ŷ������

2.75 STARS (for the side characters)

was i supposed to cry? sorry i was too busy being annoyed :)



*sigh* *deeeeeeeeeep breath* *i can't do this* *someone help*

the SOLE reason why this series is so unbearable to me is this trio: Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, Rowan Whitethorn, Aedion Ashryver, and unfortunately now Lysandra has also joined the cause.

I. JUST. CAN'T. STAND. THEM.

the mary sue trope absolutely grates on my nerves. ohh Aelin is so perfect, she's so beautiful, she's so kind, she's so selfless, she's so brave, she's such a warrior, she's so smart, how Aelin can do nothing wrong ever in her life OH AELIN THIS AELIN THAT- SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP.

in words of nenia: Everyone is obsessed with the heroine and won't shut up about her, whether they hate her or want to be her or just want her. I got really tired of hearing how Queen Special specialed her specials in order to proceed on her special quest to special to the land of Special to special the lost special.

the Aelin Galathynius dickriding is actually insane. or shall i say pussy riding? given how every man and their dad wants to fuck her and can't seem to get enough of her.

no actually i want y'all to name a single man (or woman) who isn't entranced by our oh-so-brave-and-beautiful queen of terrasen. let me give you a list-

1. Prequel- Sam, Illias, Arobynn
2. Book 1- Dorian, Chaol, Reese
3. Book 2- Chaol, Dorian
4. Book 3- Rowan
5. Book 4- Rowan, Chaol, Aedion, Arobynn
6. Book 5- Rowan, and now Fenrys has joined the gang as SJM emphasized heavily how Fenrys found Aelin interesting and wanted to train her himself rather than Rowan.

and i'm yet to list the women who are enchanted by her. Lysandra has no existence or motive in life besides being Aelin's lap dog. what was such a beautiful friendship in the previous book, has been forged into this pathetic, submissive leashed relationship.

sarah j mass couldn't stomach giving anyone�� except her lovely Aelin�� even an ounce of personality or uniqueness, because how can anyone DARE overshadow Aelin in any aspect of this series 😱

brain of the group? Aelin ��
strength of the group? Aelin ��
heart of the group? Aelin ��
diplomat of the group? Aelin ��
political figure of the group? Aelin ��
strategizer of the group? Aelin ��
leader of the group? Aelin ��
the one who yields most of the power? Aelin ��
the one with all the connections and allies? Aelin ��
the one who does all the killing? Aelin ��
the one who commands everyone? Aelin ��
the one who decides what position to assign everyone? Aelin ��
the one who takes all the important decisions ? Aelin ��
the one who does all the talking and manipulating? Aelin ��

and what do the rest of her court members do? YAP.

let me present to you Aelin's world changing court:

Rowan, the most powerful pure bred fae- faints after an arrow to his shoulder.
Aedion, the wolf of the north- he is so irrelevant i don't even remember his moments.
Lysandra, the shape shifter- the only effective member lol
Fenrys and Gavriel- two members of Maeve's infamous ruthless cadre, and all it took was a meeting with 19 y/o assassin with fire for these century old most brutal, deadliest cadre folks to say, "Remind me never to get on your bad side." you better not call yourself deadliest warriors ever again.

ROWAN. ROWAN. ROWAN. ohmygod loving your queen is one thing but being a complete doormat with no personality except praising songs about how great your queen is, IS P.A.T.H.E.T.I.C.

She bit back her retort as Rowan’s hand grazed hers beneath the table—his face bored, uninterested. The calm of a feral, frozen storm. Permission to speak, Majesty?

PERMISSION TO SPEAK MAJESTY???? ROWAN CAN YOU BE MORE PATHETIC?????

“What the rutting hell was that?�� Rolfe at last demanded.
Fenrys and Gavriel became very interested in the map before them.
Rowan said smoothly, “Milady has to release bits of her power daily or it can consume her.��

WHAT ARE YOU ROWAN HER ASSISTANT????

rowan the entire series: my queen, my wife, my princess, my fireheart, my owner, my master, MY. GOD. GET. A. PERSONALITY.

Aelin and Rowan's relationship is practically shoved down our throats. no matter you like them or not, sjm has ordered all the readers to get on their fucking knees and go glock glock 3000 on Aelin-Rowan like every other character in this book.

I HAVE SAID IT BEFORE AND I'LL SAY IT AGAIN, ROWAN AND AELIN WERE MEANT TO BE PLATONIC BESTIES! THEIR DYNAMIC IN HEIR OF FIRE WAS UNMATCHED AND I'LL DIE ON THAT HILL!!! but ofcourse every man HAS to pine after Aelin so it shouldn't be a surprise that Lyria being Rowan's mate was a mere bluff and all this time it was actually Aelin. 🤦‍♀��

Aelin. Aelin. Aelin. stop annoying me challenge. i'm so tired of her acting all important and powerful and bossing around everyone acting as if she owns the world- imma hold your hands when i say this sweetie but the world does not revolve around you or your kingdom!!😱 other kingdoms have their own problems and affairs, they have their own trades, their own political discrepancies, their own people's issues to solve; do you ever stop and think why would they leave all that and run across the world to help you and your ruin of a kingdom terrasen which has nothing to offer?

BUT WAIT! THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT EVERYONE DOES IN THIS BOOK BAHAHAHAJA

life debts. *sigh* hey bitch, remember when a random girl named celaena sardothein showed you an ounce of her kindness? YES that hoe and her kingdom is in trouble so you gotta pack it all up and ditch your country and it's affairs, travel all your armies to a random ass dead marsh she ordered you to come to and leave your country completely vulnerable and unguarded- BECAUSE YOU GOTTA PAY HER YOUR LIFE DEBT!!!🎀😍

*me frantically gauging through my memories to collect all the "life debts" people owe to me for being kind to them:



my friends when i ACTUALLY attempt to collect my debt:



i deserve the connections that celaena sardothein has😔 because all they needed was a crusty ass letter from her and they dropped EVERYTHING to run with their armies in the middle of nowhere.

how realistic. this book.

Aelin hiding her plans and strategizing behind everyone's back is so fucking annoying. like can y'all blame lorcan for the shit he pulled? let that be a lesson for her to stop sneaking out and pulling tricks without anyone's knowledge just for the sake of being mysterious. she has warriors in her court who have spent eons fighting wars and strategizing. but ofc our great 19 y/o newborn queen couldn't stomach discussing her plans and asking for opinions because that would make her less than all her minions. and ofcourse her minions would still continue praising and kissing her ass because all her plans *surprisingly* end up being absolutely spotless and perfect �� Aelin never has to sacrifice anything or anyone, her allies always show up at the exact time she needs them, the great Aelin always ends up saving everyone, her power depletes exactly after she has destroyed everyone with it and has showcased her ruthless dramatic victory. everything works perfectly and ends up being clean. the great Aelin Galathynius's plans, who happens to be JUST 19 y/o with absolutely ZERO experience in wars.

how realistic. this book.

and whenever anyone of them tried calling Aelin out on her bullshit behaviour, SJM would later create a very gravely plot that would tear apart the hearts of the characters for ever doubting their almighty queen. SJM would paint Aelin as such a selfless GREAT martyr that risked everything to save everyone, such that the other characters start wallowing in guilt and look stupid and pathetic for ever questioning her decisions. *cough- Aedion cough- Lorcan cough- Dorian cough- Elide cough- everyone*

Aelin hissed, “You blame me for this?��
Aedion’s eyes darkened. “We should have stayed in the North."
“I had no choice, I’ll have you remember.��
“You did,�� Aedion breathed, none of the others, not even Rowan, stepping in. “You’ve had a choice all along, and you opted to flash your magic around.��
"This isn’t a game. This is war, and you pushed and pushed Erawan to show his hand. You refused to run your schemes by us first, to let us weigh in, when we have fought wars—��
“Where are our allies, Aelin? Where are our armies? All we have to show for our efforts is a Pirate Lord who might very well change his mind if he hears about this from the wrong lips.��~Aedion to Aelin

Aedion wasn't wrong for questioning Aelin's actions and reckless behaviour. But later on SJM HAD to make him look stupid and selfish for this because how dare he doubt Aelin THE GREAT!?

Aedion fell to his knees in the sand as Wendlyn’s armada spread before them. Tears slid down Aedion’s face as he silently sobbed. Where are our allies, Aelin? Where are our armies? She had taken the criticism—taken it, because he knew she hadn’t wanted to disappoint them if she failed.

ohh look at the selfless queen sacrificing herself for her people *oh i have to sob? my bad* ohhh look at these morons who doubted her on her journey! now they are suffering for ever speaking back to her! look at how she sacrificed herself! how utterly misjudged she was! how great and kind and loving and selfless she actually is!

googoogaagaa bitch



Sarah j maas realises that Aelin can have flaws right? she doesn't has to be the perfect flawless Queen who does nothing wrong who has a plan always up her sleeve to get her people out of trouble and even when she is sleeping she is strategizing and scheming on how to help her people and she is talking to her allies and sending letters and gathering army behind everyone's back. SHE CAN HAVE FLAWS, MAKE MISTAKES, JEOPARDIZE THINGS, AND HAVE PEOPLE QUESTION HER BECAUSE SHE IS A 19 Y/O HUMAN BEING. but guess sjm doesn't believe is character development. her fmcs must be as perfect as they come.

I would have tried liking Aelin had sjm not shoved her perfectness down my throat. in an attempt to add some character depth to her spotless personality, sjm tries portraying her as a morally grey character by calling her a "monster" and a "murderer". i find nothing morally grey about Aelin. whatever lives she took as an assassin were of criminals, corrupts, murderers, rapists and slave traders. killing them is not being morally grey. even as the king's champion she never shed a single innocent blood. fighting all this war throughout these 7 books she never had to take a single innocent life or sacrifice anyone. that shows the shallowness of this series. Aelin is as morally white as they come.

Dorian. my unbothered adarlan king.
Manon. my unbothered crochan queen.

their insta-lust was a big NO. everyone had their feelings sorted in their respective povs except Dorian. it's like sjm couldn't care enough about him.

SJM ruining other characters so that Aelin and her caricature of a fae prince Rowan can outshine, the legacy continues!

Manon turned into yet another submissive bitch listening to Aelin's commands. MANON. THE BLACKBEAK'S UNYIELDING LEADER. yeah but i'm still okay because atleast manon didn't start kissing Aelin's ass. i'll take that because expecting anything more from SJM would be a fool's errand.

Dorian. Dorian. Dorian. where's my cinnamon roll from the original books!?!? where's my man and his bestfriend Chaol? things were good when Dorian and Chaol were still together and doing bestfriend things. i miss them 💔

pray anyone tell me why the king of adarlan was turned into Aelin's yet another bodyguard?? everyone refers to Aelin as "the queen" yet Dorian is just Dorian. left and right everyone talks about protecting Aelin and defending her because she is their queen and not Dorian? Dorian has raw magic that can take any shape and form, that destroyed the entire glass castle WITHOUT THE HELP OF ANY WYARDKEYS and yet he is not important enough to protect?

my theory says sarah j maas realised how powerful she made Dorian in the last book, and as we know no one can yield more power than our queen Aelin, so in this book she tried making Dorian look as stupid and irrelevant as possible<33 and to also elevate Aelin's powers so that Dorian couldn't overshadow her, she made her have all different sudden newborn powers like moonfire, blah fire, duh fire, eh fire, etc.

and you know i don't talk without proofs:

For a heartbeat, Dorian felt like a useless fool as they all, including him, looked to Aelin.

(everyone is such a fool. queen Aelin has all answers 😍😍)

And Aedion had to admit the king wasn’t that useless after all as the catapult behind Dorian sprang free, and a rock the size of a wagon jettisoned into the bay.

They all shifted, and Aedion was about to ask Lysandra to spar, conversation closed, when Dorian said a bit too quietly, “I am king, you know.��

Turquoise-and-gold eyes snapped to Dorian. Aedion could almost see the words Aelin fought to think through, her temper begging her to shut down the challenge. With a few choice sentences, she could fillet his spirit like a fish, further shredding the scraps of the man who remained after the Valg prince had violated him.

well then let me remind y'all who is more powerful: Aelin or Dorian.

Dorian has RAW MAGIC, that can take any form and any shape. Dorian is the one who killed the king and annihilated the glass castle. Dorian is the one who held off the yellowlegs witches alone.

Aelin? whatever dramatic displays of magic we witnessed was either the collective magic of Rowan and her, or with the help of wyardkeys. what is Aelin's magic without them? just a flame.

so Aedion, the most useless person of all, you better watch your rutting mouth before you call Dorian useless.

i fucking hate all these motherfuckers for making dorian feel any less. he is a KING and yet he's treated like a guard. i miss my man chaol he would have burnt all of their sorry asses for dorian's rightful place and respect.

funny how Dorian and Rowan went to manipulate rolfe alone yet Dorian spent all his time snoring in his room while Aelin was out there making threats and acting all important. everything Erawan does is to threat Aelin, "he is doing it for me. to give me a message. to threaten me." i get it honey you're the most important person in this whole wide world AND THAT'S FUNNY BCZ DORIAN'S MAGIC IS MUCH POWERFUL THAN YOURS AND DORIAN IS THE ONE WHO SINGLE-HANDEDLY DESTROYED ALL YOUR ENEMIES yet Erawan feels more threatened by you and Dorian is so unimportant that Erawan doesn't give a fuck to even pay him a visit BECAUSE OFC SJM CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT DICK RIDING AELIN AND ROWAN.

Dorian is the only who defeated the king, he was the one to destroy the glass castle and save rifthold and free all the other nations, AND AELIN TOOK CREDIT OF IT ALL FOR WHATEVER LAME REASON, and now Dorian is known to be the king who fled like a coward and Aelin is the Messiah of all the queen of terrasen?? FAIR. REAL FAIR. SARAH

anyways moving on to the couple THAT HELD ME BY ABSOLUTE CHOKEHOLD ----***drumrolls***---

ELORCAN 😍😍 (ELIDE AND LORCAN)

THEY ATEEEEEEE!! THE ANGST WAS ANGSTING, THE PAIN WAS PAINING, THE HEARTS WERE MELTING 🫠

THEY. OWN. ME. PERIODDDD.

Lorcan, unlike the blandest piece of ominous silence Rowan and his cadre, is actually brutal and deadly. bro massacred all the wyardhounds and other creatures single-handedly and is actually as ruthless as he claims to be (unlike some other caricatures who are all words no action). he gutted an innocent man without any remorse like an unapologetic king he is 😍😍

Elide is one of the most realest characters of this series. she is lady of perranth yet is a nobody, she doesn't has any special powers that makes her strong and fearful but is a normal person with rational thoughts and fears that drives her and yet she never lets them overpower her. she puts up a fight regardless of her ankle injury and her size and never backs down. she knows fighting is not her cup of tea so she tries surviving through her wits.

Elide's tenderness is such a contrast to Lorcan's viciousness UGH THEY ARE A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN ��

Aedion and Lysandra's relationship is a pure fan service just bcz SJM feels the need to pair off every single person in this series.

Aedion and Gavriel's complex father-son relationship was really interesting. wish they were given more time rather than all the pages of Rowan telling Aelin where and how he would "take" her for the first time 😬

and at last SJM's writing. ATROCIOUS. Aelin's POVs were such a headache. her half sentences and lots and lots of dashes to insuinate that she is coming to some conclusion and we're about to get some grand revelation only to her ending her sentences mid way and jumping to next chapters. and the conclusion that Aelin drew in that chapter will be revealed after 20 fucking chapters when i would no longer care about her keeping secrets and talking in riddles. IT'S ANNOYING!

for example- "Nameless is my price." was probably repeated a 1000 fucking times and we were told that Aelin understood its meaning long back but sjm was still edging us, dangling that phrase in our faces, hinting to something again and again and talking in riddles that I DON'T FUCKING CARE. this writing style is so so soooo annoying and she does it for Aelin to appear all special and mysterious and for the big shock factor at the end but it all falls flat because i stop caring long back.

i love some of the characters but a series becomes absolutely insufferable when you loathe the main characters themselves. that is why despite enjoy some aspects of TOG, i couldn't get myself to ever truly like this series.

{TANDEM READ WITH TOWER OF DAWN}

{special thanks to my twin rater rowan for listening to me rant like there's no tomorrow and choosing to bear these characters with me again 😭}