Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Celaena Sardothien is the most famous assassin in the empire of Adarlan.  Betrayed by those closest to her, she is now held prisoner in the infamous mines of Endovier, a pit of misery from which she would do almost anything to escape.  Does that include working for the very king who conquered and enslaved her homeland of Terrasen?  That is the choice she faces when Prince Dorian Havilliard offers her an opportunity:  compete in a contest to become the King's Champion, and after five years of service to the crown she will be free.  Fail, and she returns to Endovier, a place from which she cannot hope to leave alive.

The premise of this book is interesting enough, although I'm already tired of this weird genre of female assassin/romance.  However, in my opinion the author lacks the skill to bring the potential in the story to fruition.  There are multiple problems.  

First, Celaena is not believable as the most deadly assassin in the known world.  She is more interested in pretty clothes and making out with the flavor of the month than with focusing on the competition she's supposed to win.  She's sloppy and makes so many mistakes.  A real assassin would surely sleep with one eye open--she repeatedly sleeps through people tromping in and out of her room.  Part of the reason she's always so tired is that she stays up late reading instead of getting sleep so she can be strong and win the competition.  Yeah--the competition that means the difference between life and death.  That one.

Second, this book really, really drags.  It is sooooooo long, and desperately needs tightening.  There just isn't a strong enough plot here to warrant this kind of detail.  It's basically a romance novel, and it needs to have the lighter-moving pace that a romance novel requires.

Third, there's a lot of untapped potential, which always bothers me.  For example, it's implied that, although magic was banished by the king, Celaena may have had powers at one time.  Then the author never returns to it again.  Whaaaaat?  That would have made this lackluster story super cool!  Magical powers are awesome!

In fairness, I should say that several of my friends have really loved these books.  They're just not my cup of tea.  I struggled through this one and part of the second one and then quit because there are too many other books out there I was more interested in reading.  I would rate these books PG-13 for violence and also sexual themes.