I'm really having a period of amnesia with this book… I remember almost nothing, and I'm so ashamed by it. I had to search for a summary so I could remember the basic stuff… am I a terrible person for it? Maybe, but as I said. The first two books of the ToG series weren't my cup of tea.
*CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS*
“It was like coming home or being born or suddenly finding an entire half of herself that had been missing.”
–Sarah J. Maas
What Is It About?
From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.
Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie... and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.
My Opinion
Well… Celaena won to be the King's Champion. That was predictable from the start. The first assignment she got was to get rid of all the King's enemies. I guess it makes sense for any tyrant out there. Her friends were very confused and not so happy with it. Since they didn't understand how she could work for the man who killed her family. Nehemia was really hurt by it, as her people were being enslaved by the King. Nevertheless, Celaena had her own agenda (and as usual, nobody know the details of it).
I started to like Dorian a bit more since we got to see his true colors. I mean, who wouldn't love a man who gives puppies as gifts?! And Celaena wasn't even his girlfriend. That's real friendship. He also discovers he has raw power and tries everything to shut it down. But we know that's not how magic works. Sorry, Dorian. You will have to learn to adapt to your new reality. But I really liked how he helped Celaena in her adventures.
While my contempt for Chaol only grew even more… he really was annoying trying to justify why he didn't like her. While also drooling over her. He becomes super boring after Celaena dumps him.
And the final straw with him was the situation that ended with Nehemia's murder. I was SO upset and angry at what he did (or more like what he didn't say). Chaol KNEW they were best friends, and Celaena could have protected her. But no. He had to shut his mouth and say nothing. WHY WOULD HE DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO THE PERSON HE WAS IN LOVE WITH?! His betrayal was the worst thing. He really deserved those scars.
I must say that Nehemia's death didn't really get me (don't hate me for that). Celaena's reaction was what devastated me. It hurt how she processed her grief.
But then, Nehemia comes as a ghost and tells her it was meant to be. Knowing that she had to die for Celaena to touch rock bottom to accept her fate was cruel. If that was the only way your best friend would pay attention to you, I think you need to reconsider what friendship means.
On the other hand, Celaena became more mature and went from a girl to this strong character and powerful woman. I will never get tired of watching how characters develop into their better versions and empower themselves. Furthermore, I love how she started to care about other characters, leaving behind her egoistic mask (because it was just that).
I still think Queen Elena was really disappointing. She supposedly was "helping" Celaena. NONSENSE. She only gave riddles and half-answers. What kind of help is that?
I'm glad this book got a bit more action and more mysteries to uncover. The whole scene where Celaena and Dorian are under the library and the thing (I don't remember its name) appears and attacks them was very good. Nevertheless, I was still very confused with all the magic systems and world-building. All those wyrds, wyrdkeys, and wyrdmarks really didn't make sense to me. Even though I have already finished reading them, I'm still puzzled about the magic system.
SPOILER ALERT: IF YOU HAVE NOT READ IT *DO NOT* READ THIS LAST PARAGRAPH
The ending of the book was very intense and definitely, leaves you with a cliffhanger. The whole part where we find Celaena is part fae while fighting the creature inside the portal was badass. But finding out Archer was the one behind Nehemia's death, and guts him, only makes her even more badass and ruthless.
The only good thing Chaol did was send Celaena to Wendlyn so he could "protected" her against the King.
In general, I liked more this book than the previous one. But still has a lot of plot holes, and the characters' storylines were a bit dull. However, we have one of the big plot twists of this series: Chaol learns Celaena is the heir of the Ashryver–Galathynius family.
Comments