Throne of Glass
Juvenile Fiction
Bloomsbury USA Childrens
September 06, 2016
Hardcover
704
Kingdoms collide in Sarah J. Maas's epic fifth installment in the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series. The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those who don't. With her heart sworn to the warrior-prince by her side, and her fealty pledged to the people she is determined to save, Aelin will delve into the depths of her power to protect those she loves. But as monsters emerge from the horrors of the past, and dark forces become poised to claim her world, the only chance for salvation will lie in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear. In this breathtaking fifth installment of the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series, Aelin will have to choose what -- and who -- to sacrifice if she's to keep the world of Erilea from breaking apart.
WrensReads Review:
Get real with me, there’s going to be spoilers.
My thoughts on this review are so scattered and I am not even that sorry about it.
Let me just get one thing across to everyone who is reading this: I would read Sarah J Maas books even if they came in cereal boxes, were written on park benches or were on the side of a public bus. She is one of three authors I will read anything they write by (Kelley Armstrong and Leigh Bardugo).
People who believe that she twist her characters into out-of-character-like-acts, or that she just throws characters away when she gets bored with them, or blah blah blah: I respect your opinion, truly, but you are wrong.
DORIAN
The complaint I have heard the most about so far, for character morphing, is Dorian. Oh, sweet Dorian. You were a lady killer, warrior and friend to all. Just such a sweet guy. Until he got possessed by a demon and saw the women he loved get her head cut off. For some reason, and just stay open-minded here, I feel that would bloody change a person to their core. After watching your own hands kill many friends and innocent people and having the blood of a beloved all over you, I think the scars my run so deep that the person would change. Just an observation.
In fact, I would think that would turn someone completely and absolutely psychotic. So the fact that Dorian is holding himself together and finds it in himself to pursue a certain she-witch, blows my mortal mind. You think that he is acting out of character and a little dark? I don’t think we have seen the dark that he is going to unleash from the hell he just got out of.
The Bromance between Rowan and Dorian though is SO GREAT.
Dorian needs to be treated as an equal to Aelin though. She kind of takes over and even admits when she is just compromising for her own benefit. But he is a KING just like she is a QUEEN. But he is mending from the awfulness of the last book.
CHAOL
Chaol. My beloved Chaol, how I hated seeing your name and not knowing where you are in this whole catastrophe-driven book. I am so looking forward to your own novella (I’m right in saying there’s going to be one, right?). Did I hate that you didn’t have a Point-Of-View in this book? absolutely. Was I debating on writing a very strongly-worded letter to Maas? most days. But you know what? The story still went on and you are going to come back with a fist in the air for victory and you’ll probably going to save us all.
AELIN
You literally bug the crap out of me and I can’t even explain it very well. You don’t tell people about your plans, you are selfish and conceded. But I love absolutely everything about that. You actually come off as selfish when really you are doing the most selfless thing imaginable. I feel like you have met your character arc when you finally owned up to who you were, but I don’t hold out for more surprises from you because I know this last book is going to be kill me.
AEDION
My feels for Aedion (which is WAY TOO CLOSE TO Aelin IN SPELLING AND SOUND FOR MY TASTE) are so strong. He feels like he has been put on the back burner is what I am gathering and I kind of get it. He wanted the blood oath, he EARNED that blood oath, he was trained and raised to protect his best friend / cousin Aelin, and he meets her to find out she made the oath to a hunk of Fae meat that isn’t him. Then he gets left out of all her plans and such.. What do you guys think?
This Gavriel-hatred he has going on needs to stop to. How can you do anything against a blood oath to an Evil Fae Queen? He did what was best for you. MOVE ON AND BE A FAMILY.
ROWAN
DAWG, stop trailing after Aelin and know you are your own man. That is my complaint here. I love him as a character but he kind of was a drag for me because all he thought about was Aelin and his world was Aelin and he didn’t do anything for himself or anyone else who isn’t Aelin. I loved him in the Bromance with Dorian though.
Which leads me to this: Aelin and Rowan started to bother me in the middle of the book. Their love-sickness was just a little much for me. There’s a reason why I don’t read every romance novels. But obviously things started picking up and I loved them again and blah blah blah crying forever and ever.
MANON
This girl is life and I love her to tears. She scares me throughout half the book and I am so afraid that she isn’t going to make it. But that SACRIFICE she makes for those she realizes she actually loves because she isn’t heartless is more than enough to make you scream. You can see her iron-sides smoothing throughout the book. She kind of took to the back-burner when she met up with other people in the book, so I am hoping that she comes back swinging since she is leading her own little army here. Boy I love this girl.
Side note: I was hoping that Manon and Elide would hit it off (like most of you I am sure) and I haven’t actually written that off as something that couldn’t happen. Staying tuned
ELIDE
I have never met someone who has so much dedication to her country and queen more than this girl. She is crippled and she still doesn’t ever stop, and she doesn’t until she finally meets her queen. Her POVs were probably some of my favorite to read. I would find myself almost ready to put the book down and, idk maybe sleep, and then her chapter would be next and I couldn’t put it down. I have a feeling she is going to be an even bigger part in this next book; because even someone without super powers or super strength can save the day.
Elide is resourceful in the mind more than in the physical strength everyone else in the book has and that I have respect for.
LYSANDRA
Lysandra has slowly but surely become one of my favorite characters. I used to want to be Fae but I think I would either want to be a shifter or a witch or probably mostly absolutely a shifter. The fact that the majority of this book she wasn’t even in human form is spectacular. Maas wrote her in so well. Like I don’t even think that Rowan is Aelin’s right hand, I feel Lysandra is since she keeps on the inside of the plans for the majority of everything in this book; which is strange to me because they basically hated each other two books ago. And now they are girlfriends for life. I love their relationship though. I’m excited to see Lysandra wear her new skin for the next book… if you know what I mean.
LORCAN
The true dedication to the evil queen lies within this guy right here. He loves her so much that he is going against her wants to do what she needs. He is a brute but finally seeing him melt a little made me come to love the jerk he is. He isn’t a sarcastic jerk either, just an actual jerk (kind of refreshing since everyone is sarcastic in this book).
OTHER THOUGHTS
My biggest complaint is how everyone keeps falling in love with everyone else around them. Like, can we not just focus on the life and death situation and not screw everyone? I understand you’re in the “these may be my last moments” and “but you’re like, really hot and stuff” phases of your life, but dang….
Then again, I love the majority of all the couples who are together. It’s a bipolar feeling.
Also a few side characters representing the LGBT is awesome, though I know people are upset about her “heterosexual white couples” as they call them. She’s slowly introducing more and more people, so I doubt there won’t be some more representation for the LGBT here soon. I mean, one of the main characters says they are bisexual and no one freaks out about it. So that’s pretty neat.
Is it just me though, or is there a little A Court of Thorns and Roses/Mist and Fury similarities? I’m not mad about it at all just curious on your thoughts.
I was a little frustrated with some parts of the book because Aelin left me in the shadows just as much as she left the rest of her court in the shadows. I just wanted to know what she was planning but obviously couldn’t just tap her on the shoulder and ask. Reading on was the only option and I am so happy with it.
The convenient “letting go of the blood oath” at the end for certain people was very convenient. I feel as if that was a very poor move on Maeve’s part.
Which I hate Maeve. High on the “love-to-hate-because-you-are-awful” scale.
Rolfe was hilarious and the scene were Aelin, or milady, confronted him is probably my favorite.
I loved that the POVs were focused on other people and not just Aelin. POVs are great as long as they are done right, like in this book.
This is grossly long and I am so incredibly sorry for anyone who gets to this point. I just want it to be next year already but I guess I’ll start counting down the days for Maas’ next book A Court of Wings and Ruin
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