*This ended up being longer than I thought and it has some spoilers under the cut.
Where do I even begin? Celaena Sardothien is the character I've been waiting for my whole life. A strong, badass assassin, who happens to be a pretty girl and likes dresses. I just needed this in my life!
So, at the beginning of the book, she's a prisoner in the mines, and she barely speaks, or show any emotion even when she's already in the castle. I must admit, when I first read the first couple of chapters, I was very confused as to where the whole plot was heading. I thought, ok, she's an assassin, the king wants one. But what for? Why is he so mean? Why all the prisoners? WHAT IS GOING ON???
And then, suddenly...there once was magic in the world and he wiped it away!!! I know, WHAT? That was the moment I fell in love with the book. Because, so slowly and smoothly, Sarah J. Maas introduced us to this complicated universe, full of secrets and mystery.
One of my favorite parts, is the way she makes all these characters so realistic, despite the fact that they live in the most fictional of universes. I mean, Celaena has her period at some point. How many times have you read a fantasy/dystopian book and you wonder what happens if the main female character gets her period, how do they handle that? And here, she does. And she has cramps that keep her in bed. It's beautiful!!!
Overall, I love this book, I love the world Sarah created, and all the characters. Even the ones I don't like as humans, I like as fictional people, 'cause they're all well written and have personal depth. And as the series goes, the story thickens. It's not one of those stories where you get to know everything in the first book and then random things happen. No, here, you have to keep reading to find out the real story.
I believe Celaena is one of the best female protagonists I've ever read. She's strong, intelligent, independent, and flawed. She's too proud, a little egocentric at times, and impulsive, but also, she's in complete charge of her sexuality which is just amazing for a young adult book. We need more heroines who are beautiful and know it. We need role models for young girls that own their bodies and minds. Enough with the special snowflake who's beautiful but doesn't know it, until a beautiful troubled boy falls in love with her and tells her just how beautiful and special she is. Enough with the girls who only get to experiment their sexuality if a boy sweeps them off their feet. NO. I want a girl who knows she's beautiful, a girl who sweeps a guy off his feet and she know she does. Girls need to learn that it's ok for them to love themselves and to be flirty and to pick the guy they want, while still being badasses who save the world.
