#kingdom of ash review

[margielalalove]

“There are no gods left to watch, I’m afraid. And there are no gods left to help you now, Aelin Galathynius. Aelin smiled, and Goldryn burned brighter. I am a god.”

Sarah J. Maas, Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass, #7)

[sofiasjornal]

Kingdom of Ash Review (a little late)

I really didn't know what to write about this one, or even how to say goodbye, so I won't!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The first 250 pages were absolute hell. Not because they weren't well written, they really were, and that was why they were so difficult to get through. What Maeve and Cairn did to Aelin... I suffered with her through every single line of those chapters. And when she rescued herself (because let's face it, she did it, Rowan and the others were just there to help her) I didn't feel as much relief as I thought, I felt really tired. And when she said she too was tired, my heart broke alongside hers.

Everyone who told me Chaol got better in KoA was absolutely right! He grew a lot, but I suppose war does that... and Yrene. We all need to bow down to Yrene.

Gavriel's death broke my heart in tiny little pieces. I really thought he and Aedion would have the time to talk properly, to get to know each other... but they didn´t... But in the end, Gavriel died protecting his won, just like a father would.

I loved how all of the couples got to in the end. It was a fitting end for everyone. The only thing that bothered me a little was how Dorian and Manon's storyline was left open ended. With two impredictable characters as those two, I just don't know. Somehow I dont see Manon marrying Dorian and becoming the Queen of Adarlan, not after so much pain to get the witches together. Maybe they'll be happy with the back and forward... I guess is up to us to imagine how those two would end up in the end.

But Aelin... Aelin went home and got everything she deserved. Every moment of peace she fought so hard and sacrificed so much for... And now she's rebuilding a world, a better world. Just like she promised.

I realised that I will never be able to say goodbye to Aelin. I think about her constantly, about her strength, her endurance, her passion. I loved her from that first moment and I would've followed her to hell, and we did. But even now, that Throne of Glass is officially over, I do not say goodbye. I keep her here. Always

Aelin

[folk6crows]

Is Throne of Glass worth the hype?

YES

[lia-land]

Kingdom of Ash

4/5 stars

*Spoilers for Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas.

My heart!!!

I will discuss everything in chronological order because this was a longggg book at nearly 1000 pages.

First, it could have been shorter. I loved it, but I feel this way about every SJM book.

The first two chapters were written so well. Or pre-chapters, I guess? ‘The Princess’ and ‘The Prince’ set the scene for the rest of the book so beautifully. Reminded me of Chapter One of Queen of Shadows when Dorian was trapped with the Valg. A very strong start to this book.

I really love Dorian in this which seems to be an unpopular opinion. I’ve liked him throughout the series but especially in this book. I truly never knew what his next move would be. He’s managed to surprise me the most out of all the other characters and has suffered so much, but I feel like it’s never really acknowledged. Him seducing Manon while he'd shape shifted into a witch was odd. I was kind of hoping he would actually turn evil when he started showing an interest in Manon, but then she became ‘good,’ so then I thought he might actually marry Maeve and that didn’t happen either. I did want him and Aelin to end up together in the first two books and I am so happy that they did not because I love him and Manon together so much and I think Aelin would have overshadowed Dorian instead of complementing his character like Manon does. I’d happily read a whole series about Dorian. He is the character that I will miss the most. I would have liked his ending to be more clear, but I also like how it feels knowing we just might not ever know how his story ended. Although, I feel like SJM will one day explore this in a future book.

I’ve said this in past reviews, but the whole thing with Aelin coming up with a secret plan to save the day every single time was getting old and I thought it was an interesting change that Maeve outsmarted her for as long as she did. It was satisfying for me as a reader to have something actually happen to Aelin without me reading the chapter thinking ‘I’m not actually that invested because I know Aelin will have the upper hand and pull out some secret plan as always’. The chapters about her time in the iron box were very well-written and her pain came across those pages really well. It was a beautiful moment when she offered the blood oath to Fenrys.

Moonbeam is so unserious. I love it.

Elide continued to annoy me. Just… everything she says and does. I can't specifically recall when or why I disliked her, but I didn’t care for her character whatsoever. Lorcan was also just kind of there, existing. No strong feelings about him either way. I need clarification on what Lorcan did back in Empire of Storms, though, because I thought that was their first time actually having sex? But apparently it was in this book. If I had a penny for everytime a chapter ended with a variation of “so Lorcan did,” I would have two pennies and not know where to spend them. What did Lorcan do the first time?!

The first line in this entire series that truly caught me off guard was when Aedion said “because I am not in love with our other allies.” I don’t particularly like Aedion and obviously we knew he was in love with Lysandra, but the tension in that scene and the directness of it was so unexpected amongst the chaos. This is one of two lines that I have highlighted in my copy.

The second line… “Live, Manon.” I think this the saddest character death scene I have ever read in any book. 11 characters dying on one page should be some sort of record. The way each of the Thirteen’s deaths were described followed by everyone placing flowers on the field broke my heart. I have often loved the witches storyline more than Aelin’s and didn’t expect them all to die, let alone to sacrifice themselves. I think it was necessary for the story, though, because SJM has a tendency of not killing off characters and that has always felt inauthentic and takes me out of an immersive reading experience because I know that conveniently, no one will die. It wasn’t surprising, per se, that they sacrificed themselves, because that was how the Thirteen’s characters were portrayed, but the way it was written was devastating. Manon’s pain came across so strongly through those pages. I think this mainly upset me because my guard for characters dying is down when I read SJM books. She loves a happy ending and I know not to expect certain things to actually happen. This was like the thing I mentioned earlier about Aelin getting outsmarted by Maeve; it was refreshing.

Manon has been my favourite character throughout this series. Just a tiny bit more than Dorian. SJM has a tendency of turning evil characters 'good' and making them boring in the process, which I have discussed in reviews of her other books. However, I think Manon is the only character that she actually made more interesting by making her less 'evil.' Her story has been one of my favourite character developments ever.

Murtaugh’s death felt very rushed over and oddly written. With the word choices, I didn’t even realise he was dead until a few paragraphs in when it was mentioned that a sheet was over him. This was either intentional and not executed well, or just bad word choices. It kind of felt like SJM was just trying to get rid of him because we didn’t get anything between him going to tell Aedion he’s fighting and then him being dead. 

I want to see more of Ansel of Briarcliff. We saw very little of her throughout the series, but it was all so entertaining. I’m not sure why we weren’t given more of an explanation as to how she became queen after leaving the Silent Assassin’s, but I’’m hoping this was set up for us to get a book about her later. I loved when she offered to share the Wastes with Manon while simultaneously taking her bread. That was just so her.

I'm not giving it 5 stars mainly because no one actually died. All these main characters, and not one of them died in this massive war.

[princessofmanyfaces]

Throne of Glass

The Assassin's Blade:

A 4 star read for me. It was good but from what I heard before reading it I expected it to be a 5 star read and was a little disappointed.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Throne of Glass:

A 4 star read for me. Usually every first book is kinda boring to me but I loved this one. I loved Celaena in this book and I loved Dorian. I loved the competition and the hidden passages. The mystery was fun.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Crown of Midnight:

A 4 star read for me. We see Celaena more in her assassin nature in this book and I really liked it. I'm a big fan of Celaena, she's fierce but she's also adorable.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Heir of Fire:

A 5 star read for me. But – what's her name? Ehat am I supposed to call her now? It was kind of confusing but I was so excited for Rowan to get introduced and how they went from hating to tolerating to liking each other. "Who did this you?" Hell yeah boy! And Manon got introduced, too. Queen.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Queen of Shadows:

Another 5 star read for me. More action for the witches and for Aelin and Rowan. Abraxos being a sweetheart. Valg. Aedion got introduced. Nesryn got introduced, my love.

⭐⭐🌟⭐⭐

Empire of Storms:

A 5 star read for me. We are seeing a bit of Terrasen and then we are in Skulls Bay again. More Manon. More Rowaelin. More heartwrenching plot. Amazing.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tower of Dawn:

A 3 star read. It's definitely not a bad book but it's also not the best in the series. It was necessary for the plot and I loved Nesryn chapters. AND WE MEET YRENE AGAIN YAS!

⭐⭐⭐

Kingdom of Ash:

A 5 star read. SJM ripped my heart straight out of my chest and asked me if I'm okay. I'm not. Loved it.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

TOG Series:

A solid 4 star series.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

[lucyqueenofchaos]

The Assassin's Blade

⭐⭐⭐⭐: My heart has been ripped out of my chest and stomped on.

I finally read The Assassin's Blade. On my first read through of the Throne of Glass series, I was too excited and obsessed with the magic story line, so I skipped the Assassin's Blade. And I now know that was a mistake. A very big mistake. This review does contain spoilers, so please read at your own risk.

This collection of short stories is a must read in the Throne of Glass series. You can read it either before Throne of Glass, or between Heir of Fire and Queen of Shadows. I chose to read it between Heir of Fire and Queen of Shadows, and I currently feel like I made the right choice.

I like how each of the included novellas have their own contained story line, but they also contribute to the whole that is The Assassin's Blade. A wonderful blend of characters and environments, with such incredible variety. I loved that the Assassin's Blade explored so many different locations in Erilea, which is something I've always wanted to see more of in these books.

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ This novella is a great start to our history of Celaena. Full of the action that we love, and shows off the true moral code of Celaena. I think this is honestly the earliest chronological time that we (as the reader) get to see the morals that Celaena holds true in her heart. And seeing her fear for Sam when the watchtower falls had me holding my breath as well! There are also some really visceral descriptions included in this first novella that honestly had me on the edge of my seat. I did feel that it was little slow in places, but I can forgive that.

The Assassin and the Healer: ⭐⭐⭐ This was a truly interesting read. Told almost entirely from Yrenes' POV, it played out a little differently than the rest. I liked Yrenes' character development - from a timid girl who has given up on her dreams, to a confident young woman who is on the path to greatness. I felt like even though it was really short, it did end up dragging quite a bit. I liked seeing Celaena teach Yrene basic self defense, and having read the series before it gave some much needed background on Yrene that I missed the first time around. Unfortunately the pacing of this one did hold the rating back on it for me.

The Assassin and the Desert: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Look, I'm trying to keep this review semi-professionally worded, but my heart is screaming "OMG THIS NOVELLA WAS SO GOOD!" It was quite a bit longer than the previous two, but that's because there was more to the story. Watching Ansen and Celaenas' relationship play out was beautiful. Not once did I suspect Ansen of being the spy, and I'm going to be brutally honest - that reveal just about broke me. Ansel and Celaena could have been thick as thieves for life if it weren't for this betrayal. I really enjoyed seeing Celaena get the point of the training The Master gave her (it gave me major karate kid vibes, but Celaena is less of a little shit). It also broke my heart to see Celaena come to the realisation that Arobynn is a manipulative, abusive man - and to see that The Master is everything Arobynn is not. And finally learning the tale behind the stolen Astarion Mare was the cherry on top. The Assassin and the Desert is for sure my favourite novella from The Assassins Blade.

The Assassin and the Underworld: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ For such a short novella, this one did certainly drag a bit. It felt like there was less action, and in my honest opinion; Celaena and Sams' relationship didn't live up to the hype. I think there were honestly a little toxic for each other, but young love is so sweet. I'm definitely not doubting the extent of their love for each other, but they're both pretty petty people (I just love alliteration), and they weren't good at effective communication. It was nice to see their affection for one another grow and change. Seeing more of Celaenas' apartment was also a lovely touch for me personally - I think it was a needed insight to her personality. I can 100% identify with Celaenas' shopping tastes - she's a girl after my own heart!

The Assassin and the Empire: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ No. I may not have thought Sam and Celaena were perfect for each other, but this destroyed me. I knew this ending was coming, I knew what happened at the end of their relationship right from day one. And it still broke me into a million pieces. There is something so personal, so heartbreaking about Celaena being betrayed like this. I read this novella while I was getting my nails done, and let me tell you - that was a huge mistake. I had to explain to my nail artist why I was crying like a baby. Don't forget that just when I thought the pain was over, The Lord of The North appeared to Celaena on her way to Endovier. In a beautiful moment, Celaena is reminded of herself, her duty, and that she will not be afraid. Summary: All the pieces of The Assassin's Blade come together perfectly at the end. As I am writing this I have just come to the awful understanding of the meaning of the title. The Assassin's Blade is Celaenas' anger. Her anger has been honed into the sharpest blade of them all, and I think this revelation is going to haunt me for the rest of my life. Thank you for reading this review, I hope to continue posting more of my in-depth book reviews. Please check out my Goodreads profile for more of my previous reviews, and as always, my main social media accounts are linked below.

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[385bookreviews]

1.72.5 Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas

SPOILERS

Pages: 645

Time Read: 11 hours and 23 minutes

Overall Rating: ★★★★★ Storyline: ★★★★★ Dialogue: ★★★★★ Characters: ★★★★★

Genre: YA Fantasy

TWs for the book: Violence, blood, death, murder, gore, torture, injury, grief, war, confinement, slavery, fire, physical abuse, vomit, miscarriage, emotional abuse, body horror, pregnancy, s*xual abuse, kidnapping, death of a parent, genocide, su*c*de, child death, child abuse, su*c*dal thoughts, trafficking, colonization, mentions of r*pe, s*xual violence, medical trauma, classism, domestic abuse, self harm, gaslighting, s*xual harassment, ableism, cursing, misogyny, panic attacks, stalking, alcohol, execution, xenophobia

POV: Third Person

Time Period/Location: Rifthold, Adarlan; Morath; Oakwald Forest; and Terrasen on the fictional continent of Erilea

First Line: There was a thing waiting in the darkness.

Aelin lands in Rifthold from Wendlyn and goes straight to The Vaults, the seedy underground tavern/fighting pit/pleasure house in order to find Arobynn Hamel. She is surprised to discover Chaol, with an unknown woman, meeting with Arobynn. He leaves without noticing her, and Aelin confronts Arobynn. He informs her of Aedion's capture by the king, and that he is set to be executed at a grand party for Dorian's birthday. He offers to help her free him, in exchange for her capturing one of the Valg soldiers now infesting the city. Arobynn leaves, and the city guards Aelin had led there break in, and she wrecks the entire place. She then leaves to hunt down Chaol in the sewers, and encounters the woman who was with him. Her name is Nesryn, and she is a member of the city guard now aiding Chaol and the rebels. Chaol sends Nesryn and the rebels and the captives they freed ahead, and explains to Aelin what happened with Dorian, Sorscha, and Aedion. They part angry with each other after Chaol refuses to tell her how to free magic. Aelin goes back to her apartment, and the next day finds Lysandra and a child named Evangeline outside. Lysandra insists she has changed from when they were children, and gives her a letter written by Wesley, Arobynn's former bodyguard, and Lysandra's deceased lover. In the letter Wesley explains everything Arobynn did involving Sam's death and Aelin's capture. Chaol and Aelin argue about whether or not to kill Dorian now that he has a Valg prince possessing him. Aelin swears she won't, and so Chaol tells her how to free magic. Aelin sneaks into the castle with a troupe of dancers set to perform for the King and Dorian at his birthday party. She spills water to wash away Wyrdmarks that would notify the King of her presence. Madame Florine, Celaena's dance teacher for years, aids in the ruse, and gives all of the dancers black glass roses. Aelin sneaks through the crowd, disguising herself as a man to get close to Aedion. When the dancers smash the glass roses, the whole hall goes up in smoke and Aelin uses the distraction to free Aedion. Everyone rushes out, and Aelin and Aedion run through the gardens until they are confronted by Dorian. Aelin uses a Wyrdmark to freeze him in place and tries to kill him, but is stopped by Nesryn. Her and Aedion run, and with the help of Lysandra, manage to make it back to the apartment. Chaol and Aelin fight over her almost killing Dorian, and Lysandra finds out that Aelin is Queen of Terrasen. Aelin discovers that the eight creatures on the clocktower, that she dubs Wyrdhounds, are living in the sewers and that the King uses them to speak to his Valg commanders. She goes out for drinks with Aedion and Nesryn, and on their way home, they are stopped by Rowan. They tell each other of what has occurred when they are back in the apartment. Rowan then reveals to Aedion that his father is Gavriel, and also lets it slip that he took the blood oath to Aelin. Aedion believes it was his right to be the only one to claim the blood oath, and him and Aelin fight and he storms out. Rowan then finally tells Aelin why he came to Adarlan against her orders: Lorcan is hunting her and the third Wyrdkey.

Aelin sneaks out at night to lure Lorcan into the sewers. He is attacked by the Wyrdhound and kills it, and follows Aelin, threatening to kill her. Rowan puts a knife to his throat, and Lorcan warns them that Maeve let them walk out of Doranelle, and that she isn't done with them yet. Rowan meets Lysandra and reveals that she is a shape-shifter. She warns them that Arobynn wants his demon tomorrow, so they go out and capture one and interrogate it themselves. They manage to talk to the man the demon is possessing, Stevan, and tell him a plan. The next day, Rowan, Aelin, and Aedion go to the Assassin's Keep. Arobynn tortures the Stevan for information, and Stevan tells him that the King put him under his control by putting the ring on and licking his blood. Arobynn cuts the ring off Stevan's finger before killing him. The three then have dinner with Arobynn, and he becomes jealous at seeing how close Aelin and Rowan are. He then pulls her aside to talk to her privately, and gives her the Amulet of Orynth containing the third Wyrdkey in exchange for her working for him again to take down the King. She agrees, but he then puts on the Valg ring and licks her blood. She becomes his slave, and he sends her back to the apartment. She is silent until they arrive there, and then she takes off the ring, revealing that Stevan lied about the blood and that Arobynn just revealed his true intentions. That night, Lysandra kills him in his sleep. The next day, acting as Celaena, the trio goes back to the Keep and Celaena demands from the other assassins and Lysandra to know what happened. They determine it wasn't anyone among them, and Arobynn's will is read. All of his fortune, lands, and the Guild are left to Celaena, much to the dismay of the other assassins and Clarisse, the brothel owner that owns Lysandra. Aelin kicks them all out, and tells them to come back with money if they want to buy it from her, which they do. Aedion and Rowan figure out she switched the will so that way they would have money for an army.

Aelin, Rowan, Aedion, and Chaol go into the sewers in search of hellfire, a potent mixture that would blow up the clocktower and free magic. They find the hellfire, but also an old temple built of bones, where wicked people carved their confessions onto them. They go through the temple till they find the confession of Gavin Havilliard. He explains that him and Elena fought the Valg king Erawan and that they could not kill him, so they entombed him in Morath and sealed it using the Eye of Elena. Nesryn finds them and tells them that the King is building a dark army in Morath, and tells them about the witches and wyverns. Aelin storms off and Lorcan pins her, telling her and Rowan the true reason he is here. He isn't on orders from Maeve, and plans to find the Wyrdkeys and destroy them to keep Maeve from becoming a monster. He offers to exchange Athril's ring, which grants protection from the Valg, for the Amulet of Orynth. Then he leaves to let them think it over. When they arrive home, Evangeline breaks in and tells them that as part of Arobynn's will, he had a letter sent to the castle informing the King that Lysandra was a shapeshifter. The guards came and took her and she was being taken into Oakwald forest for the King and Dorian to have a meeting with the witches.

Manon, the Thirteen, and the other Blackbeak covens have been stationed at Morath for months, taking endless orders from Duke Perrington, a collared and lifeless Kaltain at his side. The Duke demands that Manon chose a coven to be implanted with Wyrdstone so that way they can bear witch/Valg offspring. Manon initially refuses, but a Yellowlegs coven volunteers. Elide Lochan, daughter of Marion and Cal Lochan and niece to Vernon Lochan, is chained and crippled, working as a slave in Morath. She is assigned to serve Manon, and when Manon gives her a small cut and tastes her blood, she discovers she has witch lineage. She tells Elide to choose whether she is human, or whether she is a witch. Elide says she is a witch, and so Manon sends her to go and check on the Yellowlegs coven. She discovers that the witches are being bred multiple times, and producing monsters as babies. Manon is angered and writes to her grandmother, to no avail. Asterin, her Second and cousin, grows increasingly angrier with Manon and they fight multiple times, and it ends with her being demoted. but is then summoned by the Duke to meet the King and her grandmother in Oakwald forest.

The Matron shows the King a new weapon, a wagon covered in mirrors on the inside, meant to amplify shadowfire, a dark fire that doesn't physically burn but kills and injures regardless, that is wielded by Kaltain. Manon and Dorian instantly connect, the Valg prince in him immediately fading away and giving Dorian control at the sight of Manon's gold eyes. Dorian tries to goad her into killing him, but she doesn't oblige him. Meanwhile, Aelin, Aedion, Chaol, and Rowan free Lysandra and are about to escape but Chaol disappears to go try and mercy kill Dorian. He runs into the witches instead. Aedion, Aelin, and Rowan run after him. Manon is about to let them go but Aelin doesn't believe her and goads her into a fight by revealing she killed Baba Yellowlegs. They run through a temple and Aelin and Manon fight. The temple begins to collapse and Manon is trapped and going to die, but Aelin decides to save her life and then leaves. While Manon is gone, Elide is captured by Vernon and thrown in a cell. After the fight, Asterin tells Manon they need to talk, and she tells her how she fell in love with a human man, and went back to the witches when she was pregnant. Her baby was stillborn, and Manon's grandmother, the Matron, beat her, branded the word "unclean" across her stomach, and threw her out to die. Asterin never told Manon, and that is why she had been acting out. Manon is angry, and decides that she will not give another coven to the Duke for breeding. She then realizes that Aelin was probably trying to rescue Dorian, and that Chaol was trying to mercy kill him, so she flies to Rifthold with Asterin and paints all around the city a warning that Dorian is still alive despite the demon.

Aelin reveals to Lysandra that she has paid off all of her debts and she is now free from Clarisse and the brothel. Rowan is recovering from the battle with the witches, but smells Lorcan out on the roof and goes to meet him. Lorcan says he killed all the Wyrdhounds and offers the ring again for the amulet. Rowan agrees and they trade. Rowan gave him a fake though.

Aelin sees Manon's message and runs to tell Chaol. Aedion and Rowan sneak through tunnels underground to install the hellfire at the base of the clock tower to blow it up. Aelin pretends to be Celaena again and leads Chaol through the gates as her prisoner. As they are walking through the gates, they see all of Chaol's men, tortured and dead, strung up on the gates. They go to the throne room to meet with the King and Dorian. Aelin pretends as though she has killed the Wendlyn royals and gives the king two fake seal rings to prove it. He then reveals he knows that she is Aelin, and he sends Dorian to attack her. She runs, and Chaol faces off against the King. Lorcan lied about killing the Wyrdhounds, and Aedion and Rowan are attacked by them when they are supposed to be lighting the fuse. Lorcan, after seeing that Aedion is Gavriel's son, saves them. Aelin faces off against Dorian, and puts Athril's ring on his finger to try and get the Valg out. Rowan and Aedion blow up the clocktower, and magic is freed. Rowan and Aedion are targeted by soldiers, and Lorcan flees, but Lysandra appears in the form of a ghost leopard and helps them fight them off. The King appears and taunts that he killed Chaol, and Dorian breaks free from the Valg. Him and Aelin combine magic to kill the King. The King then breaks free from the Valg that was controlling him and reveals that Perrington tricked the King, raised Erawan, let Erawan possess him, and then possessed the King with a Valg prince. He claims that he got rid of magic to help protect Aelin and Dorian so the Valg wouldn't find them, and that he magically attacked Aelin when she was a child in order to provoke her into killing him. Dorian doesn't believe him and uses his magic to kill him and shatter the whole glass castle. Aelin uses her fire to melt the glass into a wall so the city is saved. She proclaims herself as Queen of Terrasen and Dorian as King of Adarlan. Lorcan steals back Athril's ring from Aelin. Chaol is alive, but he is paralyzed from the waist down. Dorian makes Nesryn his Captain of the Guard and Chaol his Hand, but immediately sends the both of them to the Southern Continent so Chaol can be healed at the Torre Cesme. Aelin makes Lysandra a Lady of Terrasen. Aelin, Lysandra, Aedion, and Rowan all leave for Terrasen.

In Morath, Manon arrives to discover Elide missing. She immediately hunts her down in the dungeons, being dragged away to breed with the Valg. Manon slaughters the guards, and they run into Kaltain. She reveals that she had killed the Valg that had been possessing her a long time ago, and takes Elide's clothes to pretend to be her to give her time to escape. She then cuts open her arm and takes out a Wyrdkey and gives it Elide, making her swear to give it to Celaena Sardothien. Manon, Elide, and the rest of the Thirteen run, and Kaltain uses her shadowfire to obliterate a third of Morath. Manon gives Elide supplies and tells her to go north to Terrasen to find Aelin and Celaena.

Aelin Ashryver Galathynius (Celaena Sardothien/Lillian Gordaina/Ansel of Briarcliff/Aelin Fireheart/Aelin of the Wildfire): I know a lot of people find Aelin's endless scheming and plots to be annoying, but one of my favorite parts about this series is watching her schemes and subtle plans come together. None of it comes out of nowhere, it was all well thought out and planned (a theme I wish SJM had kept in her Crescent City series).

Storyline: Once again, I love watching the intricate pieces and subtle hints all come together in this series, but especially in this book. She also lays the groundwork for later schemes in this book. The entire story was engaging and entertaining the entire time, and I loved seeing Lysandra, Rowan, Aedion, Aelin, Chaol, Dorian, and Manon all come together. I do wish Dorian hadn't killed the King as quickly as he did, as there was so much more information they could have got from him.

Representation: Ghislaine, one of the Thirteen, is described as being POC. Characters like Rowan, Lorcan, and Dorian are left up for debate as to whether they are POC or just tan.

Quotes: "She was fire, and light, and ash, and embers. She was Aelin Fireheart, and she bowed for no one and nothing, save the crown that was hers by blood and survival and triumph." (p.142) "'But would you bleed red, or black?' 'I'll bleed whatever color you tell me to.'"-Manon and Dorian (p.463) "You make me want to live, Rowan. Not survive; not exist. Live."-Aelin (p.527)

[silkiemae]

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas

My Rating: 3.25

Well, this book did not need to be a thousand pages long. Holy god, did this thing drag. Honestly, if I hadn't read the ACOTAR series before this, my opinion on this book might be much different, but unfortunately, I am very unimpressed. SJM seems to have a habit of recycling plot lines a lot. Making incredibly powerful women give up their power to save everyone, a nameless villainous king, and a big war where every time you think they're going to lose or die, another army shows up just in the nick of time to save everyone. And because I know that's something she does already and because she did it a crap ton in EoS and in ACOWAR, it was unsurprising and infuriating to see her do it about a thousand times in this book. Like, you really couldn't think of anything new? I understand she wrote these books simultaneously, so my theory is either she was getting tired of writing this and just thought, 'oh well, I'll just do the same thing I did in ACOWAR,' or she was on a time crunch and couldn't think of anything else, so she just ripped her own book off(and of course Helm's Deep from LOTR). Not to mention repeatedly making her villains rapists. Amarantha, Erawan, Maeve, the kelpie, Lanthys, Tomas, etc. I am sick of SJM using rape for shock value purposes. Because she never once has a discussion about the aftereffects of rape. It just is thrown in like 'oh btw Erawan has a girl chained up in his bed, eheheh.' 'oh btw, Maeve forced Fenrys and all of her other cadre to service. her'. I was also recently told she intended to make Amarantha bisexual so that she could have her rape Feyre. Like...come on, Sarah. 

I feel SJM has a bad habit of not killing people and that this book suffered greatly for it. If half the people who should've died kicked it, this book would probably be half the length. I stand by the fact that I think Chaol should've died in place of Nehemia, and she would've brought far more to this story. I think that Lysandra should've died during her battle with the sea wyverns(don't get me wrong, I like her and am glad she lived, but she still should've died). Everyone keeps miraculously recovering or surviving, and it feels like a cop-out. Another person I feel should've survived, though was Kaltain. I feel like her character was so wasted because this bitch ate a demon that possessed her and was clearly powerful as hell, but then she kills herself. And just it's irritating to me because I feel like she could've been such a valuable addition in helping defeat the Valg. Still, unfortunately, nobody can be more powerful than Aelin. This book promises war and death, but aside from some side characters, no one truly important dies. So as I talk about the book below, I'm going to tell you who I would've killed because I am ruthless and evil. 

So Aelin has been imprisoned by Maeve for a little under three months. She is being repeatedly tortured by Cairn(I hate this name because all I can think of is a little pile of rocks), and then healed so that there is no evidence of her injuries. Maeve is also messing with Aelin's mind so that she can't tell reality from a dream. Fenrys is chained and forced to watch this whole thing in his wolf form. At some point, Maeve summons them and makes Fenrys' brother kill himself in front of him, and then they're both sad and grieving. They both survive this and get out physically unscathed. Fenrys manages to break his blood oath and is almost dying, but Aelin saves him by giving him one from her. Now, personally, I would've let Fenrys and Aelin form this bond together. Fenrys is her only lifeline, the one thing she has to hold onto. And then I would've killed him in front of her. Then Aelin would've been alone, and she would've truly had no one, and her breaking and losing it and the mad dash to suicidal freedom would've had so much more emotional meaning behind it because she truly feels abandoned. 

Lysandra and Aedion are fighting with the Bane in the North. They're mad at each other, Lysandra is still pretending to be Aelin, Aedion is still mad about that whole situation. I don't blame him tbh, I would be pissed too but at the same time he needs to realize that Lysandra probably hero worships Aelin for rescuing her from a life of prostitution. Of course she's going to do anything that bish asks. When he threw her out in the snow butt ass nekkid I was done with him tbh. But then naturally, she forgives him. The part where she refused to run to safety because she wanted to stay with him was so aggravating because girl...you are in charge of a small child. She didn't think to get her out then at all but suddenly towards the end of the book she's like 'oh yeah! Evangeline should abandon the town!' I would've killed off Lysandra after she tried to rally the forces as Aelin and then fell.(when she shifted back to her true self how did she even know it was her true self since she said she couldn't remember her true face in EoS) and I would've killed Aedion when he got stabbed by the Valg prince. It would be sad and shit but like...THEY SHOULD'VE DIED. 

Manon, Dorian and the Thirteen are trying to find the Crochan witches and rally an army to fight against the Valg. Dorian wants to find the other Wyrdkey so he can forge the Lock and Manon is slowly accepting her place among the Crochans. I really enjoyed Manon's story arc tbh. She was probably my favorite character in this book. I would've loved to have Manon and Dorian never be a thing though and have Manon kill Lord Lorcan Lochan so that she and Elide can go rule the Wastes together. RIP Asterin and Narene. :( Poor Abraxos. 

No one cares about Chaol and Yrene. I'm sorry. I loved their story in Tower of Dawn but here it was so dull and I just...don't care. I would've rather read more about Nesryn and Sartaq but they fell to the wayside here to focus on everything else. She might as well have just killed them all off for all the attention she paid them. As I said, Chaol should've died ages ago. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Eventually, Aelin goes to Anielle to meet up with Chaol and the others and she helps them fight the Valg, a big wave shows up at Helm's Deep because a dam broke and Aelin expends all her magical fire energy to stop the dam. I really don't understand anything about how powers work in this series tbh. How is it that Aelin can warm an entire camp full of bathtubs without even being there? Like the limitations of her abilities are inexistent it feels like. She can exhale a breath and crumble a man to ash. How? She can control the heat of her flames? How? 

Speaking of powers that don't make sense. Dorian has raw magic right, and he's able to do basically anything magical. So he starts learning to shapeshifter and turns himself into a woman and then 'explores his new body' which is something only a man would write so I wonder if SJM's husband told her to include that. But here's my question. Why doesn't Dorian teach himself to become invisible? Or teleport? Or astral project? He literally goes to Morath for a whole WEEK looking for those keys. Just think if he learned to astral project he could search the place without anyone even knowing he was there. He could walk through walls like a phantom and then when he finds it, he can teleport into the room, snag the key and teleport out. Boom. Instead, he just chills with Maeve and flies around like a gnat. Honestly, how is it no one else sensed him? 

The way SJM writes people sensing/smelling things in this series makes absolutely no sense to me. There are so many times that I’m thinking to myself that somebody should’ve been caught because they are with a person with heightened senses. Like let’s think, Maeve should’ve been able to sense that Aelin didn’t have the Wyrdkeys right? Considering they are of her world and she seems able to sense everything else. Why couldn’t Erawan smell Dorian in Morath but Maeve could? They’re both Valg, does Maeve suddenly have different sense than Erawan because of her fae body? Why wouldn’t Erawan also choose to wear a body with heightened senses? 

Also, another thing I’ve been wondering. Why is it that none of the Fae seem to be able to tell when anyone is lying? Like they can tell by the cadence of someone’s voice or just like by knowing that person but these people have super hearing and smell. Can’t they hear a shift in heartbeat that might betray someone’s lie? What about a change in scent? Most people with supernatural smell can always smell fear. Like…?!??!?

I totally loved the scene where Elide goes to rescue Lorcan on Hellas. I liked the mad dash to the finish the line vibe of it but I do think it would’ve been a really fitting tragic end if Lorcan did sacrifice himself to save Elide. At the same time, I’m not mad about Elide being like UH NO I DID NOT SAY YOU COULD DIE. That’s probably the only time I have not been mad at a character’s failed sacrifice in an SJM book. I also want to thank SJM from the bottom of my heart for not disgusting me with a sex scene of these two. Not only are her sex scenes some of the cringiest things I have ever read in my life but if it was between Elide and Lorcan it would’ve felt DISGUSTING because of the way she repeatedly had to tell us that Elide just became a woman and how keenly aware of this fact that Lorcan was. Not to mention Elide is a virgin and Lorcan is like 'anything you do will be enough to please me'....sir, your pleasure is not important here. Elide should be the focus considering it's her FIRST TIME. I really wanted to like Lorcan and Elide but the way SJM writes men ruins it for me constantly. 

Now, I would not have been so mad about Aelin having to give up her power if I hadn't read ACOTAR before this. I think it's set up much better in this series and like you can see that that's what it was always leading up to. But the fact that she reuses the same exact plot device in ACOSF and ACOWAR is so LAZY. Like come oN. 

WTF was the point of the first book, guys? I’m just sitting here thinking. Why did they ever do that King’s Champion thing? What did Erawan want a Champion for because I know he had something to do with it. What were they looking for there? I am so confused about that whole situation because like even with Aelin they never did anything with her except send her out to kill people. What was the point of any of that??

Also, WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH FLEETFOOT. I AM ENRAGED THAT THIS DOG IS KICKED TO THE CURB CONSTANTLY. Aelin never once throughout this entire book series thinks to herself ‘man I miss my dog’ and like…WHHY? In 980 pages, this dog is mentioned 4 times and it is not ever as a 'I miss my dog' thing it's like 'oh yea I have a dog'. Like you're telling me not once during this big war, not once when Aelin was being tortured did she think about her dog. Not even when she was going to die did she feel bad that her dog was never going to know where she went or what happened to her. Aelin never deserved that poor dog. 

This book could've ended like 300 pages earlier if Aelin had just kept her mouth shut and let the gods take Erawan as they promised. Then they wouldn't have had to risk the pregnant woman. But no worries, she magically kills this guy that we've spent 7 books building up as this undefeatable creature in five seconds. I think the fight with Maeve was much better done aside from the whole wolf people showing up. Because like once again, Aelin magically has an army come to save her that none of us was ever aware of. 

There were 124 blinks in this book. And that is 124 too many. I know that blinking is a natural part of being a human being but I don't need to read about every time a person blinks. Like Sarah, why are you so obsessed with blinking. 

Aelin sucked on a tooth. ….Just one tooth? Which tooth was it? Does Aelin have a little snaggle tooth that she sucks on when she’s being contemplative? Does she have a tooth necklace that she sucks on for nerves? WHAT IS THE TRUTH?

There are so many repeated phrases in this book that had me rolling my eyes out of my head. “She opened for him” (in reference to kissing???) “She said softly, but not weakly” (literally please stop) “She gobbled up the book she was reading”(if I have to hear the word gobbled one more time I am going to lose it) 

Everyone is just blinking at each other. Saying ‘holy gods’ anytime something wild happens. Eyes are guttering and throats are bobbing. Sarah, I'm going to buy you a thesaurus. 

I kind of spiraled and got off track on my kill list so I'm just going to write it here. Chaol Lysandra Aedion Fenrys Lorcan Nesryn and Sartaq(sorry guys) And Aelin because I hate her.

[gardens-of-may]

KINGDOM OF ASH: ENTRY ONE

beginning to chap. 6

(spoilers under the cut)

stop this is heartbreaking 

she’s talking about rowan and her failures and how she thinks she’s gonna be forgotten 

wait she’s with fenrys i think

she keeps repeating to herself 

“Once upon a time, in a land long since burned to ash, there lived a young princess who loved her kingdom ...”

i might cry

terrasen is covered in snow

it’s symbolic

AND THAT SETTING I-

surrounded by allies that aelin used every single life debt she had to get

AND IF YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND I WILL UNDERSTAND AND ITLL TAKE TIME TO GO BACK TO BEING FRIENDS AND LOVE IS A KALEIDOSCOPE 

ehem sorry 

the crew got in a little fight with valg 

IM SO CONFUSED WHAT THE FUCK

sarah just has a way

HALFWAY THROGH THE DRIVE SKDNDKAM

stick season ❤️

anyway

MANON AND DORIAN ARE TOGETHER????

like together with each other not dating (yet)

a cursive letter a

sorry

lysandra’s still faking as aelin

and ren has a crush on her and if aelin doesn’t come back then lysandra will be queen and has to- heirs

not that fun 

goddamn sixty two pages and i’m at chapter two 😭

ELIDE

hmm why is elide and gavriel together?

OH TENSIONS ARE HIGH BETWEEN ELIDE AND LORCAN 👀

so the besties (elide, lorcan, rowan, and gavriel) are torturing faes for information?

idk

yah aelin’s with fenrys

oh my gods 

manon ❤️

so there’s something going on with manon and dorian 

and the bestie sneaks out to talk to gavin

gavin told dorian that the final key is in morath 

THE SWORD WILL GUIDE YOU

lorcan tried to tell elide that he was crawling to aelin not maeve, to save her

didn’t work hehe (not funny)

PRINCE ROWAN WHITETHORN GALATHYNIUS

THEN THIS BITCH DREAMS OF HER WITH THEIR KIDS AND FUCK IM DYING

IM NOT ALIVE ANYMORE IM SORRY

oh it’s too much stop

[mad-rdr]

March Reads

10 books!

Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail by Ashley Herring Blake (★ ★ ★/5): I loved getting to see Astrid be a normal human being with wants and needs and I especially loved her getting with a woman!! And telling off her awful mother!! (mommy issues hit hard bro)

Blue Monday by Nicci French (★ ★ ★/5): this was such an interesting little mystery involving twins and I loved how Frida was like "I'm a criminal investigator now" and broke like 10 laws. I was also not expecting that ending holy shit (he killed his twins and took his place)

Lady Smoke by Laura Sebastian (★ ★ ★/5): honestly, I'm not sure anything actually happened in this book aside from a weird love triangle, this 16 yr old queen realizing she doesn't know shit and some half-assed revival from the dead “twist” at the end.

Ember Queen by Laura Sebastian (★ ★ ★/5): this series finale wasn’t too bad, I still feel like if it was written as an adult book it could’ve done so much more with the characters and plot, but I’ll accept it. People die, Theo learns to wield fire, and there’s a lot of unnecessary injures. Truly, where would they be without Heron. Don’t get me started on the dream walking.

The Power of Trees by Peter Wohlleben (★ ★ ★/5): this was a good book, if a little more scientific than I was expecting. Definitely made me think about the human relationship with trees and how we really do take them for granted.

By Any Other Name by Erin Cotter (★ ★ ★/5): I love historical tellings of gay people- factual correctness aside. I did not, however, enjoy the incessant use of the word “tis.” If you’re going to commit to 16th century England you gotta do it all the way and not just sprinkle it in here and there. I did loveeee our chaotic asf mc though- he doesn’t know anything except lust and money (and sometimes love)

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer Armentrout (★ ★ ★ ★ /5): finally got around to this book and let me just say… these new high fantasy authors need more editors. Has no one told them that repetition is the bane of my existence?? If I read the word “Maiden” one more time I’m gonna lose it. On that note though, this book wasn’t too bad overall. I found it highly predictable (like duh of course Hawke is the dark prince) but once I accepted I wouldn’t be surprised I was able to enjoy it. I love me a good vampire story and this delivered.

A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer Armentrout (★ ★ ★/5): someone please tell me why it took the entire book for the characters to move from one place to another. Seriously. There seemed to be little development character and plot-wise and while it was quite steamy... *something* should've happened in 600 pages.

A Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer Armentrout (★ ★ ★/5): this book was far better than the second one but I'm still chasing that high of book one. Book three is almost too much, Poppy goes from being crowned to kidnapped to rescued to dying to being revived and "Ascended" all within the first 80 ish pages... and then after that there's still 600 pages to go. In the course of the book her parentage gets "revealed" like 6 times and finally lands on her being a god? It was good, action-packed and smutty, but my god, someone needs to teach this author the skills of pacing.

Iris Kelly Doesn't Date by Ashley Herring Blake (★ ★ ★ ★ /5): this was such a good end to the little Bright Falls trilogy; I love me a good bisexual mess who doesn't know how much love she deserves. I just didn't like the breakup at the end, it felt like the author was trying to add a little angst in there and it didn't really work because we all knew they would get back together. But hey, I'm never gonna pass up a fake dating trope.

[margielalalove]

Kingdom of Ash hates to see me coming…

[siereads]

Kingdom of Ash and Bones Review

Rating: 3/5

**This review contains spoilers**

I'll admit that I was excited to read this after enjoying the first book. That being said, it is nowhere near as good. The story's pacing doesn't have a good flow and it feels very jumping. There are a few major errors in the book regarding which characters are in place in a scene and there are more noticeable grammatical errors than the first.

I could understand some of the deaths in this book, really, I could, but killing off every tie Mari had to her childhood, her parents and her childhood best friend/protector, just felt like a quick way to take away anything that might make Mari want to stay after the Queen was defeated.

The end is also a bit of a cluster of time skips that make little sense. What was the point in having the Queen's dragon mate show up with a baby saying the Queen had died birthing the little girl? That added absolutely nothing to the story at all. Especially when Sabrathan (the Queen's mate) only showed up after Mari had defeated her to take her away since she was his mate and she was injured.

Which, for the record, having an entirely human girl able to defeat a literal dragon by drawing blood with her fingernails is insane and the blood pact between the two in the first book had been in regards to Mari fighting Zariah to the first blood, not the Queen.

The way magic works in the books is confusing at best and downrigt ass backwards at worst. The first book did not delve as much into that aspect of things otherwise I would have had something to say about it then.

Truthfully, I wish a good portion of this book had been cut out and the first book had been a slightly longer stand alone. I personally feel that would have worked much better.

[supitsgdo]

Book review: Throne of Glass saga by Sarah J. Maas

Ratings:

Throne of Glass: 4⭐️

Crown of Midnight: 4⭐️

Heir of Fire: 4,5⭐️

The Assassin’s Blade: 3⭐️

Queen of Shadows: 4,5⭐️

Empire of Storms: 5⭐️

Tower of Dawn: 4⭐️

Kingdom of Ash: 5⭐️

I want somebody to explain to me WHY DIDNT I READ THIS SAGA SOONER?!?!

I’m really glad I took a chance on it, because with all the hype around the SJM’s universe I was afraid it would be for nothing. But alas, I was wrong.

In my opinion, ToG got better with each book and I got attached to the story as the books went by. Believe me when I say, I could have died with anxiety and heart attacks with how much I was suffering in KoA. I was dreading it.

I read in the romantic order but I failed reading EoS and ToD in tandem because I couldn’t put EoS down. And I didn’t find it necessary to read in tandem, but I’ll admit that ToD was a big break in my rhythm but after part 2 the story rolled much better. My favourite books were for sure EoS and KoA. In EoS everything was converging and in KoA I was emotionally unstable.

What I didn’t like much in the series was the lack of communication from Aelin with the team. (Which is going on since book 1 but anyway) Yeah I get it some things should be kept in secret (only because of the plot) but the others…. That’s why I understand Aedion’s reaction so many times, he’s so done of not knowing and being lied to, just like Aelin is, but still she lies to him. And I don’t understand why everyone else doesn’t react in a similar way, even Rowan. In Portuguese there’s a saying, “Don’t do unto others what you don’t want done unto you.” and she’s doing it. Hypocrisy…

Also, I know Aelin has grown throughout the series, and she became more cunning and cruel and etc, “basically she became a queen”. But that doesn’t explain how she undermined Dorian. Her ex-lover, her friend. The one she went all that trouble to save. Actually, to me, Dorian is a main character in this saga and he didn’t look like it. In his chapters, I got the vibe he turned into a sidekick when he’s got so much to show. I don’t quite understand why the author didn’t explore that. There was potential to not only focus in Aelin’s story. And I didn’t quite agree that the bargain with the gods happen so early and rushed just because of the plot, l and to make the story more dramatic afterwards.

And please explain how the fuck can you all compare Elide with Elain???? Elide>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Elain (yes I’m team Gwyn if that says anything) Because of that, I was expecting Elide to be like Elain and she was totally the opposite and now she’s one of my favourites. Actually, I think Feyre is more like Elide but wtv. Another favourite character is Manon and my heart broke with hers. And at the end of KoA, I wished we had some epilogues about her. And also about Dorian in Rifthold.

I’m not saying much about the books prior to EoS not because I didn’t enjoyed them but because I don’t know what to say. Only that TAB felt like a break in the momentum (since I read it in the romantic order) but I liked it anyway.

[bell-a-books]

kingdom of ash - sarah j. maas

Mar. 6 - 2023

5/5

I don't like how I feel now. I am still waiting for something bad to happen. I was so so so worried that the people that I cared about most would die (even though I did look up spoilers because I was too anxious). I am not saying who those people are or who did die but I was still massively devastated by who did die. I ugly cried for a long time after a scene and if you have read it, you know (unless you are soulless).

I don't remember the last time I devoured a series like I did these. I do not normally read so much but since I am student teaching, I find self care time to read to keep myself sane. I finished this book a few days before my birthday and I will have to wait before picking something else up. I am walking around the house anxious for something to happen. Quite traumatizing but totally worth it.

I have not finished a SJM series before and I was particularly anxious about how it would all happen and come together. I was not expecting for all of the series to calumniate into the final but it was beautifully done. I do have to admit that there were a few parts where I didn't love the book. There were some low points but it's part of the journey. It was points of "I don't know why you are saying this but I trust it will make sense" and one point in the book that I did not like how it happened at all and I don't understand it but I think in terms of the SJM universe it might one day? This was a good finale to a very long and beautiful series that I regret not reading sooner and will expect my future children to read.

5/5 in case anyone was unclear.

Below I will talk about spoilers, so if you care, DON'T LOOK!

Okay now that you are here, I have so much to say.

Anytime I think about the 13 (future me: even a year later I still feel this way) I start to tear up. I was so so so sad. This level of grief this late in a book series directed solely at one character was a huge sacrifice I was not expecting. It made sense with the prophecy but still! I wish I could hug Manon (not that she would let me). I feel so sad about who Dorian turned into and how he lost so much of himself, that broke my heart but I am glad they have each other at least.

The part I mentioned above that I do not totally understand is the whole God banishing thing in there and all of that just seemed messy and I don't know. Maybe it was my headspace at the time but please talk to me about it because I would LIKE to understand!

Also, all the little connections back to the novellas was stunning. It gave Endgame energy and I was sobbing.

[2nd-toughest-in-the-infants]

Crown of Ashes and Flames (WIP) on itch.io Review

Author: @coeluvr

Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Choice: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Replayability: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall: 4/5

Pros: ANGST ANGST ANGST‼️, absolute monster of an antagonist, compelling characters, regular updates.

Cons: awkward dialogue from younger characters, no return button on UI.

**SLIGHT SPOILERS**

Notes:

TW!: Family Death, Murder, Forced Marriage, Child Marriage, Bullying, Isolation, Struggles with Mental Health

Crown of Ashes and Flames is another really strong IF WIP on itch.io with a very active author and so far it’s been receiving regular updates so I’m quite excited to see how the story develops as the game updates further. As it stands, I still want to share my thoughts on what is available to play so far.

So, Crown of ashes follows the MC who is the last surviving royal of Vesphire after King Luceris of a neighbouring kingdom, Rosea, declares war on Vesphire, murders MCs entire family, takes them back with him to Rosea and forces MC to marry him and become the new Royal Consort (at age 9?!?!) all for the sake of avenging the death of his wife, who he believes was killed by MCs older sister. As you can probably tell by that quick summary, this is an IF that is absolutely LOADED with Angst and drama, so, naturally, I was drawn right in!

I have to start off by saying how good of a job the author did in managing to create a cast of characters that are all so uniquely compelling in their own right. It can be the case that sometimes IF authors will focus too intently on just one or two main ROs while the others can feel like a bit of an afterthought, but in CoAaF, I feel as though all the characters are given equal opportunity to shine. That isn’t to say that there aren’t stand out characters, because there absolutely are and the first that comes to mind has to be Luceris. For me he stands out because not only is he an incredibly well-written, complex villain I find it rare that I have as much of visceral hatred of a fiction character as I do for him. I mean, what he does to MC in the name of ‘vengeance’ and the way he justifies himself just solidifies him as one of the most delusional and twisted villains I’ve read in an IF.

Also, the setting and minor characters in the story really serve to highlight how the MC is ostracised in their new ‘home’ as punishment for their sisters crimes. And it really is sickening how both adult and young characters justify the way they effectively bully MC because of something MC doesn’t have any control over and really serves to highlight the theme of injustice vs. justice that has been present throughout the game so far.

Furthermore, I enjoyed the amount of choice given to the player over the way MC reacts to what they’ve been through as well as to how the people around them treat them (both good and bad) and provides the player with the opportunity to explore how the traumatic events of the game impacts the MCs attitude and mental state.

It’s also quite interesting to see how the MC develops as they grow as the story starts with the MC as a nine year old and eventually grows up. This however, can be quite tricky from a writting perspective as typically authors can have difficulty with writing young child characters. Unfortunately, this is something that I have noticed was the case with this author as I felt that a lot of the dialogue exchanges between the younger characters (particularly the MC) just didn’t really feel accurate coming from a nine year olds mouth. Aside from that however, I feel as though the rest of the dialogue fits very well and overall I would say the writing is of a good quality.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this game to anyone interested in picking up a new, angsty WIP and I will certainly be patiently awaiting updates!

[frangipanilove]

"Hope is the North Star, Let it Guide You" ...to Green(e)land?

More on the North/bear/Arctic symbolism

So, the first non-spoiler reviews are out, and a couple of things REALLY stood out to me. This might be nothing, but it could be something, and I thought it was worth mentioning. Take it with a grain of salt because after all, it is wild speculation over scenes we haven’t seen yet.

According to this article from gamesradar.com, Carol and Ash will make a “bizarre” stopover in Greenland on their way to Europe. That tickled my TD brain immensely, because Greenland is another one of those references I’ve just been patiently waiting for for years:

Greenland is a large island located in the North Atlantic. It is autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, and most of it lies above the Arctic Circle. The capital city is Nuuk, formerly known by it’s Danish name Godthåb, which literally translates to “good hope”:

I’ve been writing about the North Star symbolism in many posts over the years. The TLDR of it is that it all ties into Beth through the DC spoon from 4x12 Still, the theory is that the spoon (literally a Little Dipper) is a metaphor for the Little Dipper, which is the star constellation where we find the North Star/Polaris, foreshadowing Beth reuniting with TF, and returning “home”. Keep in mind that the Latin names of the Big and Little Dipper are Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the Greater and Lesser Bear. I’ll get back to it shortly.

At the crux of the North Star symbolism is finding “true north” a well known metaphor for finding your true direction in life, including finding true love.

We also saw this symbolism in full display in 7x2 The Well, when Carol was wheeled around in a wheelchair at the Kingdom, while a quote on the wall about the North Star featured prominently in the shot: “Hope is the North Star, Let it Guide You”.

The quote with the North Star reference foreshadowed Carol finding her “true north” at the Kingdom. She found love with Ezekiel, and perhaps more importantly, she found a son in Henry. She found her true purpose in life.

In TWDU, the North Star is symbolically synonymous with “home”, as in “home is where the heart is”, “home” is where your loved ones are. We saw Carl define the meaning of the North Star symbolism back in season 5: “If you get lost at night, find that star”.

The North Star will guide you home, it will reunite you with your family. It symbolizes "home", "family" and "reunion".

“Home” is where you belong. It’s a mental state, more than a geographical location, but in TWDU the symbolism is often represented by various expressions of “northern” stuff and thangs like snow, ice, polar bears, Alaska license plates etc.

I’ll quickly go through the main points of my hypothesis, because I’ve written so much about it in other posts. Just search for North Star on my blog and about a million posts should come up.

In 4x12 Still, we saw Beth pick up what has become known as the "DC spoon", literally a little dipper. We later realized it was symbolically synonymous with the Little Dipper, the constellation where the North Star is.

We know that “bear” symbolism on the show ties into the North Star symbolism because the Little Dipper, the constellation where we find the North Star/Polaris, is called Ursa Minor in Latin, which means Lesser Bear. So "bear" symbolism is synonymous with North Star symbolism, which, as mentioned above, means “home”.

We’ve seen other references to this symbolism through the various exemples of “north” symbolism on the show, such as the Alaska license plate in 5x16 Conquer, where you can see the Alaska state flag with the Big Dipper and North Star/Polaris:

Remember how one of the guys at the car shop that Carol ran into in TWDDD 1x6 was called Juno, a play on the name of the Alaska state capital Juneau. The other guy was conveniently called Grady... the symbolism of which should be self-explanatory…

In FTWD 6x3 Alaska, we follow Dwight and Althea on their quest of finding driver’s licenses from all 50 states, where Alaska and Hawaii proved to be the most difficult ones to find. And yet, in 6x3 they found an Alaska driver’s license. Dwight insisted it was a “good omen”.

Dwight was reunited with Sherri later that episode, the love of his life, his “true north”:

Seems like the North Star symbolism indeed is a good omen.

Alaska is obviously the northernmost state in the US, and is therefore a perfectly valid “north” reference in its own right, but in addition to that, and perhaps more interestingly, Alaska is (like Greenland), partly in the Arctic, meaning large parts of their territoty lies within the Arctic Circle.

And anyone familiar with my writing knows how much I love to explore the symbolism in TWDU from an etymological point of view, which rarely disappoints:

Yup, the word “Arctic” comes from Greek “arktos”, which means “bear”, and in this case it specifically refers to the bears in the sky, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the constellations otherwise known as the Big and Little Dipper, the same bears that Beth’s Little Dipper/DC spoon is a reference to.

And now that I’ve mentioned that, let’s check out the coat of arms of Greenland:

Further, the “north” symbolism ties into the symbolism we see around navigation and compasses. The whole point with navigating with a compass is to determine which direction is north, and from there decide where you need to go. Like Carl explained, just find the North Star and it will guide you home.

Or, as mentioned in King Ezekiel’s quote from the Kingdom proclaimed; “hope is the North Star, let it guide you”.

Or, as we saw with Henry's compass rose t-shirt. It was a representation of that for Carol, her true north was with her family at the Kingdom:

In TWD season 11 we came to know the Commonwealth, and while it wasn’t without its fair share of drama, it eventually came to be a peaceful home for TF, many of which found love there, started families, and settled down. That was foreshadowed by this massive compass rose on the floor of the former train station:

On compasses, the red needle always points north, and it therefore ties into the "red" symbolism which I’ve written about here and here, where the hypothesis is that the color red represents "the living color", or resurrection if you will. It's the color of circulating blood, which is a prerequisite for life. And keep this in mind because I'll revisit it shortly.

In 5x13 Alone, a broken compass was seen in the other storyline, the one parallel with Beth and Daryl's. A subtle hint of what was to come for Daryl and Beth later that episode? Where north/North Star/compass symbolism represents home/reunion, a broken compass perhaps represents the opposite; separation?

In TWDDD 1x5 Deux Amours, we saw a clock that bore a striking resemblance to Beth’s DC spoon from 4x12 Still, and in my opinion, it was a blatant callback to Beth:

It had the same type of detailed engravings, and interestingly, where Beth’s spoon was a metaphor for the Little Dipper/North Star/Polaris, the ultimate tool for navigation, a clock is actually also a perfect metaphor for a compass, which obviously also is an excellent tool for navigation:

Because yes; clocks can be used as compasses. I wrote a post about it here, along with all the reasons why I believe the clock was a callback to Beth's DC spoon.

And what did we see in TWD 5x9 WHAWGO, the episode directly after Beth had been "killed"?

We saw a blanket with a pattern of polar bears dressed in red scarves, red as in "the living color", and a clock where the hands pointed towards the "5" and the "8" and the "10".

Everyone knows that TD has "perfected" (lol) the art of interpreting clocks to the extent that we could probably publish a 10 part encyclopedia on clocks alone. Let me just go on a brief tangent on how I interpret this particular one:

One hand points to the 10 minute mark. "10" can be interpreted as Roman numeral "X", which can also be interpreted as a cross, symbolizing "death" and "resurrection". Beth's death and resurrection.

One hand points to the 5 hour mark. In my opinion, we can plausibly interpret that as a nod to the season in question, season 5, when Beth "died"

Then finally, the red hand points to the episode when she "died", episode 8 of season 5, or 5x8 Coda. But the fact that the hand is red, "the living color", reveals a plot twist. Beth's not really dead. She will resurrect in due time.

And when is this mythical "due time" going to arrive?

Well, other clues, such as the blanket with polar bears dressed in red scarves behind the clock, suggests that when we start to see symbolism that revolves around polar bears, is when we should start to pay attention.

Basically everything I've written in this post is about this particular "family" of symbolism. The North Star symbolism, the bear symbolism of Ursa Major and Minor, the fact that "Arctic" means "bear", the fact that the coat of arms of Greenland is a polar bear, the fact that the potentially resurrecting person in question's last name is Greene, and now we finally get a reference to Greenland...

All of these things and many others suggest that now might be the time to start paying attention.

And now, according to the review from gamesradar.com, we’re getting a Greenland reference! It's just what the doctor ordered! And according to the reviewer, it’s a “bizarre” little stop-over, which suggests it makes little sense in terms of the plot, which is usually an indication that it’s mostly included for symbolism reasons.

So, what does it mean? Is Beth on Greenland?

Probably not, in fact I believe that's highly unlikely. I think the "bizarre" Green(e)land stopover is just a little symbolic "snack" for us TD symbolism hunters. I believe that the big reveal will happen probably in season 3, in Spain, which I've outlined the reasons for in other posts, such as this one.

But remember the tagline for the season, "to find home is to find each other". Certain factions of the fandom interpret this as to mean Carol and Daryl are each others “home”. And sure, in a way they are. They’re very close best friends, family, actually, as we over the past few months have learned, through the most un-ambiguous, fiercly insistent friend-zoning PR-campaign ever seen in the history of the universe.

And as I've described in this post, the North Star symbolism is about finding your way home.

But they’re not each others "true north". That Carol, on her way to finding Daryl, randomly touches down on Green(e)land, of all places, is a clue about what Daryl’s “true north” is. She's not touching down on Peletier-land, or Carriere-land (as in Isabelle Carriere). She's specifically touching down on Green(e)land.