Lauryn : Here is my review on the seven books in the Throne of Glass series, also, I wrote these right after I read each book, so my thoughts are kind of a mess, sorry! Hope you enjoy!
THERE WILL DEFINITELY BE BIG SPOILERS, PLEASE DON’T READ IF YOU PLAN ON READING THE SERIES
Throne of Glass
This book was amazing. But then again so are all of Sarah J Maas’ books. Celaena was such a strong female lead and her character was awesome to read about. The fact that she had so much strength after just being pulled out of the slave mines was crazy. I also love both Chaol and Dorian as partners for Celaena, and to be honest I have no idea which way the story is going to go, usually I can guess. The plot was also very interesting what with the competition between assassins and the underlying evil in the bigger picture. I can’t get over how in love I am with the fact that Celaena showed everyone just how strong she was and how her past experiences haven’t broken her. The book was great and I cannot wait to see what happens next.
Crown of Midnight
This book was quite good. It’s safe to say that I hate the king of Adarland with a passion, but I absolutely love Dorian Havilliard. Honestly if I were Celaena I would have chosen Dorian. The plot is ever growing and we’ve learned that the darkness that is spreading across Erilea are vlag demons from another world. The world that Maas is slowly building has amazing details and the she never misses an opportunity to add in something shocking. So i’m very excited to see where this goes. It completely broke me when Nehemia died because it was another strong female character that I couldn’t read about anymore. And the way her death completely ravaged Celeana also made me cry. But ugh, I really liked Chaol and Celaena/Aelin together up until Chaol finally figured out that Aelin was fae and he acted terrified and disgusted. I get that he was trained not to like magic, but it’s Aelin and he should’ve loved her no matter what. And once again, Aelin is one of the strongest female leads ever and i’m in love with how confident she is all the time.
Heir of Fire
This. This book is where the series goes from really good to absolutely amazing. And this is the book where Celaena Sardothien, Adarland’s Assassin, becomes Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. And I am completely here for it. At the beginning Aelin was at rock bottom and throughout the book, her growth amazes me because she is able to come back from her trauma stronger and fiercer than before. And now she also has her endless fire that she got when she finally accepted her magic. She also still holds onto swagger and wit, which is great. While she is in Wendlyn working so that she can get back to Rifthold with forces that will help against the demons, she meets Rowan Whitethorn. I am so in love with Aelin and Rowan, because in the beginning they both hated each other, but then by the end they formed a friendship where one never judged the other and either would die for the other. Then in Rifthold, we’ve learned that Dorian has raw magic that could potentially be as powerful as Aelin’s. I was horrified when Dorian had finally stood up to his father and then he got possessed by a vlag demon. Especially when he was finally moving on from Aelin. But then the girl that he loved, Sorscha, was beheaded and it broke him. I’ve also never been so mad with Chaol because for all of the blame that he puts on others, he could not make a decision to save his life. It was awful and at the end when he had the choice to stay and fight the king with Dorian, he ran away because he didn’t know what else to do. Maas also introduced new characters, like Aedion Ashryver, Aelin’s cousin that had never stopped looking for her after Terrasen fell, and Manon Blackbeak, Blackbeak witch heir and wing leader. I’m very excited to see how the stories of all the characters connect.
Queen of Shadows
Insane. It is utterly insane how this series keeps getting better and better. The story is finally coming together and the different points of view are starting to drift towards each other and I was pulling all nighters just to finish the book. I adore how this book has so many strong female characters in it. Aelin has been incredible from the start, but her ability to plot and scheme, her sass, and how completely comfortable and in control she is during the entire book is so good. She finally got her fire back and she is ready to take back her kingdom. The amount of times Aelin revealed just how deep her plans went and how carefully executed they were left me mind blown, every single detail was thought of, and when each plan was fully revealed, it left me speechless. Then there is Lysandra who had been through so much thanks to Arrobyn, but still was able to fight with her power as a shifter. There’s also Manon and Asterin Blackbeak, both incredibly strong witches who finally questioned what they were taught by the matrons and start planning to rebel. Lastly, there is Elide Lochan who I was amazed to find out was also a child who survived the fall of Terrasen, but in the last 10 years she had been mistreated by her uncle and she was still able to find the strength to escape Morath. Those females were a few of the stunning heroines that Maas wrote. It completely killed me when Aelin and Chaol reunited and it was the coldest thing ever. Chaol blamed Aelin for everything that had happened to his city and he was nothing like the Chaol that I loved in the previous books. Then there’s Dorian who had completely been taken over by a vlag and he was barely hanging on while being agonizingly trapped inside himself with a demon, it broke my heart because Dorian is one of the sweetest characters in the book. Then I was so happy when Aedion finally met Aelin after she saved him from almost being killed by the king. They are basically twins and I love it. I did cry when Aedion thought that he was going to die before seeing Aelin, his queen, one last time. Also, the part where Rowan finally shows up in Rifthold and Aelin sprints to him when she sees him and they both hug each other so tight because they missed each other melted my heart. The growing relationships between the characters are the best part of this series, and so are the new characters that Maas keeps introducing. I’m already on the next book!
Empire of Storms
Wow. Just wow. Sarah J Maas does it once again, my mind and soul have been affected by this book. But just as a warning it does leave you on the worst cliffhanger in history, it’s honestly cruel. You get to know new characters like Gavriel, Aedion’s birth father and part of the cadre, and Fenrys, also part of Maeve’s cadre. I liked how one of the storylines followed Elide after she escaped Morath. She meets Lorcan, another one of Maeve’s fae warriors, and they help each other during their own journies and eventually fall in love with each other, and it’s so sweet. Anyways, my favorite part about the entire book is just how amazing and smart Aelin is. The fact that everyone was mad at her for being so arrogant about not having any allies to fight in the upcoming war against Erawan and Morath, and then surprising everyone by getting three armies when she called in all of her favors, simply incredible. She has also mastered her fire and now she is one of the most powerful beings on the planet, her well of magic is almost endless. Also Rowan and Aelin’s relationship is everything, they both completely understand each other and neither of them have ever been afraid of the other. AND THEY’RE MATES. Obviously everyone knew, but they finally acknowledged it. But the part at the end where Maeve takes Aelin and Aelin gives elide and entire speech to tell Rowan how sorry she was completely broke me. I also sobbed at how willing Aelin was to do anything for Terrasen and to save her court, even if it meant going with Maeve and potentially dying. I’m also very much awed by Lysandra and just how unapologetic she is even after everything that she’s been through, and how amazing she is at wielding her shifter powers. The way that she turned into a sea dragon to get Rolfe and his Myecinean Army to fight with them was so good. The entire plot of the book is beautifully structured and well thought out and i’m extremely excited to start the next one.
Tower of Dawn
Okay, so I didn’t actually expect to love it as much as I did. Tower of Dawn is about Chaol’s journey on the southern continent where his job is to rally an army to take to Terrasen and find a healer who can fix his spine because a battle had left him paralyzed from the waist down. The book includes a whole new set of characters that I fell in love with. Honestly I don’t think Maas can write a bad character without intentionally meaning to. I was a little hesitant to start, it but believe me it’s worth it and you definitely need to read it before you read Kingdom of Ash because there are some insanely important parts in it. Anyways, the book was amazing and I was finally able to forgive Chaol for everything that happened before. I was able to understand that everything he did in the last books was because he was lost and he really had no one to lean on and to support him, like how Aelin had Rowan. And the way him and Yrene are just melts my heart. It was so perfect how Chaol and Yrene were able to heal his back while also healing both of their past traumas and scars together as a team. I’m also so proud of Nesryn for finally putting herself first because she was always just there for Chaol. She also single handedly got the ruks and Sartaq’s army to fight with Terrasan, which was incredible. Oh my god, and the plot twists were insane! What I found out about Maeve and what I found out about Lysandra’s family blew my mind. The fact that Maeve was a vlag queen the entire time left me stunned. And I’m so excited for when Lysandra’s uncle, Falkan, finally gets to meet her after searching for her for over 10 years! I’m so excited to start the Kingdom of Ash, but I also don’t want it to end.
Kingdom of Ash
Let me start off by saying that this book was just the perfect ending to an even more perfect series. I ended up crying about 9 separate times while I was reading it. I absolutely hate Maeve for the way that she captured Aelin and tortured her for two months while she forced Fenrys to helplessly watch. But I loved the strong friendship that Fenrys and Aelin formed because they were the only ones to remind each other that they would get through it. I was so happy when Rowan and Aelin were reunited after being torn apart just when they found out that they were mates. I am also obsessed with all of the relationships in this book, Elide and Lorcan, Lysandra and Aedion, Dorian and Manon, Sartaq and Nesryn, and I could never forget Chaol and Yrene Westfall, who by the way are married and have a baby on the way! I screamed when I found out. This is the book where all of the different point of views merged into one full storyline where everyone had one goal; to defeat Erawan and the Vlag. It was the best because all of the characters brought the armies that they convinced to help Aelin fight the darkness against all odds. Chaol brought the Khagan’s army, Manon brought the Crochans, and the legendary northern sea appeared too. One of my favorite parts in the book was when Dorian tricked Maeve at Morath into thinking that he was angry and naive and formed a shaky alliance with her, only to later trap her and take the last wyrdkey as he collapsed Morath to the ground. The worst part though was how many deaths they were, and near deaths too for that matter. I cried during every single one. I cried when Fenrys almost died, when Lorcan almost died, when Gavriel did die, and I was sobbing when the 13, including Asterin, sacrificed themselves so that Orynth could hold against Erawan. But some of the cooler parts were when Maas brought some of the loose ends full circle, like when she brought back Nox Owen, and when Aelin and Yrene met again after their last meeting when they didn’t know each other and Aelin had saved Yrene and given her the strength to make it as a healer. I adored the Rhys and Feyre cameo when Aelin was falling through worlds. The fact that Rhys saved Aelin by slowing her down just enough to make it back to Terrasen, incredible. I’m going to stop here before I end up just writing a full summary of what happened, but this book really was the best ending imaginable for this extraordinary series.
Sarah J Maas’s writing is really like no other. Her attention to detail, her connecting of stories, and her overall fantasy concepts are unmatched. This series really made an impact and I am so happy I read it!
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