"Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas is a coming-of-age tale about a young, very capable woman facing overwhelming odds. Celaena was once the Assassin of Adarlan, who defied the king and earned the reputation of the deadliest assassin in the world, but wound up imprisoned and enslaved to work in the Endovier salt mines for the rest of her life after losing her beloved and suffering through incredible loss. A year after her sentence is declared, she is summoned by the Crown Prince, Dorian, who convinces her to make a deal. Celaena agrees to test her abilities against dozens of opponents in competition for the title of King's Champion. In return for just a few years of service, Dorian swears that she will be paid well and rewarded further with her freedom. She agrees, at first planning to escape but instead rapidly forming meaningful friendships with both Prince Dorian and his best friend and Captain of the Royal Guard Chaol. When she arrives at the castle, she quickly begins training to best the other contestants while struggling to keep her identity a secret. Meanwhile, her relationships with both Dorian and Chaol begin to take on romantic leanings, even as the other Champions are being discovered dead one by one, and appear to have been ripped apart. With the help of Dorian and Chaol, and Princess Nehemia of Eyllwe, Celaena continues training against the Champions, especially the warrior Cain, who proves to be the largest challenge amongst the contestants by far, and also seeks to learn who or what is killing the Champions. The mystery deepens as she is visited by the spirit of Queen Elena, a member of the fairy race and first Queen of Adarlan, who insists that Celaena must win the Championship and rid the castle of the evil that inhabits it. She attempts to uncover the secrets of Wyrdmarks, magical writings, which she suspects are responsible for the bizarre killings of the other champions. Just as she begins to suspect Nehemia of the killings, her searchings bring her face to face against Cain and a terrible monster known as a ridderak, which she barely escapes with her life. This occurs just before the final duel, the winner of which will be named King's Champion. Celaena is poisoned just moments before facing off with Cain, who has been using the demons that he has summoned in order to steal the strength of the other contestants. After being severely beaten by her opponent, Celaena is suddenly rescued when Nehemia manages to summon Queen Elena to the assassin's side. The spirit quickly rids Celaena of the poison and takes Cain strength away, and Caelana emerges victorious as King's Champion, strong with the friendships she forged along the way.