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beckyyreadss's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
4.0
I wanted to read this book as I’ve never read any of Sarah J. Maas’s work and I was interested to see what the hype was all about. I was kindly gifted this series and A Court of Thorns and Roses by my parents. So, I thought I would start at the beginning. I’ve been really enjoying this series and this tandem reading stressed me out from page one and now I'm nervous for the final book of the series.
This book follows Chaol Westfall and he has always defined himself by his unwavering loyalty, his strength, and his position as the Captain of the Guard. But all of that has changed since the glass castle shattered, since his men were slaughtered, since the King of Adarlan spared him from a killing blow, but left his body broken. His only shot at recovery lies with the legendary healers of the Torre Cesme in Antica. The stronghold of the southern continent’s mighty empire. And with war looming over Dorian and Aelin back home, their survival might lie with Chaol and Nesryn convincing its rulers to ally with them. But what they discover in Antica will change them both and be more vital to saving Erilea than they could have imagined.
I love Chaol, since the first book, I have loved Chaol and just wanted him to be happy and at peace. I love multiple POV and loved that Sarah did this and gave us Chaol story at the same time with Aelin being back home. I think his emotional healing journey was needed and I know some people don’t like or struggle with this book, but I adored this journey. I was wondering when we would see Yrene after the start of her journey in Assassin’s Blade and holy smokes the way that she comes into and the tension between Chaol and Yrene at first, ooof. I loved it. I cannot wait for Yrene to reunite with everyone in the next book and the fact that Chaol knew who helped Yrene, I was squealing.
It took quite a while for me to get into this book and I don’t know if it was the Tandem read, or just because it took a lot for the catching up of the previous series and trying to remember where all the characters were and all the dilemmas. I am so scared for Chaol and Manon and Elide. I wanted more of Yrene and was hoping she would kick ass. This book dropped a bit with all the planning and the healing, and I wanted more action, but once all the planning had been done, the plot twists and the actions were so jaw-dropping.
I am so ready for the last book of the series as well as not ready because I don’t want this series to end but I also want to see if everyone is going to survive.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Ableism, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
Minor: Vomit
oxfordcommas91's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I did the tandem read of this book and EoS and I’m very glad I did! As a non-Chaol lover, this story was a nice comeback/character development arc for him. I think I would have likely been frustrated and bored had I read this after EoS, so my more favorable review is likely due to my choice to tandem read. I feel like we already had plenty of characters and plot lines to keep track of, so I’m not sure we needed all these new characters (keeping all the siblings straight made my head spin at times) but I nonetheless enjoyed the depth and intrigue they bring to the story once they’re there. I am on the fence about Chaol’s redemption arc but loved the addition of Yrene and learning more about the healers. It was another compelling piece of the puzzle leading up to the culmination of the story in Kingdom of Ash.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Violence, Death, Torture, Murder, Blood, Gore, Sexual content, and War
Minor: Child abuse and Death of parent
neko_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
So I read this book in the tandem with eos, and honestly I think that it’s the only way to enjoy this book the best. Anyway onto the actual review
I DONT UNDERSTAND THE CHAOL HATE. He got so much character development in her book and by the end I was grinning at this book lol.
I also love how yrene made such an amazing comeback and honestly she’s one of my new favourite characters (as someone who wants to be a doctor)
Anyway this is amazing and a criminally underrated book. Anyone who didn’t like it read it again. But tandem read it this time. If you still don’t like it your out of luck
I DONT UNDERSTAND THE CHAOL HATE. He got so much character development in her book and by the end I was grinning at this book lol.
I also love how yrene made such an amazing comeback and honestly she’s one of my new favourite characters (as someone who wants to be a doctor)
Anyway this is amazing and a criminally underrated book. Anyone who didn’t like it read it again. But tandem read it this time. If you still don’t like it your out of luck
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Ableism, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
Minor: Vomit
anndreya's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Ableism, Grief, Medical content, and Sexual content
Minor: Vomit, Murder, and Pregnancy
mangofraiche's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, War, and Vomit
liesthemoontells's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A welcome disruption to the drawn out repetition of the previous book. The worldbuilding of a new civilisation and continent injects some variety into the series, although at times I found it difficult to suspend my disbelief at the glowing descriptions of the khaganate's empire and political structure.
While I don't know if Chaol *needed* a redemption arc, this book executes one remarkably well for a character who was so insufferable in earlier .
While this book at times felt like it is just moving the chess pieces into place for the finale, it also includes some delicious twists and revelations to be explored in the next book.
I took half a star off for the overuse of classic Maas phrases such as "eyes lined with silver" and characters saying something "too softly" - girl needs to pick up a thesaurus.
PS: lampshading the irony of me accusing Maas of needing to pick up a thesaurus when I use the word "book" five times in four paragraphs
While I don't know if Chaol *needed* a redemption arc, this book executes one remarkably well for a character who was so insufferable in earlier .
While this book at times felt like it is just moving the chess pieces into place for the finale, it also includes some delicious twists and revelations to be explored in the next book.
I took half a star off for the overuse of classic Maas phrases such as "eyes lined with silver" and characters saying something "too softly" - girl needs to pick up a thesaurus.
PS: lampshading the irony of me accusing Maas of needing to pick up a thesaurus when I use the word "book" five times in four paragraphs
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Blood, Drug use, Grief, Chronic illness, Dysphoria, Colonisation, Death, Sexual content, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Violence, and War
Moderate: Medical trauma, Racism, Infertility, and Medical content
noetical's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Grief, Violence, Torture, Vomit, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, War, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Death, and Sexual content
verafogel's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
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
4.75
I loved Chaol and Yrene so much that it usually made up for the fact that I wasn't enthralled with Nesryn's story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Gore
gammsel's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Violence
kal517's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, War, and Death
Moderate: Grief, Violence, Pregnancy, Ableism, and Murder
Minor: Sexual content and Vomit