Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas-4 Stars

(reposting from Goodreads because for some reason my reviews weren't getting published when I thought they were supposed to be. hopefully they'll work from now on)

Holy schnikes, this was a good read. The only thing that keeps me from 5 starring this was the slightly stilted writing style at times (which either faded away the further in I got or I just got some enveloped in the story that I stopped noticing it) and the at time weird juxtaposition of words and concepts from our reality showing up in Erilea (the waltz was the biggest one that threw me. It was just kinda weird to see that used in a medieval-set fantasy world, a little out of place. Maybe that's just me, but I would have liked to see an invented term made up for a type of dance that was described as similar to the waltz. A little nit-picky I know but it just threw me out of the story for a moment). Otherwise this was a pretty phenomenal read. I really liked the characters (except, of course, the bad guys but you're not supposed to like them most of the time). Celaena was awesome and well-rounded and entertaining as hell (loved her anger and impulse-control issues mostly because it made her seem like a real person and made her relatable--at least to me, but I have my own anger management issues at times). Dorian was funny and charming and kind and sweet and I could totally see why Celaena liked him so much...but I'm Team Chaol all the way (even though I could only pronounce his name correctly about 76% of the time). Even though I got a little tired of the all the descriptions of his eyes (they're golden brown, or chestnut, or warm brown, or...you get the picture), I liked his gruffness and aloofness and how much he liked Celaena despite his better judgment (and him during that final duel...I just wanted to kiss him). I wish I already had the second book so I could start reading it immediately but alas, it's checked out by someone else and I have to wait my turn.

I hate waiting.

Guess I'll tide myself over with reading the novellas in the meantime. :)