined. It wasn’t as strong as the later books, but it was enough to want to continue on, and I even found myself cheering Celaena on during her trials against Cain. It was brutal in many ways, and again, opened doors to what, exactly, was the darker threat in the world than just what was on the surface.

My original rating: 5 stars
My 2026 rating: 4 stars

Crown of Midnight expanded upon what Throne of Glass set out to do and broadened the scope and urgency of what was to be expected in Celaena’s life, as well as the lives of Chaol and Dorian, if not the rest of the continent of Erilea. So much loss and grief happen in this book, while also a tentative love is found while also being shattered is quite devastating. I also didn’t realize when I first read this just how quickly that romance lasted between Celaena and Chaol. The two probably only had, I believe, two weeks together as a couple before everything went downhill.

There’s a lot of tension in this book, not just because of the romance, but because of the tragedy that happens with Nehemia, as well as the overall plot and discoveries that happen, such as discovering a monster in the library, a creature that was made and discarded and who thirsts and feeds on the anguish of others. The ante really amps up in this book, especially in the second half, and we really get to see what lengths Celaena is willing to go to for herself and others, as well as what those around her are willing to do and stand up for.

I had a really great time with this one, though, like the first book, it’s not as memorable as I would have liked. There’s plenty of lore and plot points that are obviously very important to the story, of course, but overall it’s just not as memorable as I would have wanted.

My original rating: 5 stars
My 2026 rating: 4 stars

The Assassin’s Blade is the novella bind up, and we go back in time a few years to when Celaena is working with Arobynn Hamel before her time in Endovier. Now, these novellas aren’t my favorite thing in the world as Celaena is incredibly arrogant and pompous, and very much a teenager basically throwing a fit. However, these novellas also show that there’s a lot of good in her and that she is willing to do whatever it takes to do good and set things right when she knows there’s something wrong going on.

I don’t have much to say about each individual novella. My favorite is The Assassin and the Desert. I think that was my favorite when I first read it way back when, too. I loved reading about the Silent Assassins and about her relationship with them, how she learned from them, and about a certain red-headed woman who plays an important role later on.

I will also say: Arobynn is a pig and deserves whatever comes to him later on. That’s all.

My original rating: 5 stars
My 2026 rating: 4 stars

Heir of Fire has been my favorite installment thus far, though I know that will be topped by Queen of Shadows when I get to it. I forgot just how much I loved this book, quite frankly. There’s a lot that happens in this one, from characters being introduced, to a new continent that the majority of the story takes place on, to all new levels of horror being expounded upon the world by the King of Adarlan and his lackeys.

In this book we follow Celeana in Wendlyn where she was sent on a mission by the King (thanks to Chaol trying to save her in Crown of Midnight) to assassinate the King and Prince of Wendlyn and bring him their heads, essentially, and she had several months to get the job done. Well, that’s not exactly what happens, because in comes Rowan, a Fae male with tattoos across his face and down his neck and arm to basically take her away from her sorry state and have her meet her aunt Maeve at a fort, where they strike a bargain so Celaena can learn the truth about Wyrdkeys, how to destroy them or collect them, and what she can do to stop the King.

This book is full of a lot of self deprecation, a lot of taking anger out on one another, a lot of lost hope. At least at the beginning. Both Celaena and Rowan are very broken people dealing with a lot of very broken pieces of themselves from their past – recent and not so recent – and so they take it out on each other verbally and physically. It can be rough to read about, but pushing through it you also see the kindness and compassion of the others around her, of the small glimmers of hope that can spark around those that are in darkness.

Not only that, but we also follow Chaol and Dorian back on the Erilean continent trying to figure out ways to deal with Dorian’s new found magic and how to make sure his father doesn’t find out, as well as Chaol coming to terms with (very poorly, mind you) the fact that Dorian has magic and Celaena is who and what she is.

But we also follow Aedion, a general for the King, as well as Celaena’s cousin. He’s such an interesting character and I’m quite fond of him, especially as the series continues, but in this one he’s a fierce and loyal protector of Celeana when they’re kids in Orynth, and even in Rifthold while they’re trying to form a rebel army under the King’s nose.

We also have another character introduced wholly separate from this group: Manon, an Ironteeth witch who is tasked with learning to ride a wyvern and join in the King’s aerial armada before they can take back their own lands in the Wastes. I love her quite a lot, actually. She’s a very ruthless character, the lot of the witches, but they’re also deliciously complex and dynamic. Some of my favorite chapters are her chapters and I can’t wait to read more about her in the next book.

Celaena comes to a lot of realizations in this book, and is able to overcome a lot of internal obstacles to actually accept who she truly is and is meant to be in the world. She is Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, and she will not be afraid.

The plot and pacing is so good in this book. There’s such a gold mine of story here that was so well done and thought out, tying in from the first two books while also plotting out in future books to come. I even got emotional and teary eyed during one scene, which was unexpected, honestly. This book is the one where the story truly picks up and becomes something epic. I enjoyed the first installments, but now? Now I’m wholly invested and cannot wait to continue on.

My original rating: 5 stars
My 2026 rating: 5 stars

I’ve been having such a fun time rereading these books, and I cannot wait to continue on with the series. I hope you enjoyed my little rereading reviews of the first several books in the series!