Throne of Glass

Celaena is an assassin imprisoned in the salt mines for her crimes. After a year she's approached by the Crown Prince with an opportunity to win back her freedom. Compete with 24 others for the chance to become the King's official Champion and thereby earn a 4 year contract leading to her complete freedom upon completion. Along the way, emotional walls are broken down, misconceptions, etc. But there's a problem: people are dying. Contestants, to be specific. Only Celaena can stop the grisly deaths, but can she to that AND win the competition?

It was enjoyable, though I found that I'm in a different headspace while reading. The whole “exceptional youths” thing is wearing on me a bit, so I can tell I'm in a more realistic-fiction/non-fiction mood. It was entertaining, enough that I'm interested in continuing the series, but probably not until I've had a good palate cleanser first.