Throne of Glass- Sarah J. Maas BOOK TALK

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I first read this book a couple of years ago and, because my dear blog didn't exist at that point, I don't have a book review to look back on. So, as I'm re-reading through the entire series in time for the Kingdom of Ash release, I wanted to summarise my thoughts and discuss each book a little bit now. Hence, the string of re-read book reviews heading your way.
I've always loved the Throne of Glass series purely for how clever and intricate and complex it is- how true high fantasy should be written. But I will also admit that these books can often drag, get confusing and be considerably slow burners. When I first read this series, I was around 13-14 years old so this was a major deal-breaker for me in terms of reading but now, (at my ripe old age of 17), I can appreciate the slow-burn a lot more and enjoyed this book far more than I previously did. I think the re-read also helped because I already knew what was going to happen and could just sit down and enjoy the trails of foreshadowing that Sarah J. Maas so beautifully weaves into her novels.

GOODREADS

AMAZON

SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD
For starters, I must say that I did enjoy this book much more than I did the first time round but, again, it did take me a long time to get through. With so many other books, I can sit for hours reading the same thing before having a break. With this series, though, I can only read it for 20 minutes or so before needing to get up and have a break before reading again. This is probably because of how slow-burning, dense and overly-descriptive this book is and, while it didn't necessarily effect my enjoyment of the story, it did take me a hell of a lot longer to finish which was a bit annoying.
SPOILERS FOR FURTHER THRONE OF GLASS BOOKS AHEAD
I like Celaena a lot more than I did the first time around. I don't know whether it's just because I'm closer to her age now or because I know where she goes and who she becomes throughout the books, but she impressed me a lot more. I actually liked knowing that she's really Aelin and Queen of Terrasen because it meant that I could pick out all the foreshadowing and hints to who she actually is.

And then, there's the matter of Chaol vs Dorian (even though I know that neither of them is endgame but humour me). When first reading this series, I was firmly on Team Chaolaena and honestly, I stand by my decisions completely. I get why people would like Dorian- he's charming and likes to read and blah, blah, blah- but isn't it so much more rewarding to watch Celaena and Chaol grow a genuine bond and break down each others' walls? To see them get more and more comfortable around each other and become friends before anything more?

Despite Rowan obviously being endgame because, let's face it, they're mates, I still ship Chaolaena. And this is my go-to argument. Chaol and Celaena work together. They're a friendship turned beautifully into a relationship and, while they both have their flaws, if circumstances were different, they'd end up together perfectly, I think. But while I ship Chaolaena whole-heartedly, I also ship Rowaelin. Because to me, Celaena and Aelin are two different people. They have different powers, different circumstances and different responsibilities that form them. So, while Chaol suits Celaena, he doesn't suit Aelin. Lucky for us, Rowan does suit Aelin. And yet I don't think he'd suit Celaena very well. That's my little loop-hole so I can ship them both, anyway.

Strangely enough, I preferred Nehemia a lot more during my re-read. And yet I'm trying to keep my distance because... she's not gonna be around for too long in the grand scheme of things. I liked her before but, knowing her importance to Celaena in the next book, I've really payed attention to their friendship and find that I love Nehemia. She's so strong-willed and clever and it's so nice to see a female friendship in fiction where the girls aren't pushing each other down. Her and Celaena's friendship creates a beautiful feeling of girl power.

Whereas, we have Kaltain on the other hand who I utterly despise. I can't exactly remember her role in future books (so this will all effectively be a firt read for me) but I did make sure to pay extra attention to her 'headaches' because I'm sure that's important as well as her 'relationship' with Duke Perrington.
I also happened to love Nox. He was the first competitor to not underestimate Celaena and, not only did he become her ally, but I'd argue that they were good friends too. Now, for the life of me, I can't remember if he pops up in future books but I really hope he does because he deserves some extra page time and to see Aelin become queen in all her bad-ass glory.

Like before, I struggled to keep up with all the magic subplots going on. Especially with the Eye of Elena and how all the Wyrdgates work... I don't remember a thing. But I've been really trying to focus on it and understand it because the Wyrdmarks and magic and family trees really pay an important role in this story.
Overall, I really like this book but, compared to the others, it falls a little short. I love the simple plot line of an assassin competition which is a lot easier to follow than the other books but, knowing so many amazing characters are yet to come (Rowan, Elide, Manon... I'm looking at you guys) it's hard to be content with just the original trio.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment your thoughts. Stay amazing!
Chloe