Quick review: Throne of Glass novellas, by Sarah J. Maas

 I don't know if this is common knowledge, but I'm not really into novellas. They don't have enough character development, something that I treasure in a full-lenght book, and everything just happens too fast - there's no climax scene, since there isn't a context for one, and I get angry at the rushed dialogues. However, the Throne of Glass novellas surprised me. I read them in order, one after the other, with no time in between, and it felt like I read a normal novel, since Celaena went through a lot of adventures that changed her, and those around her, without any of the elements that I mentioned above.

Celaena herself was a surprise to me. She wasn't the fierce, strong girl I encountered in the first chapter of Throne of Glass - she was a ridiculous, selfish girl, who used her reputation to do whatever she wanted, and to mistreat whoever she wanted. I tolerated her in the first novella, but by the time I was almost halfway through the last novel, I couldn't stand Celaena. I wanted to her to die, period. She was incredibly shallow with those who loved her - especially with those who loved her - and she worried about such petty things, like whether her soap was expensive or not, that I began to wonder how the hell she managed to survive for so long. However, by the ending of the last novella... well. Things went downhill, and Celaena's life shattered - everything she knew was thrown to the wind, and she was broken, horribly broken. It was on that moment of pain that I could finally create a connection between both sides of Celaena - the one before this big twist happened in her life, and the one after that, the Celaena that I'll know when I start reading Throne of Glass.

Her character development was great, and very unique for a novella. Like I said, these four novellas together almost form a full novel, since everything, from world development to a romance, happens. The writing doesn't feel rushed, and neither do the dialogues, fortunately. I feel ready to read Throne of Glass. It's like I've explored Celaena's life so thoroughly, have seen so many different sides of her personality, that I know who I'm dealing with, now.

I'd definitely recommend these four novellas to anyone who hasn't read Throne of Glass yet. And if you have read it... well, it's still worth a shot, but I'm afraid you won't have the same reaction in the ending that a person who hasn't touched Throne of Glass had. Sarah J. Maas knows how to write smoothly, in a way that the story flows before your eyes without you noticing.She explored everything that Celaena's adventures has to offer - friendship, betrayal, partnership, love, bravery, pain, and heartbreak. I look forward to reading Throne of Glass. Now that I've got a taste of what the book is gonna be like... I'm ready for more!