this review contains spoilers

Holy shit, I can't believe I finished this. I am done. I have read every SJM book out there.
I love Sarah. I will never pick up one of her books and not finish it. I love her writing, her world building, her character development... I loved these characters. What she has done with this series requires real writing talent. She will always be one of my favorites. The size of this world, the amount of detail, foreshadowing, the way these characters had minds of their own. I am somewhat satisfied with how this series ended and I do not regret all the time I invested into this.

THAT BEING SAID

What the FUCK was this book.

800 PAGES IN and this sh*t still felt like a prologue. The most drawn out book in the history of books. This could have been 400 pages long and it would have been fine. The amount of things that could have been cropped out... I have no energy to actually describe how annoyed and disappointed I am with this book so I will just list the major things that made me give this such a low rating.

- THE WORST THING ABOUT THIS:

The unnecessary TORTURE against Aelin that did NOTHING for the plot, story and character development. It felt like free violence being thrown in there just for the sake of it. *eyes roll to the back of my head*

- Sarah and her need to destroy characters I love. What the actual fuck did she do to Aedion. Threw his character development and personality out of the window and decided to turn him into a dumbass just cause.

- Every single chapter of this book felt exactly the same. So many useless battles, just so she could insert the couples finally realizing they had feelings for each other because one of them almost died. Felt like lazy writing.

- The extremely low-stakes scenarios of this entire plot. This was a book about a war and the first person to die, died 880 pages in. Aelin as usual (the worst character in this series, I am sorry but Throne of Glass is not about Aelin. Throne of Glass is DORIAN'S story. The only story actually worth telling and you can't change my mind)

- THE CONSTANT ASS-KISSING it's been 7 whole books of everyone licking Aelin's boots when she has done nothing truly remarkable. Do you want someone worthy of boot-licking? How about Manon. The TRUE Main Female character of this series. The only one who ACTUALLY SACRIFICED something to bring her people together. The only one who actually faced any real loss even though SHE DID NOT DESERVE IT. (screams in 12 witches)

- How about Yrene, the pregnant woman who almost died and ACTUALLY saved everyone? Chaol, who was actually willing to sacrifice his wife and child for the sake of humanity, unlike Rowan who threw a little fit because Aelin was supposed to walk through a little door and he didn't want to be away from her for 10 minutes. *screeches in bird*

- The fact that Manon and Dorian were the only couple I actually cared about, the couple who actually felt real (after Yrene and Chaol), and they got that ridiculous "we'll see what we do later" ending. They actually had something, real understanding, feelings, passion, without any of that mate bullshit. Just real kindred spirits, DESTINED for each other.

The most shocking and impactful thing about this entire series was Dorian, Manon and Chaol's character development.

The only moments I actually had tears in my eyes were when these characters were doing something. Dorian actually turned into a King worth following. Learning his father's name was a huge blow. His relationship with Manon was so intense and way more real than Aelin and Rowan's ever felt. Manon actually brought her people back home and losing her coven was way too high of a price to pay, it hurt me so much, she did not deserve this. Chaol finally receiving the happiness he deserved, another character who ACTUALLY sacrificed things to get to where he was.

I also cried when Chaol and Dorian finally hugged each other again, after all that time, still keeping their promises to each other.

To sum up, Throne of Glass is the story about a prince and his best friend, captain of the guard. Who had to face the harsh realities of the world and find love and support in each other and within themselves. Two incredible characters who had to sacrifice a lot to finally be able to forgive themselves and turn into the men they were supposed to be, so they could finally be worthy of Queens.

This is the story of a Witch, who was robbed of her family, raised to hate and destroy and found the truth and strength within herself to change the future of her people. A king and a queen, destined to meet. Destined to become who they were supposed to be and find each other, through sorrow, pain, through facing authority figures and shattering the toxic family cycle they've been stuck in for so long.

The story of a guard, who lost the movement of his legs and had to face the darkest part of himself and found absolution through a healer who saw him for more than he was. A healer who saw the real him, behind all the ugliness, pain, shame and fear.

Aelin? Who's Aelin? I don't know her.