I can’t help but 5 star my SJM but dang that tandem read took a MINUTE

I read this as a tandem read with Empire of Storms (using the guide from T.L. Branson) and I'm really glad I did and would highly recommend that to others. It was very cool to have dozens of little cliffhangers throughout. In all honesty though, of the two I think EOS did much more of the heavy lifting, and TOD is more of an accessory to the story. I do absolutely understand why this book was meaningful/necessary to the plot, and why letting it stand alone as opposed to as a few chapters incorporated into EOS allowed relationships to develop more authentically, but at the end of the day, it all felt very secondary. I was often frustrated to have to peel away from EOS to read TOD even just for a chapter, and I think instead having to wade through the entire book at once waiting to get back to my favorite characters in the other would have made me pretty irritated. So tandem read was definitely a blessing.

Now regarding the actual story itself, I think the highlight was the theme of healing and introspection both within Chaol and Yrene. Chaol also had a lot of memories being unearthed going back to the earliest books, which was super cool as a reader both because I had to dig in my own memory to figure out what he's referencing, and because it made the story feel a lot more grounded and meaningful across books to bring the roots back up. The main downfall for me were the romantic connections which, yet again for SJM's books, could feel pretty forced. And the men were really acting up in both EOS and TOD.... award for most ridiculous man moment in this book goes to Sartaq for his extremely presumptuous declaration (bordering order) to Nesryn towards the end. Like I get it's supposed to be romantic, but is it actually?

Okay, to everyone out here who has finished the ToG series and ACOTAR AND Crescent City, leave me alone. I know I am late. To put into perspective how long I have been trying to finish this series, I finished Queen of Shadows before Tower of Dawn came out, and then I stopped reading for like four years. But, I am now jumping back into the game. I re-read all the books. I just did a review of Empire of storms. And here I am done with Tower of Dawn.

What a long road it has been.

And it isn’t over yet. I still go tone more book to finish. It is going to be a crazy time.

Even after starting this series back in 2016, I still have not been spoiled the ending of Kingdom of Ash. It scares me a little because do people just not want to talk about it because it is that horrifying? Or was it just so good the book community is still in shock? Or am I just not in the right circles?

I DONT ACTUALLY WANT TO KNOW. DO NOT SPOIL IT AT ALL. I HAVE BEEN LIVING PEACEFULLY AND EVERYTHING HAS BEEN SPOILER FREE.

Anyways,

Tower of Dawn.

What an exciting book.

When I tell you how much I disliked Chaol at the beginning and how much I loved him at the end. Was that a universal thing or just me? I feel like the fourth book just made him seem like an asshole and he just never recovered from that. Until now.

I am glad we got this whole other perspective to the story. It was kind of nice to going back to only having three POVs. I love Maas and her POVs but Empire of Storms and Queen of Shadows was insane with the switching. This was a nice break. But, I am sure the Kingdom of Ash is going to have all the OG POVs and Nesryn and Yrene and Manon and Elide and Lochan and literally everyone who has a name in the story.

Gotta love it

Also, I did not think that this story would be such a big part of the whole series. I was told once a few months after it came out that it was utterly unnecessary to read. UM WHAT? This gave us like the biggest plot twist ever and if I had to just get that summarized my Kingdom of Ash, I would have been PISSED.

So, if you are reading ToG please read this book. Don’t let people lie to you.

You learn kind of really important information like almost vital information to the entire war that is happening. When the whole thing drops about Maeve my jaw hit the floor. It was insane. And when Yrene did the thing.

OH MY GOD SHE SO SWAG!!!

I am really trying to keep this spoiler-free but I cant say much without ruining it. As usual.

Also, can we talk about Yrene. What a beautiful person! She was so nice. I thought she had an amazing personality. She was described so beautifully and she was so badass!!

Lets go back to Chaol’s character development in the story. I think he starts off as an arrogant ass and ends up as a less arrogant ass. But, all improvement is good. And who doesn’t love an arrogant ass, am I right?

I mean seriously, look at him.


Chaol Fanart by zirael_art
Also, while looking for fanart I found this. WHAT THE HELL? Is this real or did someone just make this. I couldn’t find any art credits. I…….This would have looked so well on my shelf instead of the shield. BUT I AM NOT DOGGING ON THE SHIELD, just saying I would have preferred a person on the cover.


Tower of Dawn cover but with a man
Also I found this really cute art piece. I am going to show it but it contains a little spoilers (even though it is obvious that they get together in the end).


Chaol and Yrene fanart by Meabhusd
How talented is that.

I love it so much.

I love their whole story arc. I also love that Chaol hated himself for a moment because he kissed Yrene. It just makes me happy to see him get some revenge.

Ugh, the whole story was amazing. I honestly think this beats out Crown of Midnight for my favorite book in the series. It is so good. The emotions are raw and intense. It deals with really hard issues in life. It has some badass women in there. It leads up to the ending really well. The beginning was a little slow and the ending was not as satisfying as I would have liked but, you cant have the new love birds die just yet can you?

Wink Wink

Anyways, I think I am done for today. I am trying to figure out if more people will read my stuff on the weekends or if posting on the weekdays is alright. I just see the weekends as my time to write. But, I can change it up depending on what people prefer.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 5