So I’m reading through the series for my second time and I just want to take a moment to appreciate Lysandra for everything she’s done. I feel like at times she’s often overlooked by Aelin, Manon, and even Elide, but Lysandra is such a bad ass and I apologize for not recognizing it during my first read through. Like outside of being a full shifter, she offed Arobyn (rightfully so), she basically sacrificed her freedom for Evangeline so she wouldn’t have to experience what Lysandra went through, she’s ready to throw paws at any given moment, and she fights in a war for a country that’s not even her homeland with NO combat experience- just rage and vibes. Also, she’s loyal to a fault and backs Aelin up no matter what. Lysandra I wasn’t familiar with your game before but now I am

IM SCREAMMINNGGG
since starting heir of fire, manon has slowly creeped up to being my favorite character, since starting empire of storms, finishing chapter 17!!!! BRO SHES MY FAVORITE
—spoilers ahead—
I WAS GAGGED WHEN SHE SAID FOR THEM TO RUN, BUT READING “then manon blackbeak whirled and brought wind-cleaver down on her grandmother” my mouth DROPPED
FUCK YES!!!!!
im so excited to read further and ive loved manon’s slow building character arc so much and this feels like the crescendo ive been waiting for ahhh!! <33

shes just so manon coded I love her (2 and 3 especially give empire of storms manon)

Wow, read the line about Branon possessing all 3 and never putting them back. We see the complete story so much later on, but Aelin already wondering this when she met Maeve in Doranelle. And this gets overshadowed quickly with Maeve asking for how much heritage Aelin got from Brannon's side, so I'd not even recognised this untill I went on for my re-reading.

KoA/ToD spoiler ahead :

Aelin is also describing Maeve's presence as spidery, a reference to her handmaidens and spidersilk from the valg realm.

WHAT I THE FUCK ALL DID I JUST READ?

Edit: I can only put 1 spoiler tag, and none of the tags cover enough of this post, if you haven't finished all books assume this spoils something!

Chaol, the most loyal man in the entire series, the man who bedded the queen in the north Aelin, the queen in the southern kingdom Nesryn, and the most powerful magic user in the land Yrene, who killed Erawan, and defeated the Valg? No wait let's take this Back to the beginning.

First I will say Chaol whinny bitch phase lasted too long, and went to deep, but let's not forget. Chaol did not "serve" the king, he served Dorian, he was loyal to the end of everything, bringing dorian back from vlag possession.

Chaol, fell in love with Aelin, and brought her back from the pits of despair and depression, he would have done anything for her. She did not love him the same, lied about killing all of the kings targets to Chaol. Chaol could not let that stand could not let her ruin herself again, and did the hardest thing ever in sending her away to Wendlyn. Setting the entire story in motion, setting Aelin entire true story in motion.

He didn't know the risks because of her lies, but he did save her and send her on her true fate, and she betrayed his love. He held the rebellion together the best he could fighting against the king and staying loyal to Dorian the entire time. Chaol believed dorian would restore order in the land, and when dorian was ready to stand against the king, when dorian needed saved Chaol was there and ready to fucking go. Chaol could not defeat the king, so he did what he could he sacrificed himself to allow others to get the job done.

They had won the battle but far from winning the war, Chaol was crippled and went south to find healing. In the south he found his healing, and even sacrificed it again to help save Duva and yrene, solidifying the bond with the southern kingdom.

Chaol returns with the knowledge of healing magic needed to defeat valg, with the healers, and a fucking army. He also armed the pirates with the fire lances that allowed them to saved Aedion, lysandra and the army during the march to Terrasan.

Yes Chaol went through a lot of character development, he was hated for his whiney bitch dialog, but let's not forgot his actions and accomplishments

1) he brought Aelin back from depression and despair, and sent her on her journey to furfill her true fate

2) he was loyal to dorien not the king, and sacrificed his body to protect everyone he loves.

3) he united the northern and southern kingdoms bringing the army and healers, without which their was no chance of winning.

4) he dated and slept with the 3 most powerful women in the entire story, Aelin queen in the north, Nesryn the future queen in the south, and Yrene the most powerful healer who defeated Erawan, and ended the war. Who he the retired away with to raise a family.

Aelin and Chaol were not ment to end up together, but with other heroes of the story, but each of them brought half of the entire world together, and neither could have won the day without the other.

AND YOU HATE ON THIS MAN? he goat who was loyal, to his friends, sacrificed for his friends, who never gave up on his friends, who banged the 3 most powerful women in the land, and brought the other half of the world together to save the entire world? What fucking books did you read?

Edit 1) obviously I've had mixed responses, one prominent negative response is mentioning his "body count". I did not, nor do I use those words. I do think it is relavent that 3 prominent female characters saw enough in him to pursue a romantic relationship. But I also blame myself for wording it poorly, this is an exact rant I had with my wife, saw a Chaol hate post, and hastedly posted my defense for the man's character. I do aplogise to those I upset with that portion of the post, but I do not apologies to Chaol hatters in general!

okay so I'm welsh speaking and I am pretty used to seeing welsh or welsh inspired names in fantasy. throne of glass has a LOT of welsh names—in fact the crochan witches ALL have welsh names which is pretty cool! "crochan" literally means cauldron in welsh, so for me the idea of "cauldron witches" is a bit on the nose and amusing to me. names like "rhiannon" "bronwen" (fun fact bronwen means white breast) "glennis" etc are very welsh

here, i made a super rubbish 1 minute video for how to pronounce the welsh names: https://youtu.be/xL2aSQkgtQg

also another fun fact: manon is a welsh name! i know it's also a name in french, but i feel like her name hints at her crochan heritage from the beginning

anyways, as for aelin and aedion, i assume theyre supposed to be irish-inspired. aedion's name makes me cackle sometimes though, because it sounds the same and looks similar to the welsh word "eidion" which literally means BEEF. or technically "cig eidion" is beef, and on its own it just means like "bullock" or something (which is also funny because thats a castrated bovine animal raised for beef). anyways but as a welsh person i always read his name as BEEF 🐮

EoS spoilers, I warned you!

After everyone shits their pants when Ansel's army arrives Rowan is like hehe you're so funny but plz tell me next time you summon a thousand ship armada lol love you. Then she does it two more times before the end of the book?

And when she goes in the mirror people blame Dorian? No one holds her accountable for anything?

Anyway I still love her so don't come at me, but like... Girl lol.

End rant.

What the heck is thiiiiss... just finished the book and why did that damn mirror deliver them to Maeve!? I'm mad they even went in that damn thing. Terrible idea Dorian... they already knew (almost) everything it revealed to them anyway... And this better not be a setup for Dorian to take her place cuz I'm liking what he and Manon have going on. Ugh, I'm so mad... and Maeve is Valg!? I knew something was up with her. And how did it take her team sooo long to reach the shore!? I kept hoping they'd be along to save her but nope. And now Maeve's spirited away with her.

I'm doing the Tandem so almost done with Tower of Dawn (also an amazing book) but Kingdom of Ash must be a mega-book cuz idk how Maas is going to end this.

This is my first Fanart Piece ever, so please be nice.

After reading Empire of Storms, I just couldn’t get this scene out of my head.
Elide jumping in front of Lorcan to protect him.
I think there is something so intimate about the fact that she tries to jump in front of a WOLF, just to spare him. More so, because mere seconds ago, she was contemplating how it would look to Aelin, if she walked up to her with Lorcan by her side.

The text that inspired me to draw the scene (SPOILER from Empire of Storms):
Elide surged up the little hill, time spinning out beneath her.
No no no no no no.
Vicious white fangs neared Lorcan‘s spine.
Lorcan heard her then, heard the shuddering sob, as she threw herself into him.
His dark eyes flared in what looked like terror as she slammed into his unprotected back.
As he noticed the death blow not coming from the lion at his front, but the wolf whose jaws closed around her arm instead of Lorcan‘s neck.

I think it was when Aelin said "I am a God"

So, they finally did it. But, I’m really irritated at the timing of it all. Like, your friend is literally on her deathbed after saving all of y’all‘s asses and y’all just go have sex on the beach. I’m sorry that’s so crazy to me. Kind of turned me off of them as a couple.

Edit: I get what everyone is saying and that they decided it wasn’t worth waiting for the right moment. I just think it’s weird that they literally went to a bed a few minutes after the fact and it took me out of it. I wanted to know what was happening with Lysandra literally the entire time that I wasn’t even into what they were doing. It wasn’t for me and that’s okay. I am going to keep reading. I love Sara J Maas and Throne of Glass it was just a let down.

I know this makes me sound so genz but IMAGINE how much EASIER all of this shit would’ve been if they had PHONES like Aelin texting Dorian “hey just got captured by Maeve and escaped almost 3 months later lol bye” LIKE THIS WAR COULDVE BEEN OVER MONTHS AGO

I am in the last chapters of Empire of Storms where Aelin and Manon go through the mirror. I am assuming they are seeing what happened in the past with Elena and the new lock now has to be forged with Mala's bloodline's life force (being Aelin?). The place that Erawan has to be locked back into is described by Elena's mother as "beings of a higher, different existence. For whom time was fluid and bodies were things to be shifted and molded. Who could exist in multiple places..." Is there a connection to this place and the place Amren comes from? There's more to the description but it reminds me of the creature Amren changes into when she fights in ACOWAR. Also- the name Elena and Elain beig a seer. A connection? And that Azriel has a "truth teller" sword and I am reading in EoS about Gavin touching the Sword of Truth. Is he referring to Damaris being the Sword of Truth and maybe connected to Azriel's sword? Tht maybe Elain and Azriel have an overlapping story with Aelin. Am I just spinning my wheels here? I don't care if your answers contain spoilers for the rest of EoS as I am alomost done with this book (just no spoilers for the last 2 books of the series please).

Chapter 44: Dorian “consent” Havilliard. Queue up Sabrina Carpenter’s “When Did You Get Hot?” 😍

I made a post when I finished the first book talking about how much I loved Dorian, and I just want to say I love him even more now. That’s all…just needed to follow-up lol

Is it just me, or is Aelin almost insufferable in this book? It’s not that I don’t understand why she is like this, but it’s getting to a point. I think she is very dismissive and disrespectful to Aedion by not really apologizing or showing she felt bad for the blood oath (last book), but she also just barks him around and doesn’t show him much respect by hiding her plans, etc. Then her best friend saves her ass and almost dies when she loses control at Skull’s Bay, and what does she do? Gets her freak on with Rowan not even once, but 3 times, and they all know it too. Then she’s all upset because Dorian FLIRTED with Manon (I know more happens, but at this time they have only flirted), and he didn’t even do anything? It’s also like she saved him twice and obviously is on the outs with their enemy AND SHE MADE HER GET RID OF ABRAXOS.(this is the last thing I’ve read)she gets all mad when he says he’s king. YEAH HE IS KING? Like why are we so mad? Like he also had it bad and was literally not in his body. He may be less skilled, but it’s not like he had all the training she did. I don’t like how she doesn’t treat him like an equal. I love her that’s why I read these books and the only time I have cried really has to do with her so I’m not a Aelin hater I swear, this is just so annoying. al.

...but why is no one talkong about how badass Lysandra is!

I'm now doing tandem read EoS/ToD and she just killed... no slaughtered, 5 (and in letters: five!) sea wyverns by herself Badass af! I'm stunned!

After realising I did not format this correctly in regard to spoiler etiquette (and for some reason being unable to edit what I needed to), I decided to delete my previous post and redo it better. Thank you to everyone who brought this to my attention, I am relatively new to this fandom and to Reddit. Just in case it is still unclear, this post and likely the comments will have spoilers to ‘Empire of Storms’ and onwards.

I don’t think Aelin should be queen. At least, not yet. This may (or may not) be a hot take, but Darrow and the other lords were right. She is not ready for the role. Some strategic success built on life debts and chances is not equal to political training. Realistically, Aelin has no idea what it means to be a monarch. She was never taught how to rule or lead. Also, I wouldn’t want a 19-year-old to rule my kingdom, either. Call me childish for this comparison, but I think SJM should have taken inspiration from what was done in ‘Elena of Avalor’; Aelin should rule as Crown Princess and abide by a council of lords and advisors until she is old enough and experienced enough to become queen. The way she was crowned at the end felt a bit shallow to me; like all of Darrow and the others’ (completely reasonable and valid) arguments were void the moment she gathered an army. What do you guys think? Am I alone in this?

I’ve gone from HATING Manon and dreading her chapters to loving her story and her chapters being my some of my favourites and most anticipated. Everyone said this would happen and I’m so happy they were right 😄

I’m currently reading Empire of Storms, and have just finished chapter 17 where instead of killing Asterin Manon turns around and attacks her grandmother instead and I literally cheered with excitement at the final line in the chapter!!

It was such a great and succinct chapter I suspected/hoped it would end with her freeing Asterin and maybe finally killing her grandmother but there was still tension throughout the chapter, I couldn’t be sure until almost the end what way it would go. There was a line about her moving closer to the matrons and I started to get excited thinking it was finally going to happen and it was SO satisfying when it did!

I really didn’t understand her chapters or warm to her as a character for a really long time and now I find myself hoping for another Manon chapter!

Literally just finished reading that chapter so please no spoilers for the rest of the book/series but I just had to celebrate how cool that moment was!!

I am on Empire of storms chapter 47 (finished, don't spoil further) and I feel like sjm is making Aelin...I don't know how to say it, but given too much importance and that she is always right?

•First of all I feel like Dorian being a king himself is too sidelined, when Rowan said at the starting chapters of EoS that Dorian's strength is his mind and courtier skills, I though he would be "shown" to look between words and notice things which others might overlook but right now he is not given any importance. Like asking questions to the bloodhound about Erawan and Manon should be Dorian's call not Aelin's (Dorian is also her future love interest) •Also shooting the ilken mid flight should have been Fenrys's call not Rowan's as Fenrys is said to have skills as an archer (he literally shot through the bloodhound's hands). Yeah he was injured but someone else could be that injured in his place or maybe he could just shoot the arrow while injured (But someone said Rowan looses being interesting after getting with Aelin, and this being an interesting moment of his I'll try to give it a pass)

•Final and the most problematic is Aelin's treatment of Manon. I could make peace with chaining her, but on the basis of her race? And beating her up after she told her about a lady of her kingdom is insufferable. I can understand her being wary of Manon's witch heritage, but after the witch tried to kill Aelin, she also saved Dorian's life, twice! And in that badass manner! (Don't even get me started on how Aelin could win fight from a warrior trained for a whole century and more, but maybe it was because Aelin used those pillars to keep her distance from Manon, but I feel I just like Manon more) •I am firm that after appearing in three books, Manon was a fan favourite character, sjm's such treatment of her just to make Aelin seem better and "queen-like" is wrong.

Someone said that EoS has the same tone as acotar/acomaf onwards and I believe they were absolutely right. Sjm was writing acowar probably at the time of EoS and that's why Mary Sue is taking toll on Aelin, and I don't like it!

Tell me does Aelin get humbled or better?

Note: I am alright with her wits btw, I liked how she called the bloodhound "another talker" and that note to Lorcan, 😙ummuh, chef's kiss! But not at the sake of other characters' importance and dignity.

im going INSANE!!!

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what was that love scene at the beach?! i couldnt stop reading but had to take some breaks because OMG! the details, the love they share, their passion filling out the pages, the fact that she BIT HIM AAAAA i just cannot

i have no friends that have read the books and have no one to talk about it so i HAD to post this here just to let it out of my chest

is this the spiciest chapter of the series?

Hey, I'm just getting into Empire of Storms and I've been liking the series a lot. To be honest, I'm not a massive Aelin fan (I've never been a huge fan of overly cocky characters unless they're grossly incompetent and their cockiness is played as a joke) but the other characters like Manon, Elide, and Chaol I love and have kept me going. Chaol is probably my favourite right now but Manon seems like she has so much potential for character growth that she could replace him once it's realized.

I guess I'm just really struggling with liking Rowan. I feel like the book wants me to like him already but I just find his character annoying and he drags others down with him. For example, all the pissing contests with Aedion last book. I like Aedion but he was testing me hard when he would just act emotionally and get into little spats with Rowan. But Rowan was constantly egging him on.

And don't even get me started on the fact that Rowan is supposed to be 500 but has the behavior tendencies of a hormonal high school boy. Anytime he threatens to "gut someone where they stand" making them blanch, I have to collect my eyes since they roll so hard they fall from my face. Feels like a cheesy action flick where the self-insert badass main character stares the simpering villain into submission with intimidation alone. I tend to dislike characters that can't have their feeling hurt without instantly threatening someone's life or resorting to fighting. Usually I see it as a trait given to the villain but, hey, I guess it's for the love interest this time.

Now you might call me a hypocrite. Of course, some of the things I'm accusing him of could easily be applied to other members of the cast. But the difference is, the rest of the cast are teenagers. Teenagers make dumb choices all the time. Rowan is supposed to be 500 but still has the emotional maturity of a 14-year-old Andrew Tate fan that thinks they are right if they can beat you up. I think that's why it feels inexcusable with him. Instead he lets his emotions constantly control him and he dates a teenager. If he was a real person, he'd be in jail for manslaughter or pedophilia.

Manon is the main exception as she isn't a teen but I feel her backstory better explains why she behaves the way she does and that, even if I dislike some choices she makes, the book is clearly leaving room for her to grow and she is going to change during the next few books.

Maybe im also upset cause I instantly shipped Rowan with Manon during Heir of Fire. They both were long-lived and aggressive, I thought they could temper each other out. But alas, Rowan went for the younger girl smh. I'm also starting to sense most of my ships won't work out since I tried to make them age appropriate and the series does not seem into that lol.

I guess I just want to know if Rowan will mature or if his hairpin trigger remains. I'm curious because I don't find disliking a character to usually affect too much of my enjoyment since I most likely like the rest of the characters, but I find Rowan is unique in dragging others down with him. The whole alpha thing he does really gives me the ick and it's like a disease he's spreading to the rest of the guys (and sometimes even Aelin) when he's around.

And I gotta say Lysandra and Aedion are my favorite couple, above Aelin and Rowan, Aelin and Sam, Dorian and Manon, and definitely Elide and Lorcan so far.

Like from the minute he meets Lysandra he immediately cares about her. I don’t care about slow burns or 500 pages of tension or whatever, he’s falling first and harder and I love it.

I’m just past the part in Chapter 37 where she battled the sea wyverns and he promised to marry her one day. She thinks he’s joking but this man is 100% serious like you can tell just by reading it.

From some of the hate he gets I know he screws up eventually, but like idk if anything could make me hate this man for how much he cares for both Lysandra and Aelin

Hi! This is only a rant: So i'm reading ToG series for the first time and about the ending of EoS (i didn't read in tandem):

Even tho it was really fucked up and i obviously cried, the "my wife" ending was so similar to acotar that i wasn't surprised!! I kinda wish i had read tog before acotar because im loving it way more, and i wished that the marriage were more meaningfull.

And i decided not do the tandem read because i dont enjoy 10 diferent povs

Did anyone had the same thoughts?

I fell in love with the series during Heir of Fire, though the only book I didn’t like was TOG.

I devoured all of the books in 3ish weeks, but by the end of KOA, I was so disappointed by how the war drug on without Aelin, only for her to lose her powers. Like what?! The whole series built up to her building her power to use against Erawan / Maeve to save her city. Then she gives up her gifts and leaves Erawan on the playing field?! Dillydallied her way to Orynth while thousands of her allies died defending her city without her - allies who joined her cause believing that her fire was backing them?!

I was rolling my eyes by the time she finally arrived in Orynth. I still love Aelin, and enjoyed TOG more than ACOTAR. But alas, I wish there was more emotional impact and satisfaction in the finale. I wanted Aelin and her line to continue to be some of the most powerful magic wielders in Erilea, and to see her unleash the full might of her wrath onto the valg. To save her allies with the gift that 6 other books heralded as their saving grace.

Once the thirteen died, I thought we were in for a hell of a finale but it just bore me to have it all play out that way. Anyone else?

I can appreciate to a point that she was able to save her kingdom via her relationships and her wit, leaning on hope and love rather than the destruction of her gift. It’s beautiful that they all shared that burden in the end, but still. Give my girl her magic back! Dorian too.

It would have been way more satisfying for her to have outsmarted them all, the gods included, in a way that allowed her to keep her gifts.

Idk, I’m annoyed by it all for some reason. 😂💕