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aksmith92's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Oh my....the war kept going and going and going and going annnddd.....
The setup (note: maybe some slight spoilers since this is the final book in the Throne of Glass series; I tried to make it as least spoiler-y as possible): Aelin is MIA and going through it; she's captured by the villain Maeve who I'm still so confused about, but regardless is quite ruthless alongside her weird "pet" named Cairn. Fenrys is there with Aelin, too, and they play an awful blinking game to ensure they know the other is ok [spoiler, they are not!].
The gang is all separated - Rowan, likely bawling every second, is with Lorcan, Gavriel, and Elide, who are all on the hunt to find Aelin. Dorian is traveling with some witches, including Manon, who pretends not to like Dorian at all, which is most certainly a lie. Chaol is still traveling from the southern continent with his new wife, Yrene, whom he married in 2.5 seconds flat; they are on their way to aid Terrasen with warriors. Aedion, Lysandra, and a bunch of others are fighting non-stop in Terrasen, constantly being told by some old dude named Darrow that they are ding dongs.
The connection? Fighting the infamous Vlag, "demons" from another world accidentally left in Erilea because of one of Aelin's ancestors. Oops! There are about 200 (ok, maybe not, but it seemed like it) other sub-plots that somehow connect, which is bananas. Anyway, this nearly 1,000-page novel is about the final battle (um, "final" 100 battles, maybe) between those in Erilea and the Vlag.
Buckle up! I have a lot to say about this novel. Notoriously, I've been relatively pessimistic about SJM's works. Almost everything I've read has been 3 or 3.5 stars (including the books in her ACOTAR series!), and this is the first book I've given below three stars, and it is my LEAST favorite novel I've read by SJM. It's important to me to describe why because this woman gets one million accolades about her work when this, to me, seems like cheap writing. Listen, I speed-read through her books. My brain goes *poof, off*, and if I don't think too hard, they can be somewhat entertaining. That is why none of her works are 1-star reviews for me. Buuuuuuuuut, I must shout to the world that these are not works of art, AND at times can be problematic. Let's jump riiiiiight in.
What I Liked: Hm, it was readable. I was invested this far. I wanted to know how SJM wrapped some things up and how she tied bows around specific plot points. I liked some characters in the previous books, including Lysandra, Elide, Lorcan, Manon, and Dorian; I was ready to see what became of them. I'll share more below, but I was disappointed in the character development. I still enjoyed Manon and Lysandra (outside of the men), and there were not too many blatant plot holes (if you don't think too hard).
What I Didn't Like: My main frustration was that almost every character is the same. Here it goes: has confidence that is closer to arrogance; is always ready to fight in whatever "profession" they've deemed appropriate: warrior, healer, rider, etc.; is always ready to go with absolutely zero hours of sleep; shares some funny sayings once in a while; is beautiful in every possible way; likely has a "thing" that prevents them from being their best selves and holds them back, but not too far back, they're still perfect; is strong; and is somehow touched by a god, destined to be INCREDIBLE, is a descendent from a royal line, or is a queen/king. Who did I describe? Literally every single character. In previous books, I liked Manon and Lorcan because they veered on morally grey. I enjoyed Yrene and Elide because they were more passive in some ways. However, this book's characters seemed to lose their uniqueness in every way, and it bothered me to no end.
On a similar note, SJM seemed to have a stakes problem. I'm not saying I need main characters to die - I think sometimes that works and other times it doesn't! - but every single character was just the BEST! They might have hit some obstacles, but I knew that those obstacles wouldn't be meaningful in any way, and they would overcome them in one second or pull some magic out of their butt (that happened regularly). I wasn't worried about any of the main characters (i.e., those with a POV, AKA like 14 characters, lol) at any point, even when those obstacles surfaced. Honestly, this led to me not caring much about them.
Lastly, this book should have been shorter. There were so many overdone battle scenes and moments or some POVs we didn't need (I'm looking at you, Evangeline!). I was so over it that my capacity for the final-final battle scene was so low.
On a random note, I still think that Arobynn Hamel should have been the main villain throughout this whole series. He was layered and interesting, and you truly loved to hate him. The other villains in here seemed distant and I couldn't really understand them. I know it's a personal problem - people will choose how they feel about villains, but I generally need to understand them a bit.
Below, I bullet out some specific "what the f" moments within this book that contributed to my low rating. Spoilers ahead!
The setup (note: maybe some slight spoilers since this is the final book in the Throne of Glass series; I tried to make it as least spoiler-y as possible): Aelin is MIA and going through it; she's captured by the villain Maeve who I'm still so confused about, but regardless is quite ruthless alongside her weird "pet" named Cairn. Fenrys is there with Aelin, too, and they play an awful blinking game to ensure they know the other is ok [spoiler, they are not!].
The gang is all separated - Rowan, likely bawling every second, is with Lorcan, Gavriel, and Elide, who are all on the hunt to find Aelin. Dorian is traveling with some witches, including Manon, who pretends not to like Dorian at all, which is most certainly a lie. Chaol is still traveling from the southern continent with his new wife, Yrene, whom he married in 2.5 seconds flat; they are on their way to aid Terrasen with warriors. Aedion, Lysandra, and a bunch of others are fighting non-stop in Terrasen, constantly being told by some old dude named Darrow that they are ding dongs.
The connection? Fighting the infamous Vlag, "demons" from another world accidentally left in Erilea because of one of Aelin's ancestors. Oops! There are about 200 (ok, maybe not, but it seemed like it) other sub-plots that somehow connect, which is bananas. Anyway, this nearly 1,000-page novel is about the final battle (um, "final" 100 battles, maybe) between those in Erilea and the Vlag.
Buckle up! I have a lot to say about this novel. Notoriously, I've been relatively pessimistic about SJM's works. Almost everything I've read has been 3 or 3.5 stars (including the books in her ACOTAR series!), and this is the first book I've given below three stars, and it is my LEAST favorite novel I've read by SJM. It's important to me to describe why because this woman gets one million accolades about her work when this, to me, seems like cheap writing. Listen, I speed-read through her books. My brain goes *poof, off*, and if I don't think too hard, they can be somewhat entertaining. That is why none of her works are 1-star reviews for me. Buuuuuuuuut, I must shout to the world that these are not works of art, AND at times can be problematic. Let's jump riiiiiight in.
What I Liked: Hm, it was readable. I was invested this far. I wanted to know how SJM wrapped some things up and how she tied bows around specific plot points. I liked some characters in the previous books, including Lysandra, Elide, Lorcan, Manon, and Dorian; I was ready to see what became of them. I'll share more below, but I was disappointed in the character development. I still enjoyed Manon and Lysandra (outside of the men), and there were not too many blatant plot holes (if you don't think too hard).
What I Didn't Like: My main frustration was that almost every character is the same. Here it goes: has confidence that is closer to arrogance; is always ready to fight in whatever "profession" they've deemed appropriate: warrior, healer, rider, etc.; is always ready to go with absolutely zero hours of sleep; shares some funny sayings once in a while; is beautiful in every possible way; likely has a "thing" that prevents them from being their best selves and holds them back, but not too far back, they're still perfect; is strong; and is somehow touched by a god, destined to be INCREDIBLE, is a descendent from a royal line, or is a queen/king. Who did I describe? Literally every single character. In previous books, I liked Manon and Lorcan because they veered on morally grey. I enjoyed Yrene and Elide because they were more passive in some ways. However, this book's characters seemed to lose their uniqueness in every way, and it bothered me to no end.
On a similar note, SJM seemed to have a stakes problem. I'm not saying I need main characters to die - I think sometimes that works and other times it doesn't! - but every single character was just the BEST! They might have hit some obstacles, but I knew that those obstacles wouldn't be meaningful in any way, and they would overcome them in one second or pull some magic out of their butt (that happened regularly). I wasn't worried about any of the main characters (i.e., those with a POV, AKA like 14 characters, lol) at any point, even when those obstacles surfaced. Honestly, this led to me not caring much about them.
Lastly, this book should have been shorter. There were so many overdone battle scenes and moments or some POVs we didn't need (I'm looking at you, Evangeline!). I was so over it that my capacity for the final-final battle scene was so low.
On a random note, I still think that Arobynn Hamel should have been the main villain throughout this whole series. He was layered and interesting, and you truly loved to hate him. The other villains in here seemed distant and I couldn't really understand them. I know it's a personal problem - people will choose how they feel about villains, but I generally need to understand them a bit.
Below, I bullet out some specific "what the f" moments within this book that contributed to my low rating. Spoilers ahead!
-There were like 6-8 heterosexual couples existing at once, and we had to hear about them all being mates all the time.
-Dorian managed to shapeshift in less than two days, and while he "practiced," it all seemed pretty unbelievable.
-SJM loved to romanticize war - "just under 500 deaths." "Good! Not as bad as it could have been." ~onwards to another battle, and not one single cares about the deaths~.
-Fenrys could suddenly break the blood oath, yes, with some consequence, but he did it ~magically~. [The blood oath is confusing anyway.]
-Yrene was supposed to be the Healer on High and the best healer in the world with 18 million tonics, even though her magic mostly does the healing (??). Also, she had all those tonics, and not one prevented a pregnancy during a literal war. There were lots of pro-life statements peppered in this narrative, too.
-The Vlag were apparently afraid of fire, hence why they were petrified of Aelin. Somehow, in the military and war strategy, everyone seemed to forget this fact and didn't plan on bringing any fire to the table. It changed a little bit near the middle/end, but they still made it seem like this revolutionary thing when they never tried.....fire....
-Manon begging for Dorian - that whole scene about marriage and Dorian being like "nah" because he "just knew" that Manon wouldn't want that without actually talking about it - was no bueno. Also, the Manon I've read about would do NONE of that—character regression at its finest.
-In Tower of Dawn, the Kaghanate knew everything because they had spies everywhere. Now, in this book, they knew NOTHING! Their interesting territory world-building fell through the cracks. And, instead, we got the random dude named Nox from Book 1 to be the messenger. Weak.
-I have to admit, I find it funny that the Ironteeth witches were all like, "The Crochans are pretty much wiped out since we've butchered and killed them all - ha ha!" Then, there were over 5,000 fighting in battle. Ok! Also, Terrasen's ancient Fae showing up at the end for funsies was ridiculous.
-Death and sacrifice were important themes, which I hate because yikes. In this book, Aedion was a JERK to Lysandra, and guess what? Lysandra gave him a chance once their lives were in danger. Lorcan and Elide said some pretty yucky things to each other and wanted nothing to do with each other until *ding, ding, ding* death stood in the way. This theme also impacted Gavriel and Aedion's relationship, and the list goes on.
-Thank goodness, after all that, Aelin still had access to tons of coins to live her lavish lifestyle. Phew, I was worried!
As you can see, I had some sh*t to say! Officially, I am done reading SJM; I don't think I can head into the next series of Crescent City. I need a long break, if not a final departure from SJM.
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Slavery, Body horror, Confinement, Pregnancy, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Violence, Vomit, War, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Physical abuse, Torture, Grief, and Sexual content
Minor: Rape
Rape is not written or described in detailed but one can assume/infer. Self-harm/suicidal thoughts/suicide attempts regularly happen are written as self sacrifice.annikenr's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Murder, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Grief
Moderate: Vomit, Emotional abuse, Torture, and Sexual content
dalek_caan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Wow. What an ending. This is a series I would happily start over from book one having just put down the final book. I cried several times. Great writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Violence, Self harm, Animal death, Torture, Grief, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, War, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Sexual violence
rainydays191's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
It was truly devastating at the start with aelin captured and being tortured. I was sobbing. And then I'd remember Sam and sob even more. I didn't think I could possible cry more until Asterin and the rest of the thirteen came along.
And Elide's cunning throughout the book and with the plan at the end, Yrene's courage, lysandra's strength to keep giving and take on the burden (even when Aedion was being an ass), Manon's character growth into becoming a queen of two peoples and taking them home, Asterin and the Thirteen's heartbreaking sacrifice to buy Manon and the witches a chance to go home - she deserved so much more that this world could give her and i hope shes happy in tbr Afterworld, (wish we saw more of Borte), Ansel of briarcliff's return and her companionship with both Aelin and Manon, Nesryn growing into the empress she will become, Evangeline melting Darrow's old heart. This is a tale of women supported with the magic of the old fae bastards who gave good comic relief.
But Fenrys stole my heart in those first few chapters and the way he would've sacrificed himself twice for aelin. Their blinking communication still kills me. Gavriel was also such a sweetheart, helping elide during their journey. I'm devestated that aedion didnt get a chance at all to know him and the other way around too. Lord Lorcan Lochan finally stopped being an ass.
I really wish we had more ilias and the silent master though (that was one thing I was disappointed with but honestly I didn't even miss it that much because so much was happening already). And the final goodbye to galan was pretty touching too - I'm intrigued by his character.
In fact that entire goodbye sequence was bittersweet.
I love the little fledgling court.
The only thing that irks me is the fact that Aelin lost so much of her power, and Monon lost the Thirteen (each other's strengths). Why do the female characters always loose their power. I guess Dorian did too, but still, it's annoying.
And finally chaol and Dorian. No words. I'm so glad we got to see their growth during the series, how they grew into their roles. I will always love them. My golden trio.
(And aelin, no character could ever top her. She bears it all no one else has to đŸ˜)
I will always admire the way SJM was able to make us empathize with a fall in love with every single character regardless of how many pages we see them in. I'm still a little bitter that we didn't get to see Roland come back again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Death of parent and Suicide
Minor: Child death
infusionofviolets's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, and Death
Moderate: Grief, Suicide, Blood, and Pregnancy
gabbyeleene's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Death, War, and Suicide
Moderate: Sexual content and Pregnancy
egeode's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
stuck the landing!! was cynical coming into this book after the tandem reading experience dragged for me (until the latter 25% of the story). despite this, i absolutely flew though this book.
what an emotional payoff this series lends itself to! a neatly tied bow, makes me want to reread the series to appreciate their journey all the more intensely knowing how it all ends :')
what an emotional payoff this series lends itself to! a neatly tied bow, makes me want to reread the series to appreciate their journey all the more intensely knowing how it all ends :')
my favorite characters constantly shifted because they were each so unique and dynamic.
while i have a slew of criticisms for the book (i.e. if i have to read "tawny eyes", "bloody ribbons", or "rutting" again i may weep), now isn't the time for me to levy them, lol. i really enjoyed this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Torture, and Sexual content
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Sexual assault
ladydeathnesta's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I love this series. I feel like the end of the plot was a bit rushed and the characters got stagnant towards the end, but that’s not the most terrible thing! It was very intense and enjoyable!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Classism, Gore, Rape, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, War, Mental illness, Murder, and Self harm
sarahyjackson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I feel like the action was a LITTLE uneven in terms of pacing HOWEVER a very satisfying end to the series (plz SJM let it be the end I leave these folks ALONE).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Minor: Pregnancy
emmacartlidge's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Torture, War, and Violence
Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual content