The Best Out Of Throne Of Glass | Tower Of Dawn Book Review
Hi everyone!
Today I’m here to share with you my spoiler free book review
for Tower Of Dawn by Sarah J Maas. This is the sixth book in the Throne Of
Glass series and I recommend not proceeding with this review if you haven’t read
up to Empire Of Storms because spoiler alert (it’s ok if you haven’t read
Empire Of Storms though!)
While this is the sixth book in the Throne Of Glass series,
instead of being from Celaena’s perspective it follows Chaol’s story as he
journeys to the Southern Continent after the events of Queen Of Shadows. This book
occurs alongside Empire Of Storms.
This story is told in three perspectives, mainly Chaol’s
however it is also told from the perspective of Nesryn, who was a minor character
in Queen Of Shadows but plays a bigger role in this book and Yrene, who is a
new character introduced to the series however her story is part of the
Assassin’s Blade novellas.
I was super apprehensive about going into this series. If you
know me AT ALL you’ll know how much I dislike the Throne Of Glass series (although
Crown Of Midnight was ok!) and that I was very apprehensive about this story,
especially since Sarah J Maas had done Chaol QUITE dirty in the past. Chaol is
also one of my favourite characters EVER and I was so worried that she would
continue to disfigure his personality and I thought it was very unfair that
after dissing him for so long in the series, she suddenly wanted to give him
his own book.
But I was curious so I did pick it up and here are my
thoughts!
Please note, I am not
going to be talking about the disability representation in this as I won’t be
able to comment but read this review if you want an #ownvoices review for the disability
representation in this.
Book: Tower Of Dawn
Series: Throne Of Glass #6
His only shot at recovery lies with the legendary healers of the Torre Cesme in Antica—the stronghold of the southern continent's mighty empire. And with war looming over Dorian and Aelin back home, their survival might lie with Chaol and Nesryn convincing its rulers to ally with them.
Recommended for: Anyone 15+
I was provided a copy for review by Bloomsbury Australia however all thoughts and opinions are my own and this is an honest review.
About the book.
Book: Tower Of DawnSeries: Throne Of Glass #6
Author: Sarah J Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Australia
Pages: 664
Publication date: September 2017
Pages: 664
Publication date: September 2017
Synopsis: Chaol Westfall has always defined himself by his unwavering loyalty, his strength, and his position as the Captain of the Guard. But all of that has changed since the glass castle shattered, since his men were slaughtered, since the King of Adarlan spared him from a killing blow, but left his body broken.
His only shot at recovery lies with the legendary healers of the Torre Cesme in Antica—the stronghold of the southern continent's mighty empire. And with war looming over Dorian and Aelin back home, their survival might lie with Chaol and Nesryn convincing its rulers to ally with them.
But what they discover in Antica will change them both—and be more vital to saving Erilea than they could have imagined. (source)
Genres: FantasyI was provided a copy for review by Bloomsbury Australia however all thoughts and opinions are my own and this is an honest review.
My thoughts.
{ writing }
One thing I do always say about Maas’s writing is that she
is quite skilled. Maas’s writing is very well thought out and great at
explaining the setting and the world and the characters and this was no
exception. There is such clarity in the way she writes and the world building
of this was so fantastic. There was such witty dialogue between the characters
too and it helped them grow from 2D characters on a page, to 3D real life
people.
I loved getting to explore the Southern Continent and seeing
Sarah build the world from just Adarlan to bigger. There was great attention to
detail in regards to the culture and history of the new setting and I didn’t have
any problems with the writing.
Additionally, I also thought this book was very, very
addictive and I absolutely BINGED this huge book in an evening and then the
next morning because I had to know what would happen next. While the start is a
little slow and hard to get into, after you hit a third of the way, everything
gets SO good and SO exciting!
{ idea + plot }
As said before, I am such a huge Chaol fan! So having an
entire book ABOUT Chaol (and without Celaena thank god!) was something I was
100% down for. While I wasn’t initially excited about Chaol moving away from
Adarlan, I can see why it was important for Maas to do that and in the end, I think
it added great depth to the world and has the final story coming together from
all different angles.
This book also had A LOT of revelations in it, those vital
to the main plot which were so exciting. The twists and turns had me SO interested
and literally on the edge of my seat with the book glued to my hands.
{ characters }
I think the characters are the very best part of this book.
I loved Chaol. I think he grew a lot as a character in this
book, especially in coming to terms with his disability. He was always such a
sweetheart and I think this book brought the old Chaol back to life. He is such
a quietly caring person and so loyal to fault. He has gone through so much but
he remained so strong and he is so, so purely good.
One thing I was waiting for since the ending events of Crown
Of Midnight was closure about was the relationship between Celaena and Chaol
which I felt was ended abruptly and then things got ugly between them. While I didn’t
like the Celaena and Rowan worship in this book, I did like that Maas finally
gave us some closure about Chaol’s feelings about the whole ordeal and his thoughts
and insecurities about what happened. It was what I was waiting for FOR SO LONG
after being so unhappy with the way he was treated and it just made me feel so
relieved to have that closure that I’m just word vomiting here so I’m going to
stop and talk about other characters now. Okay? Okay.
Yrene was so headstrong but at the same time, so caring. I loved
seeing Maas bring in another type of ‘strong female heroine’. Most of the
female heroines in the series have been physically strong and badass but Yrene
was badass in her own way and as she puts it, she saves lives instead of takes
them, which I feel is another type of bravery not everyone can handle.
I actually felt really meh towards Nesryn, which is kind of disappointing
because she is the first woman of colour Maas included ‘seriously’ in her books
by giving her perspective chapters. While I thought she did have redeemable
qualities, there was nothing that really stood out to me about her, which is
quite disappointing sadly, but hopefully her character continues to grow in the
next instalment.
In saying that though, I thought her POC rep was well done. Some
of the thoughts and feelings Nesryn has returning to her home country were
totally relatable to me and while it wasn’t as severe as her experiences, there
is a degree of truth there.
The romance in this was very well done. I liked how it wasn’t
insta-love and it really grows. You can see the chemistry between the
characters and they compliment each other perfectly. While I wasn’t expecting the
pairings in the book (for those who have read it, you’ll know what I mean) I actually
really liked them so no complaints there.
I just appreciated how there was none of the possessive male
tropes. I hate possessive alpha-male tropes and it just made me so grateful
they weren’t present in this. There is a scene where Chaol’s significant other
does something he doesn’t like, but he refrains from yelling at her and instead
reminds himself she can make her own decisions.
Do you hear that? That is the sound of thousands of girls
around the world cheering because F I N A L L Y.
{ finally… }
I know a lot of people in general have been very surprised with
how good this book was, but I think I was the most surprised. I did not expect
to enjoy it this much and I thought I’d just be cringing and complaining
throughout the entire read, but I wasn’t. I really enjoyed my time reading it
and I think this even surpassed my love for Crown Of Midnight (which I did enjoy
a lot too!)
And I know Maas’s works haven’t been very diverse (or
sensitive) in the past and that’s going to be something I’ll always criticise
her about, but I can appreciate her trying to add in more representation,
whether it be POC or disability rep!
But I do have a feeling that this was a one off for me in
terms of Maas’s work because despite everything, I am not a fan of Celaena or
Rowan, or the fae in general. Their possessiveness and not-very-witty dialogue
makes me cringe so no promises for a glowing review for the next book in the series.
#sorrynotsorry.
OVERALL RATING:
★★★★½
Have you read Tower Of Dawn? What did you think of it?
9 happy thoughts
So glad to hear you enjoyed this one. I can't wait to read it! I will hopefully be getting it soon. I've loved all of the ToG books and I'm thrilled to hear this is your fav of the bunch! Great review!
ReplyDeleteRebecca @ The Portsmouth Review
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Tower of Dawn looks really good! I read a couple chapters at the library the other day and was absolutely hooked, but I've never been able to get into the first few ToG books. I don't know if it's quite worth slogging through those, even if EoS and this one would be really good.
ReplyDeleteEllie | On the Other Side of Reality
P.S. - Your photography is amazing!
I felt the exact same way you did about Tower of Dawn! I was surprised with how much I enjoyed it and how fast I read it because I have not loved the past few books. It was a relief to get a breather from Celaena and Co; I always loved Chaol and I really liked the new characters and settings! IT was good to see that she remembers how to write believable, slow building romances and friendships haha. Definitely one of my favorites of the series (I loved CoM and HoF too). It will be interesting to see how it all comes together in the last book.
ReplyDeleteI skimmed your review because I don't want to be spoiled in the slightest since I haven't even read Empire of Storms, since Chaol's character destruction in Queen of Shadows I'm salty haha. I will read these books eventually though.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed!
~Brittany @ Brittany's Book Rambles
I've heard so many differing things about this book - it seems like people either love it or hate it, so I'm glad you enjoyed it so much. :) Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous review! <3
ReplyDelete~ Zoe @ Stories on Stage
heh isn't it weird when a book makes you feel so much that our posts turn into books themselves XD awesome that you loved it so much
ReplyDeleteI have been hearing so much negative reviews on this book that this review feels like a fresh breath of air! I am yet to read the book but it doesn't really feel like reading with so much negativity surrounding it! I love Chaol in the first two books then felt he was being a jerk in Queen of Shadows. I would really like to see how the character changes after a full book on him!
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