Throne of Glass Reading Guide - Insightful Reading by Bookly

Published for the first time in 2012, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas was only the beginning of an epic fantasy series that took the young adult literature world by storm. 🌪️ Since then, it’s gotten even more traction on social media, and it’s been on the rise on BookTok and Bookstagram.

If you’ve had a chance to check out the reading guide for the ACOTAR series, here’s a similar one for the Throne of Glass series, especially for you! I’m covering the entire series instead of going book by book (I bet you don’t want an hour-long article, haha 🤭). Be aware of some spoilers along the way, although I tried my best to keep them to a minimum.

Reading Guide for Throne of Glass

Here’s what I used while reading, but feel free to use what works best for you!

👑 Tabs/Sticky Notes: Mark places you want to remember in the books so that you can go back and write down details in a notebook later. These were especially helpful during my tandem read of Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn.

👑 Notebook: Jot down quick thoughts, whether it’s something about a character or the plot.

👑 Bookly App: Use all the features within the Bookly App—like the character, thoughts & quotes feature, as they will help you during future rereads of any book, especially if you find yourself forgetting details as soon as you close your book. 🤭

Now grab your Bookly App, snack of choice, and let’s crack into Throne of Glass! 🤩

Throne of Glass Series Breakdown 📖

Throne of Glass is a pretty long series, including 7 books and one novella collection. Here’s the list of each book in the series:

The Assassin’s Blade (TOG #0.1-0.5): Novella collection that includes The Assassin and The Pirate Lord, The Assassin and The Healer, The Assassin and The Desert, The Assassin and The Underworld, and The Assassin and The Empire.
Throne of Glass (TOG #1)
Crown of Midnight (TOG #2)
Heir of Fire (TOG #3)
Queen of Shadows (TOG #4)
Empire of Storms (TOG #5)
Tower of Dawn (TOG #6)
Kingdom of Ash (TOG #7)

Throne of Glass Reading Order Recommendation ✨

The Assassin’s Blade: this collection of novellas provides the reader with an important backstory on certain characters that I believe is important to know before starting the series.
Throne of Glass
Crown of Midnight
Heir of Fire
Queen of Shadows
Empire of Storms (EOS) / Tower of Dawn (TOD) tandem read
Kingdom of Ash

Trigger Warnings

Beware of the mentioned SA, and graphic violence throughout the series. 😶

List of Characters

Here is the list of some important characters within the series. 😌

Celaena Sardothien: The main character of the series. She is an assassin captured by Adarlan forces and enslaved in the Endovier Salt Mines. Freed by Dorian to compete to be the King’s Champion, she is a viewpoint character.
Lysandra: A courtesan who works for a madame in Rifthold, who knows Celaena through Arobynn Hamel. They have a rivalry. She is also a viewpoint character.
Arobynn Hamel: Rescued Celaena when she was a child and taught her to be an assassin. He is Celaena’s mentor.
Sam Cortland: Celaena’s friend and lover in The Assassin’s Keep.
Rolfe: Known as the Pirate Lord, he is a pirate who rules Skull’s Bay.
Aelin Ashryver Galathynius: The heir of Terrasen, thought to have died during Adarlan’s raid of Terrasen.
Dorian Havilliard: Crown Prince of Adarlan. He befriends Celaena during her time in the glass castle, and it’s also a viewpoint character.
Chaol Westfall: Captain of the Guard, Dorian’s best friend. Also, a viewpoint character.
King of Adarlan: Dorian’s father and the King of Adarlan. He is responsible for the destruction of Terrasen and the conquering of many other countries.
Nehemia Ytger: Princess of Eyllwe and friend of Celaena during her time in the glass castle. Her family sent her to Adarlan as a ward/emissary.
Duke Perrington: The Duke of Morath. He is the cousin and close friend of the King of Adarlan.
Kaltain Rompier: A petty courtier who is Celaena’s main nemesis in Throne of Glass. She is somewhat betrothed to Duke Perrington, but craves Dorian’s attention.
Fleetfoot: Celaena’s canine companion, given to her by Dorian.
Nesryn Faliq: A city guard of Rifthold, Chaol’s friend, and a gifted archer. She is also a viewpoint character.
Aedion Ashryver: Aelin’s cousin who served as a general in Adarlan’s military. Also a viewpoint character.
Ren Allsbrook: A member of rebels fighting against Adarlan and heir of Allsbrook—a territory in Terrasen.
Rowan Whitethorn: A Fae prince who is one of 6 members of Maeve’s cadre. He is also a viewpoint character.
Maeve: One of three Fae Queen’s and Aelin’s aunt. Aelin’s mother is her niece. She is the oldest sister of Mora and Mab.
Elide Lochan: Heir of Perranth. Her mother was a close friend of Aelin’s mother. Anneith watches over her, and she is a viewpoint character.
Manon Blackbeak: The Blackbeak Heir, an Ironteeth Witch. Also a viewpoint character.
Lorcan Salvaterre: A demi-fae member of Maeve’s cadre. He is a viewpoint character, too.
Sartaq: Commander of the rukhin in the Southern Continent. He is one of 6 siblings in the line for the Khaganate.
Yrene Towers: A young and wise healer who studied at the Torre Cesme and Antica. She is blessed by Silba.
Evangeline: A young girl who was sold to the same madame Lysandra works for. She is Lysandra’s ward.

Setting 🏰

Erilea: The Continent that includes the following countries/territories: Terrasen, Adarlan, Ellywe, Melisande, Fenharrow, The Western Wastes, The Frozen Wastes, and The Deserted Land.
Adarlan: Main setting of books 1-4. The country that conquered many others within Erilea.
Rifthold: The capital city of the Kingdom of Adarlan. The glass castle is located here.
The Assassins Keep: Arobynn’s home and where assassins in his employ live and work out. Located in Rifthold.
The Glass Castle: The castle in Rifthold where the King of Adarlan rules from. It is connected to the original stone castle.
Morath: A city within the Kingdom of Adarlan that is surrounded by black mountains. It is ruled by Duke Perrington.
Salt Mines of Endovier: Where Celaena and many others were enslaved for labor. Many prisoners of war from Eyllwe and Terrasen are here and in another slave camp called Calculla. Endovier borders Terrasen within Adarlan.
Skull’s Bay: A city located within an archipelago of islands off the coast of Fenharrow and Eyllwe.
Terrasen: Located in the northernmost region of Erilea and ruled by House Galathynius, known for its pine forests and looming mountains. Terrasen was the first country conquered by the King of Adarlan.
Orynth: The capital of the Kingdom of Terrasen and is in the country’s northern region. It’s bordered by the Staghorn Mountains.
The Red Desert: Located in The Deserted Land. The Silent Assassins have made their home here, where Celaena spends some time too.
The Eastern Continent: A continent located to the East of Erilea. It contains Wendlyn, which is ruled by House Ashryver, relatives to Aelin and Aedion, and Doranelle, a Fae Kingdom ruled by Maeve.
The Southern Continent: A continent located to the South of Erilea, ruled by the Khaganate.
Antica: The capital city that the Khanganate rule the South Continent from.
Torre Cesme: An ancient tower in Antica that trains healers in the art of healing. It was built by an ancient queen as a gift to a healer who saved her child.

Timeline

While diving deep into the timeline of the Throne of Glass series, I discovered that there seems to be some confusion on the exact timeline. So I have figured out the timeline through Celaena’s age throughout the series. 🤩 This is the timeline I was able to come up with:

The Assassin’s Blade/Throne of Glass: Celaena was 17 when she was captured and sent to Endovier. She then turns 18 in Endovier.
Heir of Fire: Celaena mentions turning 19.
Kingdom of Ash: Celaena mentions turning 20.

Based on these, we can say that the entire series spans a rough approximation of 2 ½ – 4 years.

Politics

The politics of Erilea are complicated and deeply rooted in mistrust between the countries and territories on the continent. Adarlan started a war a decade prior to the events in Throne of Glass and started conquering the countries around it, from Terrasen, therefore jumpstarting the events in the series. During this time, magic was completely wiped out. Despite losing their abilities, magic wielders were seen as a threat and were hunted down and executed on the King of Adarlan’s orders. ⚔️

Races

The Little Folk: Small faeries that live amongst the Fae and are known to help those who are worthy.
Fae: Powerful immortal beings with pointed ears and elongated teeth. They can see, hear, smell, run fast, heal quicker than mortals, and possess some other ability that allows them to shift into some type of animal form.
Demi-Fae: Half human, half Fae beings. They are looked down upon by some Fae.
Valg: A race of demons not from the same world that Throne of Glass is set in.
Witches: Product of the Valg and Fae breeding. There are two bands, known as the Ironteeth and the Crochan’s.
Humans: Mortals who can sometimes have magical abilities.

Mythology/Folklore 🪆

Throughout Throne of Glass, there are several mentions of allusions to multiple pantheons of gods/goddesses. Sarah J. Maas is known for drawing from different mythologies, such as Roman, Eastern European, Greek, Norse, and Celtic. Here are some mentioned in the TOG series:

Hellas: A dark god and a god of death. Possibly inspired by Hel in Norse Mythology or Hades in Greek Mythology. He watches over Lorcan Salvaterre.
Deanna: Goddess of hunting and the moon. Inspired by Diana in Roman Mythology.
Silba: Goddess of healing, healers, and gentle death.
Mala Fire-Bringer: Goddess of the Sun.
Anneith: The Lady of Wise Things, she watches over Elide Lochan, who is Hellas’s consort.
God of Truth: Also known as the Sin-Eater.
Three-Faced Goddess: This goddess, also known as the Triple Goddess, appears in many Neopagan religions. The Ironteeth Witches worship her. She has three heads/faces representing different Ironteeth Clans.
Baast: A warrior goddess inspired by Bast from Egyptian Mythology. She is represented by the Cats of Baast that roam the library in The Torre Cesme.
36 Gods: The Southern continent has 36 gods/goddesses. Citizens can worship who they like, explaining why there are so many deities–Baast is one of the 36.

Magic ✨

Here is a list of different types of magic mentioned throughout Throne of Glass series:

Elemental Magic: The ability to control fire, ice, wind, earth, and water. Not necessarily the ability to control all.
Shape Shifting: The ability to shift into different people/animals.
Dark Magic: From the Valg. Lorcan’s magic is also mentioned to be of this nature.
Teleportation: The ability to move from one location to another.
Wyrdmarks: Ancient language used to perform different spells.
Raw Magic: The ability to use any type of magic.

Bookly infographics

The Assassin’s Blade (TOG #0.1-0.5)

Throne of Glass (TOG #1)

Crown of Midnight (TOG #2)

Heir of Fire (TOG #3)

Queen of Shadows (TOG #4)

Empire of Storms (TOG #5)

Tower of Dawn (TOG #6)

Kingdom of Ash (TOG #7)

Empire of Storms / Tower of Dawn tandem reading guide

While initially daunting, I 100% recommend tandem reading EOS and TOD. They occur simultaneously, and since Sarah J. Maas switches characters’ perspectives quite often in her books, it feels like just additional character chapters. So below you have an EOS/TOD tandem reading list to guide you in your schedule. 😌

EOS: Nightfall-Chapter 5
TOD: Chapter 1
EOS: Chapter 6-8
TOD: Chapter 2-3
EOS: Chapter 9-10
TOD: Chapter 4-6
EOS: Chapter 11
TOD: Chapter 7
EOS: Chapter 12-13
TOD: Chapter 9-10
EOS: Chapter 14-16
TOD: Chapter 11-12
EOS: Chapter 17-18
TOD: Chapter 13-16
EOS: Chapter 19
TOD: Chapter 17
EOS: Chapter 20-23
TOD: Chapter 18-21
EOS: Chapter 24-25
TOD: Chapter 22-23
EOS: Chapter 26
TOD: Chapter 24
EOS: Chapter 27-29
TOD: Chapter 25-28
EOS: Chapter 30
TOD: Chapter 29-31
EOS: Chapter 31
TOD: Chapter 32
EOS: Chapter 32
TOD: Chapter 33-35
EOS: Chapter 33-51
TOD: Chapter 36-37
EOS: Chapter 52
TOD: Chapter 38-40
EOS: Chapter 53
TOD: Chapter 41-42
EOS: Chapter 54-56
TOD: Chapter 43
EOS: Chapter 57-59
TOD: Chapter 44-48
EOS: Chapter 60-61
TOD: Chapter 49-51
EOS: Chapter 62-63
TOD: Chapter 52-53
EOS: Chapter 64-65
TOD: Chapter 54-56
EOS: Chapter 66-67
TOD: Chapter 57
EOS: Chapter 68-75
TOD: Chapter 58-Fireheart

And there you have it folks! My reading guide for Throne of Glass. I added everything I thought was notable about the series, so I hope you enjoy reading it and love it as much as I did. 🤩. Happy reading!

This reading guide was written by our Bookly Pro Reader, The Rose Post 💙

Looking for some more reading guides to up your series game?

If you want some more tips & tricks on how to read other series, check out our guides for the ACOTAR series and The Poppy War Trilogy. Don’t forget to take notes while reading so that you won’t miss out on any timeline detail, character, or setting you encounter throughout the story. 😌