[A quick note: Endings are bittersweet. This one was no exception. I discovered the wonderful works of Sarah J Maas last year reading ACOTAR. Which I devoured in The span of a few days. With this series, I wanted to savor it. So I only read one book every other month or so. But towards the end, I started leaving more and more time between each book. It took me three months to get to 6 and another three months to get to 7. Why? Because I just didn’t want this to end. EVER. It’s such a brilliant series. I loved that between reading the first book and last, you could really see how SJM grows as an author. So cool!]
“𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐧.” —Sarah J Maas
As the final book in the Throne of Glass series, this one was heartbreaking, emotional, and intense. It was an epic end for a fantastic series. I simply didn’t want it to end, which is why I put off reading it for months. SJM delivers in all aspects, especially the battle scenes and the fight between good and evil. I cried, I cheered, and sometimes I had to set the book down and just BREATHE. Everything that went down was INTENSE. But I was wow’ed and impressed.
SJM handles multiple POVs with a deft hand. I was never bothered by the switches between everyone. She has a way of making readers fall in love with every character. I was excited each time, as in, “Yay! I get to dive into this person’s perspective now!” I especially loved watching the same scene play out from different perspectives. I was able to see EVERYTHING this way. It’s impressive when an author can pull this off.
Also, I liked the unpredictability of how things in this book played out. Several times I thought I knew what Dorian and Aelin would do, only to be surprised. This was SO refreshing! I also appreciated the balance. The cost for certain things (cough cough, sealing the gate with wyrdkeys). Nothing is free. But the way things went made for an OH SO SATISFYING ending. Certainly one I wasn’t expecting. Can we all take a moment to recognize how badass Yrene is?!
Without giving spoilers, I’ll just say that the beginning of the book was difficult and could be triggering for people. SJM handled it elegantly, or as elegantly as one can handle the kind of thing she portrayed. It was hard to see what Aelin went through, but she stayed strong. My heart broke over and over and over for her. I knew it would be tough to read, but nothing really prepares you for it. But there were some satisfying moments throughout this sequence, especially towards the end of it.
My favorite scenes in this book were the moments of reuniting between characters. I always love when a found family reunites. Those satisfying moments where they’re shocked and surprised and relieved. Each with their own stories to tell. The reader already knows the story, but the other characters don’t, and you get to see the characters’ reactions upon hearing it. I get so giddy for these parts! They are THE BEST.
Anyway…I’m gutted that this series is over. It is one of my TOP THREE favorite series of all time. I still can’t decide if I like it more than ACOTAR. It’s a close race for different reasons. Although this one is definitely more ideal for younger audiences since it doesn’t have the smut level that ACOTAR has. But the banter, dialogue, and angst between romantic interests definitely makes up for that. Bravo SJM.
MY RATING:5/5⭐️