After nearly 2 years of holding on to this book and not reading it for fear of my heart breaking, I read it. And yes, my heart broke, just a little. It was worth it though! I’m happy I waited since I could not go on any longer if I didn’t have Tower of Dawn right here with me, and the highly anticipated Kingdom of Ash, right there – staring at me and making me read ToD as fast as I can. Also, sorry for slacking with blogging. It really feels like I’m slacking although I’m apparently still posting twice a week, so is that good? Let me know!
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As you should know, this review and the blurb below will contain spoilers for the previous book in this series like any sequels in a book series. BEWARE.
Goodreads Blurb:
The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius as war looms on the horizon. 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 Timesbestselling 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.
Rating: ★★★★★(5/5)
“The fear of loss . . . it can destroy you as much as the loss itself.”
Well, you’re freaking right Sarah, it is destroying me that the end to this series is nigh. And this book was certainly shattering in so many good ways.
It’s honestly so hard to write even a mini-review because so much happened and it was hella stressful.
We start off a little bit after Queen of Shadows has ended and boy, do the pieces of the puzzle slowly come together. Aelin was pulling those moves left and right where she held all the cards and told no one until the end but I LOVED IT. There were so many plot twists and turns and NEW SHIPS.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of Elide in the previous until I reread Queen of Shadows and she started to get interesting for me. Empire was definitely a huge stepping stone for Elide and I love that we got to know her character a bit more and see how important she is in the bigger picture with Aelin and her court. It was also so cool to meet and get to know more members of the cadre, as before we only really knew Rowan. The tense situation with Aedion meeting his father and OH MY GOD THE DRAMA with him and Lysandra!
Did I forget to mention one of my favourite characters (slash my wife) MANON. This book seriously took a turn for her storyline and introduced the first of many revelations in this book and I loved her all the more for it. Manon and Dorian are just so cute, another ship that I hope doesn’t sink anytime soon.
Aelin was a badass as always, and we see the beloved return of Celaena Sardothien *cheers*. Rowaelin was super cute and while I always hear shit about the cringy smut scenes etc, it’s honestly part of their relationship and the smut could be much much worse. The villains in this story and the overall plot was pretty freaking fantastic. Did I mention plot twists? There are so many twists! And backstories and explanations, and while about a quarter of the book dragged for a bit, the bits that had me shook were so worth it.
In terms of writing, it was everything Sarah usually brings to the table. I find her writing easy to read and she somehow makes battle strategy kind of make sense and not sound like mumbo jumbo? And there was quite a bit of battle strategy, naturally, as Aelin’s court is basically trying to defeat the evil baddy Erawan…when they don’t have much of an army at all. I especially loved that in this book, there are so many elements from Assassin’s Blade that come full circle and it was glorious. I wish I reread Assasin’s Blade in anticipation for this because I personally couldn’t remember the stories themselves but vaguely got an idea as to who the characters who appeared again were.
There is probably so much I could also talk about but spoilers, and apologies for the rambles because it’s honestly so hard for me to review a book I’ve absolutely loved. Whoever wants to criticise and dice a fav? Sometimes I’d much rather just gush and fangirl and enjoy the ride for what it was. I am super excited to get onto Tower of Dawn and finally, the extremely devastating end to the series, Kingdom of Ash. I don’t know what else to say at this point, I love this series so much.
How did you find EoS? Did that ending break you a little too?
Until next time,
xx Tracy
