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yabai-korra · 3 years

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The reasons why we're getting Manorian book

There has been a lot of speculation whether SJM is going to favor us with book/novella about Manon Blackbeak and Dorian Havilliard, recently I saw some fans doubting it, so here's a list of logical reasons why it's happening.

1. It's SJM

This woman writes two 500+ pages books per year, for her it would be a piece of cake.

2. There have already been books focused on side characters

a) Chaol and Yrene - Chaol was one of the most unpopular characters before Tower of Dawn (which made me love him hehe) and she still wrote a 600+ pages long book about him, just imagine what she'd do with the most popular character (Manon) and one of the most popular ones (Dorian).

b) Nesta and Cassian - this is ship is the closest to Manorian equivalent in ACOTAR series, aka starting from a physical relationship that develops into a sentimental one. Also 6th ACOTAR book will be focused on a new characters (most probably Elain)

3. Favoritism

SJM has talked multiple times about her love for these two. When asked about her favorite TOG character, she said Aelin, but Manon was a close second place and she said that she absolutely loves writing her.

In another interview, when asked who she would go on a book tour with and a few similar questions, she answered Dorian.

Now, I haven't seen all of her interviews ever and I'm not sure how much she loves Nessian and Cahorene (seems to love Nessian a hella lot tho), but it's definite that Manorian are some of her favorite characters and it's just logical that she would write about them.

4. Unfinished story/Unresolved feelings

Ships at the end of TOG:

Rowaelin - married

Elorcan - engaged

Lysaedion - engaged

Chaorene - married with a baby on the way

Nestaq - engaged

Manorian - hug and "we'll see"

All the ships basically got engaged in the last chapter (it's not like I didn't like it hehe) and their stories, romantic-wise, were pretty much finished and they have no unresolved tension between them. Manorian on the other hand, have enough of it for all the ships lol.

KOA spoilers ahead!

Keep in mind, Manorian relationship was mostly a sexual one, and they don't quite yet have a way of communicating their feelings properly. So there is a lot of unaddressed between them, even though they obviously care a lot about each other.

The unresolved things between Manon and Dorian:

"“And if I asked you to stay?” / “I’d need a very convincing reason, I suppose.” / “Because I don’t want you to go.” - they just fucked and Dorian left for Morath later, which impacted Manon a lot but they haven't discussed it

"I even care about you." - Manon got up and left

"There is only one witch who will be my queen." - Manon doesn't know about this

Manon saved Dorian from Valg demon even when Aelin couldn't. It was the worst thing to happen to Dorian and he still bears scars from it, yet he didn't have an appropriate situation to thank Manon for it

Dorian knows that Erawan lusted after Manon, which got him pissed of course, and he didn't have a chance nor time to ask Manon about it. It might be nothing, but if I were Dorain and my girlfriend who doesn't show feelings was locked up with a crazy guy who has a thing for her, and have seen the way he treats women, I'd be concerned. Erawan was a Valg king, a tough opponent even for Manon. If he had done something to her, and he had plenty of means and opportunities and wish to do so, Manon would never openly tell anyone (maybe Asterin) about it, because it would imply opening up and being weak, which is Manon's worst fear. Again, SJM, as the Queen of Foreshadowing, wouldn't just randomly throw in the main villain having a thing for an important character, everything in her books always has a meaning and purpose.

"Would you miss me if I didn't [come back]?" - Manon didn't reply

This is how SJM described Manorian marriage: "She would be his wife, his queen. She was already his equal, his match, mirror in so many ways. And with their union, the world would know it." - and you're telling me it's not deserving of its own book? Not just that, Manon asked Dorian for marriage and they, again, just had sex, with Dorian loving the idea but deep down knowing that Manon would feel caged in a marriage. And that attitude won't just change out of the blue. It takes time and development which is something SJM writes amazingly.

With the Thirteen gone, beside Abraxos Dorian is the only creature Manon cares about.

Dorian's mortality (although as you'll see in point #6 I'm sure he's not human)

The dreaded "You could just marry each other." / "We'll see." (Thanks Yrene :)

5. Foreshadowing

Listen here, SJM IS THE QUEEN OF FORESHADOWING. She thought of a detail (Dorian's dad's name) in the first book that would matter in the last book. Of course, there are many many many more examples of that, but if we got "We'll see." then we'll fucking see it happen.

6. Unresolved things about Manon and Dorian as individual characters.

Manon and Dorian and both pretty broken at the end of KOA.

Manon lost the Thirteen, the only people she cared about. That is a huge trauma that needs to be addressed, especially with someone so reluctant to show feelings and heal like Manon.

Dorian can't be human?? He has fae abilities due to his relation to Gavin and Elena even though he's not even called a demi-fae. He possesses powers no one else does, phantom hands for example, which he didn't steal like shape-shifting. And Maeve pointed out that due to his father being possessed by Valg when Dorian was sired, it's possible he got some of the Valg abilities. (Also she said that he's stronger than Aelin) The main villain, especially written by Queen of Foreshadowing, wouldn't just let drop it there and that's it. Also not to mention Dorian's own struggle with depression and self-worth.

They have both just become rulers of their kingdoms, completely new to it. Dorian has spent a big part of KOA imagining what kind of a king he wants to be (one that will have a witch queen hehe) and it was a major point of his character. And addition to that affecting them as characters, the future of Adarlan and Witch Kingdom could make a good plotline.

7. Other TOG characters

Although pretty much all the readers would die to see Chaorene baby, Lorcan in Perranth, Aelin and Rowan ruling Terrasen, Lysandra and Adeion officially adopting Evangeline, Nesryn and Sartaq becoming Khagan and Empress of Antica, all of these don't make enough of a plot on its own. They are great side-plots.

We know all of these characters love each other and are happy together, there isn't that much to be added to their personal stories other than kids. (same way Feyre and Rhys got a baby in Nessian book) Manorian however, they haven't even kissed without it leading to sex, they hugged at the end of KOA and it was the pique of their relationship. Their relationship is merely at the beginning, whereas others have pretty much reached their ultimatum (ofc SJM can decide to add some drama with betrayal, kidnapping, pregnancy etc. but for now everyone is good and settled beside Manorian)

Not to mention the way other relationships would affect them. Chaol, Dorian's brother, and Yrene, Manon's wannabe bestie and Manorian shipper, would bring their baby to meet his/her uncle Dorian and aunt Manon, and imagine Manon with a baby lol.

SJM loves Aelin and other characters way too much not to give us an insight on them as married couples, but since her books are huge and it's her, it needs a plot with drama, addressing traumas, repressed feelings, worldbuilding, and sex, and Manorian's got all of that.

8. Abraxos

We need more Abraxos, that's just a fact.

Wow that was a long one. Anyways, in conclusion, we're getting that Manorian book. Pretty sure it's gonna a book rather than a novella (TOD was also planned as a novella but then guess what) because there is just SO MUCH possible content.

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booknerdteen · 3 years

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*Spoilery review* 3/5

The lack of diversity in this book (all Sarah J Maas books) is becoming clearer and clearer in every book… I feel like I am starting to dislike Sarah J Maas even though I really enjoy her books - the lack of diversity/representation is killing me. The more we get through her books the clearer it becomes that she isn't going to insert representation (of any kind). From the wide range of characters with different personalities and ethnicities, it is so disappointing. Even A Court Of Silver Flames and House of Earth and blood (Crescent City #1) which are her most recent books. With all the comments and criticism she is getting I thought she would at least add a bit more representation BUT NO. Like usual Sarah J Maas style, she adds one gay character and one black character in Crescent City, and those were just side characters that will probably get killed off in the coming books. This hurts and is super problematic.

I wouldn't be bothered as much as I am rn if I wasn't black or part of the lgbtqia+ community. I would honestly love to see myself represented in Maas's books because she is such an amazing storyteller and knowing that someone you look up to so much actually supports the same things you do or will accept you in real life is the best feeling ever. Every page I turned in this book was a constant reminder of what Sarah believes in and it honestly hurt. A lot. I don't understand what would be so bad with adding a few characters that aren't just WHITE FEMALES with specific taste (white males with no flaws that are probably toxic) into a book that EVERYONE is going to be reading and not kill them off or be that side character that no one likes.

Aelin / Celaena

I loved Celaena and thought she was a super cool badass character in the first two books. But of course, the third book changed everything. I understood that Celaena had to change in order for the plot to work more but Aelin can't just forget about who she was, who she STILL is. I know it's supposed to be a kind of character growth when she's pushing Celaena away but GURL. You've been Celaena for more than 14 years, are you going to just push that out of the way? That sounds more like self-denial to me.. Talking about what's annoying is Aelin's ability to lie so easily every FREAKING MINUTE she is breathing. If she loves and cares about Rowan, Chaol, Aedion, and everyone else then why doesn't she just tell the truth. I get that Sarah uses this as a way to add suspense to the story but it's honestly too annoying, cuz in a way she is lying to us too. Why would I follow a character that is lying to my face and is so untrustworthy? That can be cool sometimes...when the character doesn’t do this EVERY SECOND. And then Aelin gets so offended when people lie to her, like when Elena lied about the fact that the King was still alive... I am now convinced that "Aelin'' might not even be her real name. Or maybe she's not really the Queen of Terrasen. Something else that was annoying was the relationship between Rowan and Aelin.

Rowan & Aelin

DON'T I JUST *HATE* IT WHEN EVERY MALE-FEMALE RELATIONSHIP BECOMES A ROMANCE? Like they were perfectly fine off as friends! Why did Sarah have to ruin this and start a romance!? This wouldn't be annoying if she didn't do this with every MALE. Like with Dorian, Chaol, and now Rowan. And don't even get me started on the toxic masculinity. Reading this from Rowan's point of view actually did the opposite of what it was supposed to do. IT'S MADE HIM TOO ANNOYING FOR ME TO BEAR.

Honestly, their relationship was like me watching Twilight all over again...

After all that negativity, I think we need some good things (thinking of that is very hard right now).

Well... I did enjoy reading about Dorian and Manon. Actually, they were the best part of this book. I enjoyed learning more about the witch clan/world in this book and Asterin. I honestly found more comfort and Manon and Dorian than I did in any of the other characters. So consider Aelin Galathynius off my list of favorite characters.

Overall

I still enjoyed this book, specifically the Manon, Dorian, and Lysandra chapters and I will be continuing the series because I really enjoyed the first three books + I already got myself the entire series (in a pack) 🤦

~Till Next Time!

📚 Ꮢҽαԃ σ⨍⨍ ɾҽαԃҽɾട! 📚

🏷️🏷️🏷️🏷️🏷️🏷️🏷️🏷️🏷️🏷️🏷️🏷️🏷️🏷️🏷️

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whoreforenemiestolovers · 4 years

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SJM BROKE MY HEART (KoA book review and rant)(spoilers)

I just finished Kingdom of Ash and I can honestly say I've never cried so hard over a book. I don’t even have words anymore for the damage SJM has caused my soul.

This book really had me in my feels. Almost 1000 pages of heart-wrenching friendship, romance, hatred, and war. SJM has done an amazing job writing not only her protagonists but her antagonists. Having a small part of yourself feeling sorry for an antagonist but also hating them to your very core, but also wishing they would just choose to be better, is something not many people can do. Maeve was a terrible person and it was revealed that she was actually a valg queen. Yes, I hate Maeve with a burning passion for everything she did to the characters I love but at the same time there is a part of me that feels sorry for her. She was only in their dimension to escape her husband. If she had been forthcoming and not a terrible person, maybe she could have gotten help from others to escape him but no, she scammed her way onto a throne she didn't deserve and then tortured my favorite characters. Erawan was a god-awful person but at the end I felt a little bad because, yes, he wanted to destroy Erilea, but he wanted to be reunited and do it with his brothers. Not that any of that changes the terrible people Maeve and Erawan are. I'm mad at SJM for taking away most of Aelin's magic. I am really mad about it. But it didn't ruin the book. I sobbed so hard when Aelin was in that dimension about to die in like chapter 97 because I felt so bad for Rowan. They deserved the happy ending they got. I am also really mad at Maeve for leading Rowan to Lyria, because even though they weren't actually mates, she had no one else so when Rowan and Aelin eventually die is he going to join the afterworld with both of them? I want him to only be with Aelin but I feel bad that Lyria was roped into I tyrants plan to break someone who didn't deserve to be broken. I'm a little upset we didn't get to read if Aelin settles (although I'm not sure if she has to settle now to be immortal now that her mortal body is gone), and I'm upset we didn't get to see them have kids, and I'm very upset that we never get a flashback chapter to read about Rowan and Aelin's wedding since we didn't get one in Empire of Storms. I am so happy that Aedion and Lysandra finally get married and equally happy that Lorcan and Elide finally get married. The slow burn was truly worth it. I am upset that Manon and Dorian don't marry by the end but I have faith that they do sometime after she restores the Wastes and he restores Ardalan. The deaths that hurt the most were The Thirteens by far. Asterin was one of my favorite characters and she, and the other 11, sacrificed themselves in hope for a better future for the witches. If it wasn't for them, everyone would be dead. I feel terrible for Manon thought because that was her family. My heart wrenched because Abraxos lost his mate too. I am happy for Chaol and Yrene. I honestly didn't read Tower of Dawn because I hated Chaol's character but after meeting all the other people introduced I have to read it (they all seem so interesting). I do really want to know if Borte and Yeran end up finally marrying and admitting their feelings to each other because it is so obvious that they do. I was so happy at the end when the kingsflame bloomed for Aelin. She deserves it. I'm also happy for the Whitehorns who now lead Doranelle. I hope Cairn rots in hell because he might have been the worst character. I hope Aedion is reunited with Gavriel in the afterworld because it really hurt that they didn't get any time together. And I will never not laugh at Lord Lorcan Lochan. Also The Little Folk have my whole heart I love them so much. And also the fact that in the middle of the book I was like wtf happened to Vaughn? and I honestly think SJM forgot about him until like the last chapter and was like ‘ohh shit I forgot Vaughn existed’ and then had to come up with something to say about him.

Catch me going to read ACOTAR now 🤪

#tog #throne of glass #koa #rowan #aelin galythinius #rowaelin #acotar #sjm #sarah j maas #manon

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aelinbitch-archive · 5 years

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You've probably said this before but what's your favorite aspect of the TOG series? I've only read like ten pages of the first book lol

aaaaa thank u for asking!! this sort of leads into something i’ve been meaning to talk about for a while so i hope you’re prepared for An Essay No One Wanted By Me. anyway this is a two-part answer, read below:

1. Aelin. Celaena. The main bitch, whatever you wanna call her lol. Without her I probably wouldn’t have cared about the series at all and wouldn’t currently be trapped in ToG tumblr hell reluctantly stanning a racist and homophobic series, but unfortunately when I was like twelve years old or whatever and read the first book I literally imprinted on Celaena like a baby duckling. To the extent that she became, like, the default avatar for all my maladaptive daydreaming and If I Don’t Project On Her At All Times I Will Die. It’s not like she’s the only thing I like about the series (I loooove a lot of the other characters, especially the gals, and the writing can be really great and engaging and cinematic) but Aelin has always been the supermassive black hole at the center of it all for me. I wouldn’t know how to even begin untangling her character from my psyche at this point. It’s honestly a little disturbing. Anyway.

2. Part two is a quality of the series that I feel was unprecedented in its strength in the first five books of the series (ToG-QoS plus the prequel novellas) and really really disappointingly weak in the last two books (EoS-KoA). Like I said above, Aelin has always been my main interest in tog so I read and enjoyed the last two anyway, but I definitely felt the loss of this - “this” being the detail and attention paid to all different types of relationships between characters, and how rich and unpredictable those relationships were as a result.

That sounds like kind of a broad, vague thing, but what I mean is that (in my opinion) rarely are romances and friendships and rivalries explored with such nuance, complexity, drama, and realism in most YA as they are in ToG. I remember reading Cassandra Clare’s books (lmao.) as a pre teen and loving those as well, but totally being able to predict who was going to end up with who, and finding the character dynamics to be pretty cut and dry.

In ToG that’s not the case at all. Like, you’ve got Celaena and Sam, a really complex example of enemies to lovers to….. Tragically Dead Boyfriend Whose Demise Fuels My Guilt and Self-Hatred For Seven More Books, Lysandra and Aelin, two girls pitted against each other by their abuser who team up a year later to unlearn their internalized misogyny and kill him, and Aelin and Chaol, who… how do I even describe the ups and downs (and downs. and more downs) of their relationship.

And that’s just three pairs! Pull the names of two characters out of a hat and I can almost guarantee essays worth of material could be written about them. Arobynn and Aelin? Aelin and Nehemia? Chaol and Dorian, as much as I hate both of them and feel that their relationship as been widely mischaracterized? All fascinating!!! No two people in those first few books are just friends, or just lovers, or just enemies. It’s always more complex, there’s always a history or tension or competing agendas or viewpoints that Fuck Shit Up.

And benefit of that is twofold: one, everything that happens between the characters just…. lands so well. The betrayals and triumphs and losses and victories of The Assassin’s Blade and Crown of Midnight and Queen of Shadows (especially TAB) are fucking heart-stopping. It’s great character-driven entertainment!! Gripping and engaging and vivid to the point of being painful.

And two, there’s no way to predict where a relationship is going to go. Aelin and Lysandra teaming up in QoS instead of returning to their rivalry? Who would have thought! Ansel and Celaena’s summer fling (they were in love. fight me.) ending like That? Holy fuck. Nesryn and Chaol breaking up in ToD? Oh shit! I fell for it again! Rowan and Aelin ending up together after everyone swore they were brotp in HoF? Hell yeah! Chaolaena seeming like endgame and then ending forever, with Chaol and Aelin realizing that the rift between them that began in CoM was something that would never sufficiently heal? Unprecedented. Fucking badass for a YA book to curve everyone like that. Tween me was shook out of her mind.

(Important to note, though, that the downside of this style was that SJM couldn’t tell where ~unpredictable relationships and characters~ ended and fridging began, and as a result, not one but two woc were killed off to make white characters sad and it sucked beyond belief).

Aaaaaand then QoS, the peak of literature, turned into EoS, and SJM just… gave up on all of that. I remember the first time Dorian and Manon met, and I was like oh, okay. So they’re going to end up together. And I was right. I remember that on this site, before EoS came out, before Lorcan and Elide ever fucking MET, people predicted the existence of Elorcan!! And they were right!! Like how fucking boring? Everyone is just paired off into completely predictable heterosexual ships and those are now the only relationships we get to read about (with a few exceptions, like Aelin/Aedion, Aelin/Fenrys, etc.).

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: my least favorite thing about Manorian is not that I find the relationship to be shitty (although I do, I really do). It’s that Dorian is suddenly the only character Manon gets to interact with in any meaningful way.

Like, are you kidding?! I want to read about Manon and Elide, Manon and Asterin, Rowan and Lorcan, Aelin and Lysandra, Aelin and Nesyrn, even if it’s not romantically (although some of them, like Manon and Elide, absolutely should have been, and the fact that not only was that ship very thoroughly sunk, but also they didn’t even get to TALK after QoS, felt like a real slap in the face to gay fans, but I digress), because those pairings previously had hella complexity and drama. But we don’t get to.

And this trend that’s so painfully present in the last two books Sucks for two reasons: one, every relationship that isn’t romantic (which were previously some of the most interesting ones) is abandoned so that more time can be made for The Hets™ and two, the relationships that are romantic, now the only ones left, are totally fucking boring and predictable!! If two characters are interacting at any point (if one is male and the other is female, of course) then you know for a fact that they’re not only love interests, but endgame.

And that makes me not care even when there is drama between them. Elide giving Lorcan the cold-shoulder for three hundred pages, and Manon and Dorian arguing, and Aedion being cruel to Lysandra weren’t compelling narratives to me like they should have been, because the whole time I was just thinking “but it doesn’t matter. I know it’s still endgame. There are no stakes here whatsoever; it’s a done deal.” Whereas Chaol and Celaena’s devestating breakup in CoM felt like (and was) suuuuper Real. An all-in bet on the wrong person. Crazy shit.

And not that I think two characters should never have a happy ending together (I really like rowaelin and nestaq and I would have loved malide!) but imagine how much cooler and subversive and entertaining it would have been if Elorcan, which seemed soooo totally cute and endgamey and borderline like fanfiction throughout all of EoS just ended forever right there and then on the beach, with Elide turning to Lorcan and saying “I hope you spend the rest of your miserable, immortal life suffering. I hope you spend it alone. I hope you live with regret and guilt in your heart and never find a way to endure it” - and BAM. She never speaks to him again. He’s dead to her.

I mean, talk about shock value! (See, Sarah, you can have shock value without killing of a person of color to make a white character sad 🙃). And I totally get that relational twists like that alienate fans more than just going the expected route and having them kiss and make-up does (I mean, the ending of Chaolaena in QoS certainly did, Jesus Christ) but I, Bella aelinbitch, personally live for that shit, and isn’t it only fair that all media cater directly and specifically to me? Lmao. But seriously, I do think it’s objectively more interesting, and that it keeps readers on their toes (I was on my ASS in EoS and KoA. Like. I was flat on my back sinking into the Earth).

And there are still sort of… glimmers of the old way she wrote in the first few books, but it just feels like a tease rather than something that’s really explored and indulged in the way it was before, and it just ends up being more frustrating (like what was the point of Manon and Dorian not getting married at the end of KoA if I would bet my life savings that in World of Tog it’ll be confirmed that they’re either married or still together) and sometimes downright problematic? Like to return to a previous example, I think all the drama between Aedion + Lysandra was a result of Sarah’s previous (good) instincts to shake stuff up and complicate the character dynamics, but it backfires because when they end up together, it’s not ever… worked out? Or addressed? If you create really intense drama between two people, then that needs to show up in their relationship, no matter how happy they end up together. It doesn’t just disappear.

And despite the fact that her understanding of that concept (that shit between two people doesn’t just disappear like magic) is one of my absolute favorite things about the first few books, Sarah even went as far as to use the last two books to retcon some of the original complexity away, which makes me want to rip out my hair!! Like Aelin at the end of KoA just going “Love you Chaol and Love you Dorian xoxoxoxoxox best friends forever!!!” instead of having, like, any type of mixed feelings about the way these boys treated her? I mean, come on! 100 pages earlier Chaol was openly saying she should die instead of Dorian! Why is everything just peachy-keen instead of fraught with tension!! (I know why. I know. It’s because she introduced way too many characters/POVs/storylines as the series went on and didn’t know what to do with them all besides sideline the nonromantic ones and pair off everyone else boy-girl boy-girl down the line). Or if it has to be peachy-keen, why is the peachy-keeness never critically examined as, perhaps, a repressive mechanism for Aelin to avoid dealing with painful truths from her past? Now that would be interesting.

(My ideal World of ToG would be just a transcript of the characters’ therapy sessions where Aelin realizes that her insistence that “Chaol and Dorian Are Her Friends!” is actually a way to keep herself safe emotionally and that she has plenty of reasons to hate them, and Lysandra realizes she should divorce Aedion lmao).

Anyway tldr: The variety, complexity, depth, and unpredictability of the relationships in Throne of Glass was simultaneously the most realistic (sometimes relationships of all kinds fall apart or veer off in unexpected directions and love is temporary and the boy you met in the first chapter isn’t actually your soulmate and it doesn’t mean he’s a villain) and the most gripping and dramatic (I would have been totally chill if maeve and erawan weren’t a thing and tog was just like a medieval soap opera, that’s how entertaining the character dynamics were) thing about the series, and to lose that in the last two books because of Heterosexuality (and introducing too many POVs and not knowing what to do with them all)…. kinda devastating.

This ended up being waaaaaay more complaining than it was talking about what I loved, but the only reason it bothers me so much is because it used to be so good!!! So just imagine the inverse of all the frustration I just vomited into this ask and you’ll have a good idea of how much I loved the series when things weren’t this way.

#im SO sorry for how shittily worded/ranty/emotional/long this is but *antoni from queer eye voice* a shitty YA series is actually something #that can be so personal...#greatest hits: hot takes

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elliepassmore · 5 years

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Empire of Storms Review

5/5 stars Recommended for people who like: series, ToG, fantasy, magic, high stakes, battles, multiple POVs, strong female leads, scheming Oh wow, I have such a love-hate relationship with this book. On one hand, I love how it’s written, how the characters and overall situation evolves, and, for most of the book, what happens. But on the other hand, I hate what happens. If we can read this and pretend it ends 30 pages before it does, that’d be fantastic, thank you very much. For those that have not read this far in the series, Chaol isn’t in this one; ToD tells what’s happening with him while this book is going on. Also, I realized as I was writing the review that I talk a lotmore about Manon and Elide than any of the other characters, so be prepared. Aelin has a lot of character development in this one, growing from someone who is a queen to someone who is queenly. In QoS, it was obvious she cared about Terrasen and her Court, that she was a queen and had accepted it, but within the first couple of chapters with her in this one, there’s a slow change. She begins acting with more calculation, more cunning, and more of a willingness to sacrifice—both herself and others—to get done what needs to be done. She felt like a queen in this one. But more than that, I felt she became a more mature character in this one. As much as I love HoF and QoS!Aelin, she was still acting like that young, wicked 19-year-old assassin. Throughout this book, she slowly develops a sense of stillness and a greater understanding of how the world, and people as a whole, tend to work. I really, really like her character progression and magical rise throughout EoS. There were definitely some sketchy parts—like when she was willing to bring the Valg into a city and leave its occupants to their doom, or when she and Rowan were talking about potentially conquering more countries in the future—but as a whole, I felt Maas did a really good job of showing how the Crown, Terrasen, and Terrasen’s people impacted Aelin and her decisions. Not to mention, Aelin became a fiery powerhouse in this one, and that’s always a fun journey to see, regardless of who’s undergoing it. And, I know some people have complaints about this next bit but, I love love love all of Aelin’s scheming and secrecy. It’s cunning, it’s wicked, it’s a Power Move, and it’s one of my favorite things throughout this book, even if it does get her into trouble and isn’t always the best move on her part. Dorian…poor Dorian. He really can’t get a break right now, can he? First there’s a Valg prince in him, then he kills his dad and shatters half his castle, then all his friends leave to go do Very Official Things, and then his city is sacked and burned. What a great summer. Dorian’s definitely close to some of that darkness we saw in Aelin/Celaena in HoF, but he’s already got a country to run and can’t afford to delve into the depths of his despair the way Aelin/Celaena was allowed to. It creates this interesting combination of a king who almost resents being king, but also recognizes there are no other good options at the moment and someone’s got to do it. The plus side of this is that we get to see a darker, more devil-may-care version of Dorian…ya know, the one who flirts with a witch. On top of dealing with all of this, Dorian also has his own magical journey and we get to see him gain more control over his powers and use them to his advantage in dangerous situations instead of having them adding to the dangerous situation. Despite these things, Dorian definitely feels like a side character in this one instead of a main character, and I think even Dorian points out something to this effect during one of his narrations:“For a heartbeat, Dorian felt like a useless fool as they all, including him, looked to Aelin.” (367). I suppose it’s not exactlyan admission of side-characterness, but it’s pretty damn close…and accurate. With all the growing and changing Dorian experiences in this book, I really wish we 1) got to see more of it from his POV, and 2) had more attention on him in general, he is, after all, one of the Original 3 (Dorian, Chaol, Celaena/Aelin). Manon continued her developmental arc from the last two books into this one, which was nice to see. With everything she’s learned and seen, especially during the course of QoS, she’s wary of what’s going on in Morath, and she’s wary of her grandmother. Manon has some interesting decisions to make regarding who—and I suppose what if you want to get into what she believes—she’s loyal to. We’ve seen inklings of her budding rebelliousness in previous books, but it really comes out in this one, and she draws a stark line in the sand, a huge development for the witch who once valued “obedience, discipline, brutality” above all else…though, I suppose rebellions can be disciplined and brutal, just not obedient ;P Of course, Manon also shows more of her caring nature in this book. In HoF, we saw her risk her position to have Abraxos and to keep him safe. In QoS, we saw her take Elide under her wing to the point of breaching Morath’s dungeons. Now, we see all that come to a head, with her releasing Elide into Oakwald and telling her to find Aelin, and then later being extremely protective over Abraxos, and, of course, that dawn when Asterin—and by extension, the rest of the Thirteen’s—life is on the line and Manon decides to draw an even bigger line in the sand. Manon has always cared, but I wonder if she always would have acted upon it like she does in this book. Or to the extent she does in this book. One of my complaints with how Manon is handled in this story are that she goes with the flow more than I feel she normally would, and I don’t know if it’s because she’s outnumbered or injured or what, but I felt she should’ve fought back a little more before relaxing her stance. And then the other one, which I know not everyone will agree with, is that she and Elide have more chemistry than she and Dorian. From the way I’ve read the story, it makes more sense for her and Elide to enter into something romantic than for her and Dorian to. I’m pretty happy with how Elide’s path goes in this story. From QoS, we know she’s cunning, clever, and observant, but with her having a larger narrative role, we get to see just how much she is those things. I mean, if you want a measurement for it, she lies to Lorcan, one of Maeve’s famous Fae warriors, and does it so well he doesn’t sense it. More than that, she also manages to buff her way past some of Morath’s worst creatures, which she does by delving into her memory and mimicking the behavior and attitudes she’s seen from the Thirteen in order to fool the creature. There are other instances too, when she changes herself and lies to get stuff done, and she does it with such ease, it’s impressive. Her observation skills continue peaking as well, with her sensing danger before it’s upon her multiple times. Perhaps part of the reason I love Elide so much in this one is that we really get to see the extent of her mental abilities, and that so often, especially in fantasy, when girls and women are badass and strong characters and beat the bad guys, they do it physically, we so rarely get to see them do it mentally like Elide does. Not to say, of course, that Elide doesn’t also get into scuffles, because she does, and she’s pretty good at those too. She kills some of Morath’s creatures with a broken nose while on her period, and that’s a bit of violent fantasy I can get behind. But most of the time, Elide uses her head to get herself in and out of situations. Perhaps not unexpected, but loyalty stays a huge part of her character as well. She’s loyal to Aelin, loyal to the promise she made to Kaltain, loyal to Manon and the Thirteen, and, when it comes down to it, she’s even loyal to Lorcan, which brings me to my next point. I like Manon and Elide as a romantic pairing, but I can also see where people are coming from with Lorcan and Elide, however, the latter pairing is not nearly developed enough in this book to warrant their kissing. Elide was furious with him like, two chapters before they kiss *with passion* and it feels rushed. If Maas was planning on having Eide and Lorcan be together (well…they are, but whatever), I think there should’ve been more of a buildup. They have mutual respect, they have aesthetic attraction, but they still need that deeper connection. Rowan feels younger in this one, though I thought he felt younger in QoS too. He’s freer and more playful in this one than he has been in the other ones, and I felt he was more tied to Aelin in this one too. That doesn’t stop him from getting shit done, though, even if it takes him, say, back to Adarlan for a spell. He’s definitely fiercely protective over Aelin, willing to throw down anyone who insults her past with Nehemia or Sam, or just letting her fight her own battles and scheme her own schemes. In terms of scheming, Rowan and Aelin definitely rub off on each other. For all the credit given to Aelin for her brilliant, complex schemes, Rowan does his fair share of scheming in this book too. He tricks their alliance target into meeting with them when he doesn’t want to, tricks Gavriel and Fenrys’ blood oaths to not attack Lorcan on sight, and schemes a way to get more allies for them. Despite this, despite how old and powerful he is, he definitely has some...self-esteem issues in this one, believing he has nothing to offer Aelin once she takes the throne, as if being one of the most powerful Fae males in the world is nothing. He brought it up every couple of chapters, mentioning he only had his heart to give…and then ignoring when it was exactly that that got the tide of a battle to turn (I love his cousins, by the way, very dramatic). Lorcan got narration in this one, which was interesting. He is not as much of a dick as he’s been made out to be, I’ll tell you that right now. Yes, he’s vicious and cunning, but he’s not horrible. He undergoes a lot of character development in this book, and I wonder if that contributed to it. I thought it was really funny how he went from “I’m going to torture and kill this girl (Elide)” to “well maybe I’ll just get her to tell me the information by tricking her” to “she is now mine to protect.” I suppose, though, that Elide has that affect on people. But even without that transition, Lorcan gets to see Aelin and her Court in action in this book, and he begins to realize that things with Maeve are…not the way they should be. Unfortunately, small realizations and a couple weeks (months?) worth of traveling with someone and being away from the blood oath are not enough to stop hundreds of years’ worth of training and instinct. Not entirely, at least. I feel like Aedion is in this one less than he’s been in the others, I’m not quite sure why, since he’s with Aelin and Lysandra for the entire book, and with Rowan and Dorian for most of it. He is a bit of a dick in this one, for reasons I can understand. For one, he lost his cousin once and all of her scheming just about stops his heart in his chest, not to mention the fact he’s literally fought battles and knows more about them in theory and in practice than Aelin does, despite her intelligence. While I love Aelin and her schemes in this one, I agree with Aedion that she should maybemaybe consult with the people around her before and while she’s making decisions. Him snapping at her about their lack of allies was a dick move, though. So Aelin hadn’t had time to get allies…I didn’t really see Aedion getting them either. Despite any disagreements he has with people, when it comes down to it, he’s still willing to fight beside them and protect them. Poor Lysandra, she has such a shitty situation. She’s mastered her shifting more, and everyone’s been giving her lessons in different things necessary for survival and fighting, but she still gets the short end of the stick. For starters, she has to leave Evangeline in Terrasen while they go traipsing around for allies and Wyrdkeys. It makes sense to leave her where she’s safe, but Lysandra has been the one protecting her for the past couple of years, and the two have grown close, so it’s definitely a hard decision that Lysandra makes. Later, she gets to battle five water-wyverns as a sea dragon, which nearly kills her and nearly gets her stuck in sea dragon form. (view spoiler). I think the situation is especially interesting because Lysandra is not fighting for her own country. She is not a King, Queen, or prince fighting for Adarlan or Terrasen. She is not a Witch fighting for the Wastes. Lysandra is fighting because she believes in Aelin and Dorian, and because she knows that if Erawen wins, things will get a lot worse for a lot of people. It’s the ‘right thing to do’ to fight in this war, but the right thing isn’t always the thing that keeps you and your loved ones alive, as everyone in this book knows, and it’s often easier said than done to go “I’d do the right thing,” yet Lysandra still chose to stay and fight for her friends, for the world, even if it means wearing a different face for the rest of her life, or dying, or never seeing Evangeline again. This book was side-character salad. Remember Assassin’s Blade? A lot of those characters make a comeback. We get to see Rolfe, Ansel, and the Silent Assassin’s back at it again, to varying degrees of willingness. Ansel coming back was, I feel, heavily and obviously foreshadowed in QoS, I definitely called it before I read the book the first time. Despite what she’d done, I really like her character in this one and was…not touched, exactly, but felt something like that when Ansel revealed she’d tried to go to Endovier to get Aelin/Celaena out. Rolfe was just as colorful and fun as in Blade, but less of an asshole, potentially because he wasn’t trading in slaves anymore. Maas included a plot twist with him that was entertaining, and I wish had more attention brought to it in KoA. The Silent Assassins come back toward the very end of the book, so we don’t get to see a lot of their interactions with everyone, but it was a pleasant surprise to see that virtually all of them turned up to aid Aelin and co. in defeating Erawen and winning their countries back. We also get to see more of the cadre, with Gavriel and Fenrys chilling with our heroes for a bit. Gavriel, perhaps unsurprisingly, causes some tension with everyone, most notably Aedion, who is more than a little rough on him. I get the instinct, and with Gavriel still being blood sworn to Maeve, I probably wouldn’t’ve let Gavriel anywhere near me, but I also don’t know if anyone had much of a choice. Fenrys was the wild card one of the two, and definitely managed to piss people off more than Gavriel did, but he was funnier, so that’s a plus. I felt…odd about Fenrys. It’s obvious he’s only sworn to Maeve for his twin and would rather be free or with Aelin and co, but he ogles Aelin, which feels slimy to me and I’m not a huge fan of, no matter how funny he is. Galan Ashryver also shows up toward the end of the book to aid the group in their journey, but like the Silent Assassins, since he showed up at the end, we don’t get a lot from him. Unfortunately, with that mix of awesome, we also have to suffer Maeve and Erawen turning up in this book too. I can’t really say a lot about Maeve without giving a bunch of stuff away, but Maeve is a bitch and I hate her more than Erawen, who briefly shows up to wreak havoc and spy. We don’t see a lot of the Thirteen, but they play such a big role in Manon’s decisions and arc, that I thought they should be included here as well. They’re so loyal to Manon, despite the threat of it, but they’re also not blinded by loyalty. Asterin, especially, is one of my favorite characters. She’s wild and free and fierce, and she isn’t afraid to get in Manon’s face and tell her like it is, but she’s also not afraid to die in Manon’s place. Sorrel is calmer about her anger, falling true to Manon’s idea that Manon is ice, Asterin is fire, and Sorrel is stone. Sorrel’s anger and questioning falls more into the line of “I’m not mad, just disappointed,” which anyone with a parent knows is so much worse. Abraxos is worth mentioning as a member of the Thirteen as well, since he also plays such a vital role in Manon’s development. He was the one to first break that icy exterior around her, and he’s the one she’s with for a majority of the book. Abraxos takes care of Manon and makes sure she’s safe, and when he can’t, for a couple reasons, he does the next best thing and finds someone who can do those things. Ah, the plot. The plot foreshadows aspects of itself, I’ll say that right now, but outside of that, there’s a shit ton of foreshadowing in this book, and this book also answers a lot of previous books’ foreshadowing. Erawen’s on the rise, creatures are coming out of Morath, and now nobody’s on the throne. The group is running out of time to get everything they need, and there’s so many twists and turns and foreshadowing going on that just about everyone ends up relying on one another at some point. Stuff from previous books connect into this one with more than just characters, and um, it’s a little fucking devastating. I love it and all the threads it connects, though, bringing everything around again and relating the history of Erilea to it, literally explaining why things are happening now, and sort of why they’re happening the way they’re happening. Some of the characters start to pick up on it, to realize that things bigger than coincidence and ghosts are guiding them down this path. Of course, there’s the issue with representation in this series. The characters, except for some of the Thirteen and Ilias, are all white. They are pretty much also all straight. Aedion is hinted at being bisexual, one of Rowan’s cousins is gay, and two members of the Thirteen are lovers. That’s four people, three of whom we barely/don’t see, and the fourth whose sexuality is only really hinted at. I love these books (and ACoTaR), but they are seriously lacking in diversity.

BONUS

The Visit

4.5/5 stars

One of the copies of EoS I have has a short scene at the back detailing a visit to Mistward while Rowan and Aelin were training there.

I’m going to say from the start that I think Rowan and Aelin are shown being closer in this scene than we see for the entirety of HoF. They’re friends, we know they care about each other, they’re carranam (though they haven’t realized it at this point yet), but in HoF they didn’t act in the light, playful way they do now, and this scene feels more like QoS/EoS!Rowaelin than HoF!Rowaelin, hence the dropped half star.

I liked what happened in the story, though. Aelin’s temper is, naturally, on a short leash and it erupts toward Lady Remelle from Doranelle who acts a little too territorial over Rowan. Maas does a good job making sure we don’t like the Lady, so it was just desserts to see Aelin snap fire at her and earn her nickname ‘fire breathing bitch queen.’ Benson was just creepy and rapey feeling, and barely had any lines of dialogue. Essar was the only Fae from Doranelle I liked, again by design, and she was also the only one to realize who Elentyia/Celaena/Aelin really was.

So, cute little short that gave us the background behind Aelin’s bitch-queen nickname, but also a short that’s a little OOC for the book it’s supposed to be set in.

Entering Terrasen

5/5 stars

The other copy of EoS I have has a scene at the back where Aelin, Rowan, Lysandra, Evangeline, and Aedion have just entered Terrasen and are in a small village where they meet a water user.

I’m not really sure why this scene wasn’t just in the book, since it takes place during the timeline of the book and it would’ve only added a couple pages (which it did anyway, just at the end). I think it would’ve been nice to have it included because it shows the rebuilding of Terrasen, not just physically, but also mentally. It involves magic and laughing kids, that’s something that should be addressed within the book because of what it represents against the backdrop of a land recovering from being conquered.

The scene was super cute, with the magic user being a little 9-year-old. She has, for the first time, access to her magic and is using it to play with the other kids to no one’s objection, showing that despite Adarlan’s tight-fisted stance on magic and magic users, the people of Terrasen are not about to throw stones at those gifted with it. It also shows that, despite the wariness the girl has for the Adarlanian accent, she’s still willing to talk with Aelin and have their magics play together.

Overall, cute scene, should’ve just been in the book instead of a bit of extra content.

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sweet-on-you · 6 years

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Kingdom of Ash; thoughts:

SPOILERS AHEAD.

So. Holy shit. It is really over. After everything we have endures. The journey has ended.

I am speechless. I can hardly contain my joy and sorrow. Going through Aelin's torture was heartbreaking. Watching Aedion and Lysandra was painful. So was watching Elide and Lorcan. And Dorian. Poor, sweet Dorian.

I think the best part for me, the part when I knew that this book was going to burn itself into my heart forever more, was when Aelin's mother appeared to her. "You do not yield." That line will be with me forever.

I also enjoyed Dorian's mission to Morath immensely!! How clever!! You knew something was up the moment he met Maeve, but you never really saw what was coming! And the flashbacks to Kaltain were wonderful. I'm so proud of him, even prouder now that I've finished the book.

My second favorite part, though, was Lorcan's confession. It was such a small part of the book, but for me it was everything. I fell so hard for this otp in EOS, and I hated how things had ended. His admission to Elide? About crawling after not Maeve, but Aelin? Gut punch. This Fae built of death itself, thought to be one of the cruelest creatures in the world, hardened and unfaring, admitting his love and fucking tying his life to that of a mortal woman, so small and yet so, so fierce and cunning?? Beautiful. The whole thing is just beautiful.

And then things really picked up. The Wyrdgate. HOW DID I NEVER NOTICE THAT THE KING OF ADARLAN HAD NO NAME?? I'm floored. Flabbergasted. Shook. Nameless is my price. Fuck me. Fucking brilliant. Aelin bartering with the gods? Aelin unleashing he'll on them in retribution? Priceless.

I did not, however, see her power draining coming. I figured something would happen to keep her Fae, but I never thought her fire powers would be dimished. It was a nice twist, something to keep the tension strong.

I have no love for the scenes of Aedion, Lysandra and the others as they fought. They were painful and kept telling them all in my head to not lose hope, that help was coming. I cried when the witches arrived, though.

SPEAKING OF! I also love love loved the scene where Manon called the Chrocans to war. That was powerful.

Not as powerful as Asterin and the Thirteen, however. When they flew off, my stomach dropped. I sobbed as I read those pages, ugly sobs of grief. I hope Aelin really does erect that monument. They deserve it, and so much more.

The final siege on Orynth had so many amazing moments. From Gavriel's sacrifice to Darrow's adoption of Evangeline, Aelin's fight with Maeve to Erawan's demise at the hands of Yrene.

Who knew Yrene Westfall would end up being so important?

I cried again when Aedion took the blood oath. And one last time for the kingsflame at the end.

This was a beautiful, brilliant book. I am, however, disappointed that Eyllwe didn't play a larger part. Nehemia was so important to Aelin. I really wanted to travel there, or for more characters from there to make an appearance. I'm wondering if a sister series will emerge from SJM later on to address this. I certainly hope so. I'm so happy with how everything turned out, but there's so much more I want.

I want to watch Dorian and Aelin rebuild their homes.

I want to watch Manon and the witches return to the Wastes for the first time.

I want to watch Nesryn learn to be an empress.

I want to watch as Dorian tells Manon he loves her. I want them to have beautiful, deadly babies.

I want to watch Yrene build a new Torre, and see Chaol be a father.

I want to watch Rowan and Aelin be happy.

I want to watch Rowan and Aelin's children hear the song of the Battle of Orynth for the first time, and then the hundreth time, and then go off seeking their own adventures, always with the same purpose, though- to make a better world.

Anyways. I'm gonna sit in my feeling for a lite while longer. Thanks for reading.

#koa #koa spoilers #kingdom of ash #kingdom of ash spoilers #sjm #throne of glass #tog #tog series #spoilers

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nomattertheoceans · 6 years

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My thoughts on Kingdom of Ash

Ok I just finished the book (and yes, I slept no more than 5 hours since Friday night, but hey, what are you gonna do?) so all my thoughts may still be a bit raw, but I need to talk about all of it!!!! All of this will be extremely random though.

Ok so first of all, thank you thank you thank you Sarah J Maas for giving us once again a very well crafted story that satisfied me so much, that allowed us closure for every storyline and character arc established in the books. I loved every second of it.

So, where to start?

Lysandra disguising as Aelin: Ever since the end of Empire of Storms, I knew it wouldn't work, and it was likely to fall apart at the first battle because of Aelin's power (and the lack of it in Lysandra), and I was hoping Maas wouldn't find a weird reason for it to hold when it was destined to fail. She didn't, and the disbelief and betrayal the soldiers felt was very realistic and very sad.

Speaking of Lysandra: her relationship with Aedion was... I have very mixed feelings about it. I'm very glad of how it developed (honestly I never saw much development between them before so that felt good). Aedion was... such an ass. Like, I get he's pissed and all, but come on, you don't throw someone naked in the snow because they lied at you, that was such a dick move. But this allowed for a development I loved, the dynamic between them throughout the book: Aedion being an ass even though Lysandra tries to explain, then he realizing how wrong he was and going to her, and then her being all "are you kidding?" And refusing him because he was such a dick. I loved it, Lysandra held on to her pride and didn't crawl back to him the second he wanted her to. Instead they rebuilt a mutual trust together. So in the end I managed to be happy about their love, and I know I wouldn't have been if she'd accepted his first apology, because he wasn’t worthy of her affection at that point.

Aelin in the coffin: ugh every second of this broke my heart, it was awful all along.... the idea of her suffering so much that they had to rebuild her body was... oh everything was horrible. The worst, I think, was when Maeve told her Rowan had been spotted in Terrasen, and Aelin admitted to herself that she'd hoped he would come for her. I literally was talking to my book going "noooo he's coming, don't lose hope!" It was so painful. But the way they freed her was amazing, the fact that their plan allowed her to free herself at first and then they helped her, all this was the best way it could’ve happened. Also, the scene where she yelled to take off the mask and the chains was... again heartbreaking but necessary I think.

Her relationship with Fenrys was EVERYTHING. The fact that they supported each other for all this time, the bond it built between them through their trauma, I loved it all. The scene in the cave when they say they'll be here to listen if the other needs to talk about it, it was great. Also, I loved the fact that it helped them in the end, with her helping Fenrys against Maeve. Amazing, all of it. And Rown wasn’t jealous or anything (maybe a bit hurt at first because he thought Aelin might not want him again, but then it got resolved quickly enough to not ruin anything).

Rowaelin. Oh these two gave me ALL THE FEELS. At first when Rowan is low-key afraid that Maeve broke their relationship, but then Aelin gives him the wedding bands 😍. And then their entire conversation about Lyria and the mating bond was perfectly crafted. But oh my god did my heart break when Aelin was on the verge of dying and Rowan felt the mating bond slowly disappear... awful. I loved it haha. Rowaelin always made me feel a lot, and this book was no different.

I have too many thoughts honestly, I might forget a lot xD

Aelin losing her scars and then later her human body was so sad.... Rowan describes her as haunted and it's heartbreaking.

I can't remember in which chapter it was, but can we agree that we had a scene where Fenrys describes being raped by Maeve whilst his brother’s blood was still on the ground? It wasn't that explicit, and I can't remember when exactly it was, but it was awful and made me cry.

Oh and I don't understand how Dorian's shape-shifting power works? Like, Lysandra always swaps back naked, but he somehow manages to keep his clothes and his sword and all? I don't get it. Maybe I missed some kind of information?

The wave of power in Anielle: I loved the whole scene, Aelin's power was amazing (I saw it coming from far away but it was still good. I'm generally surprised by Maas' twists but this one I knew was going to happen ^^)

Oh Anielle makes me think of my lovable married couple chaorene: the pregnancy thing was... very cliche, but I didn't mind it. I want them to be happy and hey, if they're happy with getting married and having a kid this fast, I'm fine with it. I'm a sucker for fluff anyway so I loved it even if it was cliche 😂 I was low-key terrified that they would survived but she would lose the child somehow... thank God that didn't happen!

Another thing I'm once again very happy with one of Maas’ books: she is not shy around the idea of her characters having healthy, enjoyable, sexual relationships. In this book, I loved the way she described Manon and Dorian in particular. Throughout the whole first part, they sleep together just because they want to, they're not in love, they're not involved in any other manner, but they enjoy each other and they both want it, so yeah, they have sex and nobody blames them or demands they be more "serious." It's great.

Dorian deceiving Maeve so easily was soooo satisfying XD

The King of Adarlan being able to replace his son because he'd been cursed to forgot his name was a bit... far-fetched? But it allowed to save Dorian's life so I'm not complaining ^^

Aelin trying to exchange Elena against Erawan annoyed me. I know we're probably supposed to consider it this grand noble gesture but... Come on, Elena died literally a thousand years ago, and destroying Erawan has the potential to destroy his whole army (and as we see in the end, it does), so no, saving Elena's soul was not a good idea from Aelin's part. And we don't know if the Gods wouldn't have betrayed her anyway and not upheld their end of the bargain even if she hadn’t asked for it, but I totally get why the khagan royals are mad at her. It was a reckless move and she's very lucky it ended well after this particularly bad decision.

Completely change of subject, but.... Nox was back!!!! I'm so glad we got to see him again even if it was a small role!! Great callback to the first book!

Speaking of cameos..... Feysand!!! I loooooved it XD Mainly because I’m in love with every little mention of Feysand because they’re perfect 😍 But also because it definitely disproves any possibility of their story happening in the same world but at different times. I never very much liked these theories personally. But the idea of them in different worlds connected was so good. Plus, it gave me this new headcanon that maybe this happened during Starfall in the Night Court, and that the spirits might be indeed travelling like Aelin was in that case. There’s no evidenceof this but I love the idea (and it would strenghten the reaon why Amren prefers to stay alone during Starfall...), so I’m keeping it ^^

Manon once again was amazing. Her character proves once more that she's not perfect, she's willing to sacrifice some witches to gain their trust, but she still grew into a better person in the end and she does manage to reunite the clans. She learns to feel even more than in the previous books and I love it. Her letting Dorian hold her and telling him that she misses the Thirteen was a perfect moment of sadness.

I kind of knew some of the Thirteen would die but.... all of them?!?! I cried during the whole thing.... All of them looking at one another, Asterin smiling and saying goodbye, the collective yelding while Manon shouts for them from the city, and then the whole homage... all of this was so emotional....

I was also very sad when Gavriel died.... less emotional in a way because we know he died proud of his son and happy that Aedion accepted him, but ugh still so horrible when you understand he's sacrificing himself.... right in the feels :(

On a happier note, this book was so full of love, it was like an giant balm to my heart. Chaorene are the sweetest; Rowaelin are the most intense and perfect couple; Lysaedion were just the right amount of angst I need, with Lysandra being a badass; Nestaq was awesome through and through. I'm glad Manorian didn't exactly go canon in the end, the future is open for the both of them and I love it. Elorcan... I never cared much about their relationship so I would have been fine if it had been only left as a possibility, but hey, I'm still glad they found each other in the end.

Yrene is such a great character. She's soft, she loves her husband very much and needs him when she's afraid, she's very happy to be having a baby and to build a home for her family. And yet she's an amazing healer, she's not easily afraid, she's strong and willing to risk her life for the greater good. And those characteristics are not in contradiction to one another, they fit perfectly well. I love her, I think she might be my new favorite character.

Chaol telling her "Go save the world, Yrene" gave me life. Before the release of the book, I saw a lot of posts criticizing Chaol, people being sure he would ressent her for taking away his ability to walk when she worked, and not wanting her to risk her life. Those posts annoyed me a lot because Chaol is (was haha now it's his wife) my favorite character, and though he deserves a lot of criticism, I feel like a lot of people hate on him for no good reason, and will take the opportunity to hate on his character even if it forces them to criticize things completely out of character for him. And him resenting his wife or prohibiting her to do anything would have been so out of character. Anyway, I'm glad Maas included this awesome line for them!!!

Also, the two Valg royals being killed by the powers of the healers was amazing. But I was glad Fenrys got the first blow at Maeve. God knows he deserves it.

Ok I'm going to stop here I think. I'm sure I forgot a looooot more but I can't remember everything ^^

EDIT because I already have more to say xD

Dorian mourning Sorcha was so on point, it felt strange to me that he seemed to not think about her in EoS but his grief in this book was very well written.

And also

The scene at the end with only Dorian, Chaol and Aelin. THAT was perfect.

Overall, I'm very, very happy with this book. The happy ending was just amazing, it made me so happy myself (and honestly that's all I'm looking for in a book, to all the characters to get their HEA after all their sufferings). Some small points gave me mixed feelings but honestly, the rest was so satisfying that I don't even mind.

I loved it.

Don't hesitate to tell me what you thought, I want to talk about this book so much!!!! I would love to hear what you all thought so if you want to write to me about it (by ask or by message) I will be thrilled!!!!

If you want to read my other thoughts on stuff

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artemismareaelin · 6 years

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So. Kingdom of Ash.

*screaming and crying* AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

KoA gave me all the feels, and now I am suffering from the worst book hangover ever. So I’m going to scream into the abyss we call Tumblr and maybe someone will be interested. Obviously there are spoilers, and I’ll try to keep it as chronological as possible.

So the first part was just tears. So much crying. Why. WHy aLL ThE sUFfeRINg? Aelin is so strong. I mean, that’s the reason I love her, but Kingdom of Ash just made me love her even more. The scariest part for me was when Cairn almost broke her spine, because she was just so close to that line and I NEED HER TO BE OKAY. The part when Connall died and they made Aelin kneel in the glass was simultaneously awful and awesome. When she flipped Maeve off, I was just AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. There are going to be a lot of ‘AHHH’s in this post. I also panicked a lot when Maeve threatened to get the collars, because from there things would have just spiraled downwards. Obviously I was worried when Cairn melted her hands, as well, because how tragic would it be if she was afraid of her own hands?

Aedion is such a jerk to Lysandra during all this. I mean, I love him, but seriously, man. She was doing the right thing by her queen and her country. Honestly, the feminism in this book was just beautiful.

And then Aelin escaped and it was just FLUFF FLUFF FLUFF. It was so heart-wrenching when she was screaming at them to take the irons off. Partly because I don’t think we’ve ever seen Aelin like that. She was so far gone after that it was just more sadness. But Rowan was so nice and gentle (I mean, Rowan? Nice? Never thought that would happen) and it was so CUUUUUUUUTE. Personally, I love the relationship Fenrys and Aelin built up. I loved having so much of the cadre in this book. Cairn’s death was awesome. I know a lot of people predicted that he would die like that, and honestly I’m so glad he did. I sort of wish Aelin got that kill, but I’m also glad Rowan did. There’s so much to talk about! I’m still at the very beginning!

Manorian. *sighs*. Manon, we all know you have feelings. It’s no secret. Just tell Dorian you care, and this would all be so much easier.

Now Elorcan. SO BEAUTIFUL. Again with the feminism, I’m so glad Elide put her Queen above her significant other, but I’m equally glad she forgave Lorcan in the end.

I loved the rings Aelin got herself and Rowan. It was so symbolic to their relationship and her healing, that she trusts him that much and wants them to keep some human traditions, which is symbolic to her battle with being human versus fae. I also love that Aelin has a green one and Rowan has a red one. :).

Lysaedion again. When Lysandra nearly died, and Aedion realised how wrong he was, I thought I wanted them to get back together and then Lysandra yelled at him and I was like YAS QUEEN. I DIDN’T KNOW I WANTED THIS UNTIL IT HAPPENED. So yeah, I’m glad she held her ground and told him that she couldn’t be treated like that and take him back so easily. Girl power.

OHMYGODS I HAVENT MENTIONED CHAOLRENE AND THEIR BABY YET. OHMYGODS. SO CUUUTE. SHIIIIIP. So many people turned up in this book, and everything just came together. I’m a little disappointed Nox didn’t have a bigger role, but I appreciate that he was in it. And Ren and Darrow and Falkan and all these minor characters where involved.

Not to mention Nesryn and Sartaq. They didn’t get much mention, but I liked the internal battle Nesryn had between her love for Sartaq and the power she doesn’t want.

Evangeline was so cute and so brave. I love her so much. I love that someone so young had such a big role in the war, and that she melted the heart of even Darrow.

I have to write about when Aelin reunited with everyone, starting with Chaol and his crew. I’m sososo glad that Chaol and Aelin had salvaged their relationship, and she was crying when he started walking and AHHHHHHHH. And everyone was so accepting of Yrene!

The death of Elide’s uncle was so epic and evil. I think Sarah tied all the loose ends really well, including this one. Elide got to move on from the trauma her uncle caused, simultaneously showing Aelin’s skill in awesomeness and manipulation.

When Dorian made that bargain with Maeve. *facepalm*. I’m glad it ended up the way it did, but that was scary. And when he almost killed her, my first instinct was ‘YESSSS. END THIS.’ and my second was ‘NO! THAT’S AELIN’S KILL! GET AWAY!’ More on Maeve’s death later, that was one of my favorite parts.

When Aelin evaporated that dam. And we all thought she was too scared to, but Aelin would never let her fear get in the way of her people. It was so heart-breaking when Fenrys told Rowan what they did to her and why he thought she wasn’t using her magic. Everyone is just suffering. There is no one that went through the entirety of the book with out pain and loss, and Rowan suffered some of the most emotional pain out of everyone and he was still so supportive of Aelin, and never once crossed the over-protective line. Anyway, when they said Aelin was tunneling her power for THREE MONTHS, I thought back to when Rowan was like ‘It takes me a whole day to reach the bottom of my magic,’ and Aelin was all surprised.

NOW BACK TO ELORCAN. SHE FREAKING RAN IN THE PATH OF A BREAKING DAM FOR LORCAN. AND HE WAS SAYING ‘LEAVE ME!’ AND I WAS THINKING NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO AND SHE DIDN’T AND SHIIIIIIIIIIIIP. Gods, I’m so glad Aelin saved them.

I wonder what Elide’s going to do about that ankle. I think she’ll get Yrene to fix it.

Now I’m going to write about the Thirteen and Abraxos. I thought Abraxos was going to die, and I had no idea how connected I was to him! And Manon’s emotions (finally) came out. And then Abraxos was fine, but the Thirteen went back. The definition of loyalty. And Asterin. TEARS. WHYYYYYYY.

Okay, the Lock. When Dorian turned up with the keys, I’m pretty sure Rowan summed up my feelings pretty well. I was thinking ‘I have no reason to hate you, Dorian, but I really hate you right now’ and I was both proud and angry at Aelin. I was all panicky again when they all voted to do it straight away. The moment when Chaol, Dorian and Aelin were all standing at the cross roads to Endovier was so beautiful. Back where it all started. And then Rowan convinced Aelin to do it with Dorian and I was so relieved that she might live, and from there it was just a roller coaster of emotions. We finally found out the King’s name (!!!!!!!!), and then Aelin pushed Dorian out and Rowan felt the bond strain and I felt so sorry for Rowan. I was terrified Aelin was going to die, and Rowan was panicking and Dorian was panicking and AHHHHHHHHH. And then Aelin bargained with them and I was just proud again, and they killed Elena and I was so devastated for her mate. And then Aelin sent all the gods to hell, and I was so happy again, and then she was falling through the worlds and FEYRE IS PREGNANT AND RHYS SAVED HER. RHYS SAVED HER LIFE AND I WAS CRYING SO MUCH AND AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. That scene killed me a little. So many emotions.

Now the war. When Ren’s mate died, it was so so sad because we’re all so desperate for Rowaelin to be together but it doesn’t always happen, and this highlighted that. The cadre was awesome. I LOVED ALL THE FATHER SON RELATIONSHIPS IN THIS BOOK. When Aelin met Chaol’s dad and everyone just kept burning him (metaphorically) it was so awesome. And Gavriel.

Gavriel.

Right when Aedion forgave him. Aedion is such an idiot sometimes. I love him to bits, but man, does he have a temper. It was sososososososo cute when Evangeline wanted Aedion to be her dad or her brother, and that she looks up to him so much. CUUUUUUUUUUUUTE.

Then Aelin was fighting Maeve and Erawan with nothing left, because she would do anything for her people. Maeve was all ‘there are no gods to help you now’ and then Aelin, witty as always-

‘I am a god.’

The most beautiful line. *sighs*.

So Erawan goes off and fights Yrene and everyone and SO PROUD. YRENE IS SO AMAZING.

Back to Maeve. Again, I was scared when she got in Aelin’s head and Rowan, Fenrys and Lorcan were being tortured which we all know is the best way to get Aelin to do what you want. Then, the next awesome quote. Fenrys stabs Maeve and she’s begging (yes! Beg!) Aelin to banish her, just take the sword out. And Aelin says-

‘Then go to hell.’

AHIOHGOSEGNOSGNENO. And kills her.

The coronation, when Aedion swears the blood oath and Rowan and Aelin dance and its all fluffy, and then it keeps getting fluffier and the court is back together and then they have to say goodbye to everyone and then everything is good.

*screaming*.

I haven’t covered the half of it, but I got some of the feels out, so that’s good. I’m so devastated it’s over but so happy there was a happy ending. If you read this far, wow. If not, sorry to make you scroll so far!

#kingdom of ash spoilers #koa spoilers

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ellanainthetardis · 3 years

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Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas My rating: 5 of 5 stars This review will be ANYTHING but coherent, be warned. Well, I loved it. I loved it so much I actually sobbed - SOBBED - at one point and had tears in my eyes at several others. It was painful but everything I also hoped it would be. In terms of series finale, never mind a series so long, it was everything it ought to be, definitely one of the BEST finale I've read. I was really scared after Empire of Storms that the fact there would be so many povs in so many places would be detrimental to the book but it actually all worked pretty well. The pace was especially fast for a book so long, the only povs that dragged in my opinion were the one set in Terrassen for the 3/4 of the book but that's because that part was stretched on the time to the limits of what was believable I think. (view spoiler)[ I wish we had seen more of Manon in the last part of the book, that she may have played a bigger on screen role in the final battle and I would have loved to see the Waste with her and also to know how in hell Dorian is going to just go home and say "hi I'm back at being king" when Adarlan seems in ruins but that's minor really, considering. (hide spoiler)] All in all, I think this might be my favorite book of the year. I will reread this series that's for suuuure. And I'm really glad I ordered that ACOTAR boxedset now even if the new covers are very much not pretty. (view spoiler)[ - Most painful moment: The Thirteen's yielding. I cried okay. Like honestly I cried. I was scared Manon would be the one to do that yielding thing but Asterin... I wasn't ready. I think Manon and the Thirteen were my favorite characters in the series and... It was so so very painful. - Most beautiful moment : I think it's a tie between the moment Manon makes that speech at the Gap, the moment she's crowned and the witches swear allegiance and the moment she shows up at Orynth and Lysandra cries when Manon says they've come to Terrassen's help. - Most epic moments : Definitely Aelin riding The Lord Of Terrassen in battle. I mean that was tv show worthy and I hope to see it one day. Also Dorian at Morath playing Maeve... And let's not forget Aelin finally walking back into Orynth... - Best couple : Yrene and Chaol are goals, okay? But Lorcan on that horse... I mean... It was just the best. (hide spoiler)] View all my reviews

#i read stuff #namely kingdom of ash #lots of reblogs of fanarts to come #you're warned XD #please ignore me while I silently die over here

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starswhogaze · 7 years

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Friendly Reminders

Things from THIS POST that are still relevant to us books later.

Throne of Glass

HOF was hardest to write

Manon’s POV is easiest to get into

“Definitely possible” for Fae to have more than one soul mate

Asterin Blackbeak is wanted for murder

Five year old Dorian would want 30 year old Dorian to be an “epic dragon-slayer”

If Sarah could bring back any character that she killed, it would be Nehemia

Influence for Rowan: “Rowan just walked into my head one day, and that was that”

SJM knows how ToG will end but “still many, many stories to be told in that world afterwards”

Manon likes to have her hair brushed

Yrene will be returning in future ToG books

Fleetfoot is 100% confirmed to survive the series

Nox will return (as of right now ) but not is QoS

“Nox has been off on some VERY fun adventures since TOG”

Ending of ToG won’t be like fiction press draft which Sarah considers to be “an entirely different book” of which “everything has been thrown out”

Dorian stole a berry pie from castle kitchen when he was 11, ate the whole thing and was sick for a day (random fact)

Dorian is 6′0, Chaol is 6′1, Celaena is 5′7-5′8, Aedion is 6′3, Rowan is around 6′4

Rowan would win in a fight against Legolas… “Duh”!

Ironteeth “witches have slits high up in their gums where the iron teeth snap down/over their normal teeth”

Piano is only instrument Celaena can play

Chaol has “the NICEST buns”

It was always the plan for Sam to die

“Sam is 1000% dead and never coming back”

Most important question asked (according to SJM): “who has the better bum, Chaol, Dorian or Rowan?” - SJM won’t answer except to say that Celaena definitely has an opinion on this

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Working on last names for Tamlin and co.

Potential companion novels!

Took 5 weeks to write first draft (”crazy fast”)

Rhys is favorite character to write in ACOTAR

Tamlin’s chest is so chiseled, “you could literally crack a nut on his chest”

TOG + ACOTAR

Celaena was harder to write than Feyre because “I had to rip open old wounds and dark parts of myself to write HOF”

Lucien and Dorian would be “bffers”

ACOTAR cover might be favorite

Chaol and Tamlin would be good friends (but tense at first)

If Celaena and Feyre met, “they would be like two cats meeting for the first time”

ACOTAR men would not know what to do with Celaena, she would eat them all alive

Favorite villain to write = Manon’s grandmother

SJM’s advice to surviving SJM’s endings: “invest in tissues. and chocolate”

Cover color decisions are not up to SJM

“TOG and ACOTAR are in the same Megaverse. So you could technically open a Wyrdgate between their worlds.”

Character Personalities

Feyre would love Sophia Coppola films

Celaena would love Gone With the Wind

Dorian would love classics (films)

“Rhys wears black boxers… when he feels like wearing underwear at all.”

If Celaena were an animal, she would “10000%” be a velociraptor

Feyre’s sport is cross-country or swimming

Manon’s sport is ice-hockey (without pads preferable)

Celaena’s sport is soccer

Feyre’s most visited website = Pinterest

Celaena’s most visited website = Goodeads

Rhys’ theme song = “I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred

Celaena’s unofficial theme song = “Back in Black” by AC/DC

TOG characters who would have tattoos (if modern day): Aedion, Celaena, Rowan, Nehemia

TOG characters who would not have tattoos (if modern day): Manon, Dorian, Chaol

Celaena is a “double-shot-espresso-hold-the-bs” type of person (not tea)

#throne of glass #crown of midnight #heir of fire #acomaf #acotar #acowar #a court of mist and fury #aelin #rhysand #tog6 #tog7 #tower of dawn #nox #irene

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propshophannah · 7 years

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Hello! I'm also curious about your most to least fav characters! (from acotar) Love you blog, your answers are always so helpful!

[original asker] Oh right, I forgot that we have so many characters lol! And yes, for acotar I was thinking of the inner circle plus lucien and the sisters and for tog the Cadre/court plus Manon/Chaol/Dorian but the more the better; if u want to include the rest of the 13 (and wyverns), sure, why not—–

This is so hard. This changes daily probably. I really can’t choose. I’m not as attached to the ACOTAR universe as I am TOG. So I kind of feel the same toward many of the characters. I am also not a reader that generally hates characters. There can be characters that bother me, but I still enjoy reading about them and getting all the nuance of their behavior. Aedion would be a good one for that. He is a great character but he was also a dick in EoS. But just because I recognized his attitude and why he had it, didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy reading his POV. I just recognize that he was an ass. Same with like Tamlin or Rhys. Sometimes they’re complete idiots and assholes but I understood why and I enjoyed reading and further understanding the “why” of their actions. Tamlin would probably be a novella I’d read the shit out of honestly because I need his backstory/how he came to be who he is. And in that sense it makes him one of my favorites to read because he’s interesting and nuanced. I’m here for a good story really. I mean every time he stepped onto the page in ACOWAR I was like “OMFG WHATS THE TOOL GONNA DO NOW?!” It was interesting. I like that. Ugh.

So for ACOTAR I’d say a favorite is Bryaxis. Lol. Not on the list you wanted. But that little ball of shadow and nightmares is interesting to me. There is a story there and I want it. Same with Cassian. His whole exchange with the Bone Carver was a lot about Cassian’s fears and I need them. Least favorite would be…. idk. Probably Rhys and Feyre but only because their story is done. And I have nothing to look forward to. Lol. I’m so bad at this.

My faves for ToG are easy tho: Abraxos, Manon, Asterin/Dorian, Chaol. Least fave would probably be Rowan. Not for anything he did/does but just because he’s a flat character. But I’m not complaining that he was a male created for the purpose of being the female leads love interest. I can’t respect the shit out of that. 😂

I think ToG is easier to pick cuz we’ve spent more time with the characters. And acotar was just there books and they were all from Feyre’s POV. So that limits my threshold for honest enthusiasm. LOL.

#this is so bad #lol #sorry for terrible ACOTAR answers

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littlerabbitreview-blog · 8 years

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QUEEN OF OMG WHAT DID I JUST READ!

Queen of Shadows

By: Sarah J. Maas

Note this is going to be kinda long if you do not want the summary and just want to read the review just skip to the bold line of this post!

Aelin (Celaena) returns to Rifthold and finds Arobynn in a tavern. He tells her Aedion is imprisoned for treason and will be executed in three days. He will help her rescue Aedion but for a price. She meets Chaol and Nesryn, a member of the king's guard and chaol's close reble friend. Shortly after, Aelin is visited by Lysandra who has a very important and sensitive information to share with her. Chaol and Nesryn go to the Shadow Market for a covert meeting with some guards from the castle, to try and help free Aedion before the ax falls, literally! Meanwhile, Dorian has been living in darkness. He knows something is living inside him trying to overtake his mind. Aelin enters the castle frees Aedion, and they fight their way out of the hall. They run but are met by an old friend who is not so friendly. After, Aedion wakes up in Aelin’s apartment. The cousins rehash everything they have been through in the ten years they were separated. Aedion is slowly recovering, and he thinks Aelin is babying him. They discuss Rowan, and Aelin discovers the hero worship Aedion has for him. Aedion suspects Rowan might want to be part of her court and hopes he doesn’t steal his blood oath. Can we just take a moment to say we feel sorry for poor Aedion, if he only knew!

Chaol discovers the Valg soldiers sealed and burned the Shadow Market because those who rescued Aedion got their supplies there. Aelin follows a Valg soldier into the sewer and watches him talk to a creature which emerges from the water. It looks like one of the creatures carved in the clocktower by the palace, and it has the voice of the king. Aelin agrees to take Aedion out, and on their walk home, they find Rowan. Rowan finds out a secret about Aedion that not even he himself knows. He mentions he’s blood-sworn to Aelin, and this infuriates Aedion! Rowan reveals he came back to Aelin because Lorcan is nearby. Maeve probably sent him to find the Wyrdkey. Aelin sneaks out of her apartment at night, and lures Lorcan into the hands of Valg demons and leaves him for dead. But he escapes and catches up with her. Rowan shows up, and Lorcan says Maeve still has plans for their defeat. Lysandra stops by and Rowan once again, with the nose of a bloodhound, finds out about Lysandra's secret. Arobynn has called in his favor so now Rowan and Aelin must honor it. Arobynn only allows Aelin in the torture room. His plan is to find out how the king controls them. Arobynn reveals he knows Aelin has been quietly wrecking his investments all over town. Aelin says she will stop only if he gives her the Amulet of Orynth, her family heirloom and the third Wyrdkey. Arobynn obliges, but has an evil plan in mind that goes as smoothly as he thought it would. Lysandra carries out the task that she has been wanting to do for ages now, and it was finally time to act.

The group goes to the catacombs under the old Shadow Market looking for hellfire.They discover there is an ultimate Valg demon named Erawan. They also find the hellfire and re-hide it until it’s needed to destroy the clocktower. Lorcan appears out of the shadows and puts a knife to Aelin’s throat. He wants to know where the third Wyrdkey is. Rowan finally has a breakthough that leads to a very heated discussion.;) If you only knew ;D Evangeline, the girl Lysandra is caring for, arrives at the apartment, along with Chaol and Nesryn, to give every one horrible news.

Manon, the witches, and their wyverns have been stationed at Morath for weeks now, awaiting orders from the king via Duke Perrington. He has concocted an evil plan to give him the ultimate army. A crippled human servant named Elide is staying in Manon's room and Manon has discovered her secret as well. I know what you are thinking, Jesus what is with all the secrets! Now you know why I chose the title.Manon questions Duke and learns the horrible truth about what has been going on inside the mountain. Now they want Manon to join them.

Aelin’s group heads to Oakwald Forest. The witches are already there waiting for the king. The king’s group noisily approaches, Lysandra is in a prison wagon. Aelin rescues Lysandra from the prison wagon. Chaol whisks her away into the woods. Chaol secretly goes to kill Dorian, but The Thirteen are there to greet him. Rowan and Aelin and her court follow him just in time to help. The witches are on the pursuit now and a battle begins and not all make it out unscaved.

Manon tells the king there was an attack but says they killed them all. Elide’s Uncle Vernon captures her while the witches are still gone. Duke summons Manon when she returns to Morath. She reads reports from around the kingdoms and realizes Aelin is friends with Dorian and must’ve been there to try to rescue him. Asterin asks for a private meeting with Manon and tells her a secret from years ago. She and Asterin take off for Rifthold before heading back to Morath.

One night, Rowan smells Lorcan on the roof. He goes up alone to speak to him. Lorcan offers the ring he stole from Maeve in exchange for the Amulet of Orynth. Rowan makes the exchange.

Rowan and Aedion carry an urn of hellfire in the sewers below the city and the catacombs below the castle. They realize Lorcan has lied about killing all the Wyrdhounds. Some of them are waiting there to attack. Aelin leads Chaol through the city as a prisoner. When they get to the castle, the king’s guards who have been Chaol’s spies are skewered on the castle fence. Guards escort the two of them through the castle. They make it to the king, who is seated on his glass throne with Dorian beside him. Aelin brings the king supposed seal rings of the king and crown prince of Wendlyn. She says Chaol was waiting for her upon her return to Rifthold and she captured him when she realized he was no longer loyal to the king. The king reveals he knows who she really is. He gives Dorian magic lashings. Chaol tries to help him, but the black magic prevents him. Chaol asks the king to hand over Dorian.

Meanwhile, Rowan and Aedion fight the Wyrdhounds. They know they’re behind schedule as the clock tower strikes noon. Aelin is now on the run as the plan has gone wrong. Then the battle begins between two old friends. Rowan and Aedion have killed four Wyrdhounds but three remain. Neither can get to the fuse to blow up the clocktower. All seems to be going down hill when help arrives and the final match is lit. As if by the will of Brannon himself gave them the strength they needed the clock tower explodes.

Manon and Asterin feel the return of magic return as they’re flying back to Morath. It is in chaos because of the effects of magic. Manon frees the girl she had been searching for and then the mountain is blow up with the help of someone you would never expect.

I will stop here because I do not want to give you any hints on the ending of the book. But just think if you are this caught up in the summary of the book can you imagine reading this beautiful masterpiece.

This is the part you start at if you skipped the summary

Okay, this has got to be my most favorite book out of the whole "Throne of Glass" series. I think this book has made the whole series worth reading, and yes I have already read the "Empire of Storms". This book has you flipping pages trying to read as fast as you can to soak up as much of this book as you can before you have to put it down. You are given climax after climax with this book. Magic, battles, and witches, everything comes together wonderfully.

Aedion is someone who you grow to feel for after everything he has gone through thinking he was all alone in the world trying to keep what little bit of hope left in him alive. Just when he had given up on life when he thought i'll never get to see her again, BOOM. It happens he is given life and meaning again. He is given a more dynamite and in depth personality about. He shows that he cares for his people, his queen, and maybe even someone else ;)

At first Lysandra I thought I hated her we all have that one girl we know who thinks they are so much better than you at everything. Then you get to see she too has a dark past and that she too has gone through heartache and pain as Aelin had. We watch a boring character change into so much more after we learn the truth and not to mention what she does to help her new friends.

The building of this book is amazing it hikes you up to the perfect level of hype then it takes you all the way to the bottom of your fears. You have grown attached to these characters to relate to them just to see get ripped away from you. It's like an epic roller coaster ride that you just cannot make yourself get off of. No matter how scary the ride even if it makes you cry you will still ride it again. I really recommend this book even if you just want to read the summaries of all the other books just to read this one book it would be worth it.

#queen of shadows #throne of glass #sarah j maas #book review #book recommendations #littlewhiterabbitreview

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